[4] Today, his rise as a prominent playwright in 1960s is seen as the coming of age of Modern Indian playwriting in Bengali, just as Vijay Tendulkar did it in Marathi, Mohan Rakesh in Hindi, and Girish Karnad in Kannada.

He followed them with plays like Baaki Itihaash (Remaining History) (1965), Pralap (Delirium) (1966), Tringsha Shatabdi (Thirtieth Century) (1966), Pagla Ghoda (Mad Horse) (1967), Shesh Naai (There's No End) (1969), all performed by Sombhu Mitra's Bohurupee group.

Though he continued to hold his job till 1975, as a playwright he rose to prominence in the 1970s and was one of the leading figures in the revival of street theatre in Bengal.

Starting with Sagina Mahato, which marked his advent into arena stage, his subsequent plays, Michhil (Juloos), Bhoma, Basi Khobor, Spartacus based on Howard Fast's historical novel by the same name, were performed in parks, street corners and remote villages with the audience sitting all around.

[citation needed] Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi awarded the prestigious 'Ammannur Puraskaram' in 2010 for his lifetime achievements in Indian Theatre.

The award was presented to him by Girish Karnad during the inaugural function of 3rd edition of International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK) Sarkar was diagnosed with colon cancer in April 2011.

[19] In July 2009, to mark his 85th birthday, a five-day-long festival titled Badal Utsava as tribute to him was organised by several noted theatre directors.

[21] Sarkar is the subject of two documentaries, one directed by filmmaker and critic, Amshan Kumar,[22] and another A Face in the Procession by Sudeb Sinha, which was shot over two years.

"[24] Recently (2013), a newly established cultural group, Maniktala Kolpokatha has started their theatrical career paying homage to the great play writer, staging "Ballavpurer Roopkatha".