Introduction

Rituparno Ghosh was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist in Bengali Cinema. He made his debut in films in the year 1992, directing the Bengali film "Hirer Angti". In 1994, his next film "Unishe April" released, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. A self-professed Satyajit Ray fan, Rituparno Ghosh inspired other film makers like Mithaq Kazimi who adapted his film "Raincoat" in English. In a career spanning nearly two decades, Ghosh won 12 National Film Awards and many international awards. His unreleased Bengali film "Sunglass" was honoured and released at the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival. Ghosh breathed his last on May 30, 2013 in Kolkata, after suffering a heart attack.

Early Life and Education of Rituparno Ghosh

Rituparno Ghosh was born on August 31, 1963 in Kolkata, West Bengal, into a Bengali Hindu family. His father, Sunil Ghosh, was a documentary film maker and painter. He completed his schooling at South Point High School, and later earned a degree in Economics from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

After completing his graduation in Economics, Ghosh began his career in advertising, as a creative artist at the Response India advertising agency, and became known as an especially effective copywriter in Kolkata, particularly noted for composing succinct, appealing one-liners and slogans for ad campaigns in Bengali during the 1980s. At the time, the trend in Kolkata was to translate all-India advertisement campaigns originally composed in English and Hindi into Bengali. Ghosh won recognition for his ability to initiate campaigns in Bengali. Few of his noted ad campaigns were "Sharad Samman" and "Bongo Jiboner Ango" for the antiseptic ointment Boroline and others for Frooti, the largest selling mango drink in India. Some commentators noted that his power to appeal to consumers through ad campaigns helped make his films appeal to wider audiences, particularly to middle class Bengalis. In 1990, Rituparno got his first break in a documentary film when his own agency, Tele-Response, a member of the Response family of companies, was commissioned to make a documentary on Vande Mataram for Doordarshan.

Direction Career of Rituparno Ghosh

Rituparno Ghosh made his feature film directorial debut with the Bengali family-oriented film "Hirer Angti", based on a novel of the same name written by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay about inheritance and conjuring tricks. It released in 1992, featuring Moon Moon Sen, Basanta Choudhury, and Pradip Mukherjee. Ghosh"s second film `Unishe April`, starring Aparna Sen, Debashree Roy, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Dipankar Dey, released in 1994 and went on to win 2 National Film Awards in 1995, including the Golden Lotus Award for Best Feature Film. Portraying the relationship of an award winning dancer and her emotionally abandoned daughter who aspires to be a doctor, it also achieved commercial success. His next film, `Dahan`, based on the true story of a woman who was molested on a street in Kolkata and of another woman, a witness who came forward to bring legal action against the perpetrators but became frustrated by the callousness of society including the victim`s family, released in 1997 and won him the National Film Award for Best Screenplay.

In 1999, "Asukh" released wherein Ghosh dealt with the relationship between a young film star and her father who depends unwillingly on his daughter`s earnings. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. `Bariwali` released in 2000, starring Kirron Kher, Rupa Ganguly and Chiranjeet Chakraborty. It portrayed a lonely and withdrawn widow played by Kher, who rents out her large house for a film production and fantasises about the charming but very much married director, who flirts with her but, predictably, disappoints her. Kher won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her portrayal. The same year, "Utsab" released dealing with the decadence of a large family whose members live away from the ancestral home and meet only during the traditional Durga Puja. It won Ghosh the National Film Award for Best Direction. The 2002 film "Titli" was a narrative about a mother-daughter relationship, where the teenage daughter has a crush on an older film star who had had an affair with her mother.

