Ganguly family

In a Bollywood film industry dominated by powerhouse families the Ganguly brothers and their family connections serve as an important bridge between the clans.

Brief history of the Ganguly family

The celebrated Ganguly family – epitomised by Ashok Kumar (born 1911), Sati Rani Devi (born 1916), Anoop Kumar (born 1924) and Kishore Kumar (born 1929) – serve as one of the most important bridges between the powerhouse families of Indian cinema. The Ganguly family connection is carried further through the networks created by Kishore Kumar's multiple marriages. He was married to Ruma Guha Thakurta (1950–58), Madhubala (1960–69), Yogeeta Bali (1975–78) and Leena Chandavarkar (1980–87).

History of the Ganguly family begins with Kunjalal Ganguly, a pleader (advocate) by profession coming from a long line of lawyers, and his wife Gouri Rani Devi, granddaughter of Raja Shibchandra Banerjee and sister of classical singer Dhananjay Banerjee. The celebrated brothers and their sister, who gave birth to the Mukherjees of Bollywood, were born to these two. Supposedly, Kishore Kumar inherited his sense of comedy from Kunjalal. Also, the most popular film featuring all three Ganguly brothers – Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi – was, supposedly, inspired by Kunjalal's Chrysler that he bought in 1928, a year before the birth of his youngest son.