![]() Rituparno Ghosh had hosted two celebrity chat shows on television, ‘Ebong Rituporno’ on ETV Bangla and ‘Ghosh & Co.’ on STAR Jalsha. He was also the creator and scriptwriter of ‘Gaaner Oparey’, a critically acclaimed Bengali television serial drama that aired on STAR Jalsha from June 2010 to April 2011. This TV musical marked the beginning of a yearlong celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. The new concept was the brainchild of Rituparno Ghosh and all the featured songs were popular Rabindra Sangeet tracks. ![]() Rituparno Ghosh was also the editor of the Bengali film magazine, ‘Anandalok’, from 1997 to 2004. He was also the editor of ‘Robbar’ magazine of ‘Sangbad Pratidin’, Indian Bengali daily newspaper published from Kolkata, from 2006 till his death. Cinematic Vision of Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh was one of the most acclaimed movie directors of India, and was himself an admirer of Satyajit Ray. His films glorified womanhood, closely and sensitively portraying women's lives, feelings and sufferings. According to veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, Ghosh had a wonderful understanding of the female psyche. In his last films, he addressed issues on homosexuality and gender. An article in the newspaper Live Mint categorised Ghosh's cinematic career in 3 phases: his early films, wherein he tried to portray Bengali middle-class lifestyle, their aspirations and desires; in the second phase, when he worked mainly with Bollywood actors and made films in Hindi and English as well as in Bengali, and the third and final phase when his films primarily focussed on sexuality. Rituparno Ghosh had deep interests in the classics. An admirer of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, he researched his works and made multiple films on them. The 3 films made by the director, directly based on Tagore’s literary works, include ‘Chokher Bali’ (2003), ‘Nokuadubi’ (2010) and ‘Chitrangada’ (2012), wherein Ghosh himself featured as the choreographer struggling with his gender identity. In the 1999 Bengali film ‘Asukh’, Tagore played an invisible role. In 2012, Ghosh made a documentary based on Tagore's autobiography, ‘Jiban Smriti’, for the Government of India - Ministry of Culture. In an interview in August the same year, Ghosh spoke about Tagore and his documentary, stating, "What comes through is what a lonely man Tagore was - from childhood to old age. There is no one in his life to share even his success with him. It's the journey of a lonely traveller. What I haven't captured in the documentary is what a fun-loving, humorous man he could be. I show him as a profound thinker, a guru - but then this was perhaps necessary for an audience which is not at all familiar with Rabindranath." Related Articles: Rituparno Ghosh Bengali Cinema Indian Film Directors Indian Movie Actors Satyajit Ray English Films in India National Film Awards Documentary Films in India Indian Television Anchors Rabindranath Tagore |