In 2002, "Shubho Mahurat" released, a whodunit based on Agatha Christie"s book "The Mirror Crack`d from Side to Side". Featuring veteran actresses Raakhee and Sharmila Tagore alongside Nandita Das, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. The following year, Ghosh released his drama film "Chokher Bali", based on a novel written by Rabindranath Tagore, featuring Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai alongside Prosenjit and Raima Sen. In 2004, his first Hindi film, `Raincoat`, an adaptation of O. Henry"s short story "The Gift of the Magi", was released. The director worked with Aishwarya Rai again in the film, the shooting of which completed in 17 days. It received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. In 2005, the Bengali film `Antar Mahal` released. Set in British India, it revolved around a land-owning ("zamindari") family, with Jackie Shroff playing the Zamindar, alongside Soha Ali Khan and Rupa Ganguly who played the Zamindar`s wives. In 2006, his black-and-white drama film "Dosar" released, featuring Prosenjit and Konkona Sen Sharma. It was premiered at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, 2007, in the Les Cinema Du Monde section.

Ghosh"s 2007 English film "The Last Lear" revolved around the life of a retired Shakespearean theatre actor. Starring Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role alongside Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal playing supporting roles, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English. His 2008 film, "Khela", was Manisha Koirala`s debut in Bengali cinema. Later the same year, `Shob Charitro Kalponik`, starring Bipasha Basu and Prosenjit, got released and won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. It was selected for the 30th Durban International Film Festival and screened in the Marche du Film section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, his film `Abohoman`, starring Jisshu Sengupta, Ananya Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey and Mamata Shankar released and won him his second National Film Award for Best Direction. In 2011, his Bengali period film "Noukadubi" released based on a novel by Rabindranath Tagore of the same name, featuring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Raima Sen and Riya Sen. In 2012, "Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish" released where the director narrated the story of a choreographer who is struggling with his gender identity. It premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival in May 2012 and won Rituparno the National Film Award - Special Jury Award.

Just before his death, Rituparno Ghosh had finished production work on his last film, `Satyanweshi`, a Bengali mystery thriller based on Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, which released in September 2013. In November that year, Ghosh"s Hindi-Bengali bilingual "Sunglass" ("Taak Jhaank" in Hindi) that was shot in 2006 but didn"t have a theatrical release, was opened at the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival inauguration, as a tribute to the legendary director. He also had an unreleased documentary "Jeevan Smriti: Selective Memories", on Rabindranath Tagore based on Tagore`s autobiography, in which he acted as well.

Personal Life of Rituparno Ghosh

Rituparno Ghosh was one of the very few openly homosexual people in Indian cinema. He was considered an icon of the LGBT community in India.

Death of Rituparno Ghosh

Rituparno Ghosh suffered from Diabetes mellitus type 2 for ten years, and Pancreatitis for five years. He also experienced insomnia and had been taking medication for it. According to Dr. Rajiv Seal of Fortis Hospitals, who had been his physician for almost two decades, Rituparno was also facing complications from hormone treatments after Abdominoplasty and breast implant operations that he underwent for his role in Kaushik Ganguly`s `Arekti Premer Golpo`, playing a transgender filmmaker. Ghosh died at his Kolkata residence on May 30, 2013, post a massive heart attack, aged 49.

Cinematic Vision and Other Ventures of Rituparno Ghosh

Apart from making critically acclaimed thought provoking films in Bengali Cinema, Rituparno Ghosh had also worked as an actor, television presenter and magazine editor. The immensely recognised director made his first screen appearance in an Oriya film, `Katha Deithilli Ma Ku`, directed by Himanshu Parija and released in 2003. In 2010, he featured in the Bengali film "Arekti Premer Golpo", directed by Kaushik Ganguly, which dealt with gay relationships and showcased Rituparno Ghosh as a gay filmmaker, alongside Indraneil Sengupta in the lead. "Arekti Premer Golpo" was the first film on homosexuality to be shot after the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The first screening of the film was held at the 60th Berlin Film Festival in 2010. Ghosh also featured in the English-Hindi bilingual "Memories in March", directed by Sanjoy Nag, which was again an effective exploration of a situation wherein a bereaved mother comes to terms with the sexual identity of her late son, played by Ghosh. The film premiered at the Pusan International Film Festival 2010 and released in India in 2011. It went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English.

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.

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."

Movies of Rituparno Ghosh

Movies of Rituparno Ghosh have achieved an enviable level of success which few film-makers in West Bengal had managed with such consistency. Rituparno Ghosh launched his career with "Heerer Angti" and "Unishe April". Bengali cinema had found a new lifeline from the Movies of Rituparna Ghosh. One of the most relevant filmmakers of Indian Cinema, Rituparno Ghosh left an indelible mark on Indian Cinema with his sensitive, poignant stories of the common man.

The filmography of Rituparno Ghosh is as follows:
• Heerer Angti (1992)
• Unishe April (1994)
• Dahan (1997)
• Bariwali (1999)
• Asukh (1999)
• Utsab (2000)
• Titli (2002)
• Shubho Mahurat (2003)
• Chokher Bali (2003)
• Raincoat (2003)
• Antarmahal (2005)
• Dosar (2006)
• The Last Lear (2007)
• Khela (2008)
• Shob Charitro Kalponik (2008)
• Abohoman (2010)
• Noukadubi (2010)
• Arekti Premer Golpo (2011)
• Memories in March (2011)
• Sunglass (2012)
• Chitrangada (2012)
• Jeevan Smriti: Selective Memories (2012)
• Satyanweshi (2013)

Some of the groundbreaking films made by Rituparno Ghosh are mentioned below:

Unishe April: "Unishe April` was Rituparno Ghosh"s second feature film as a director. The film revolved around a dancer mother and her doctor daughter who shared a strained relationship. The story unfolded on 19 April, which happened to be an important date in both their lives and how they rediscover their love and bond for each other on that day. The film featured Aparna Sen, Deboshree Roy and Prasenjit Chatterjee.

Dahan: This Rituparno Ghosh directorial does not have a positive ending but presents the realities well. When some antisocial elements molest newly married "Romita" played by Rituparna Sengupta, nobody dares to stand beside her except a brave school teacher "Jhinuk" played by Indrani Haldar.

Bariwali: Kirron Kher featured in and as "Bariwali" – a tale of a lonely landlady who rents out her sprawling bungalow to a film crew to shoot their film. While the film`s being shot, the landlady finds herself drawn to the charming director who even convinces her to do a bit role in the film.

Asukh: This National Award winning film follows two parallel narratives. The present portrays "Rohini" played by Debashree Roy, a renowned actress who is an emotionally vulnerable and addicted to sleeping pills. She is trying to cope with her mother"s illness but ends up forming a subtle schism with her father.

Utsob: Multi starrer "Utsob" was a family drama. Set in the backdrop of Durga Puja, the story was about a Bengali family, different members of which gather in their native house to celebrate the festival and highlights the troubles and complexes of each member of the family.

Titli: Aparna Sen and daughter Konkona Sen Sharma acted in poignant film called "Titli" which was based on mother-daughter relationship. The film also featured Mithun Chakraborty in a key role.

Shubho Mahurat: "Shubho Mahurat" is a suspense story that stars Sharmila Tagore, Nandita Das, Raakhee Gulzar and Sumanta Mukherjee. The movie features the death of a drug-addled actress on the occasion of the "Shubho Mahurat", which is the auspicious beginning of the shooting of a film.

Chokher Bali: A screen adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore"s book by the same name, "Chokher Bali" was a story of unrequited love, of adultery and of trust and loyalty. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Raima Sen and Prasenjit Chatterjee played as the main characters in the film.

Raincoat: Starring Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai, Ghosh"s first Hindi film `Raincoat` was a story of two lovers, separated by destiny, who meet again one day. While they reminiscence about old days, they also hide the grave poverty that they both are facing in present times.

Dosor: Poetic, sublime "Dosor" was shot entirely in black and white. The film explored the relationship of a couple, the wife who is aware of her husband"s illicit affair and how she has to nurse him back to health after he gets injured in an accident in spite of having a strained relationship with him. The film featured Prasenjit Chatterjee and Konkona Sen Sharma.

The Last Lear: This was Rituparno Ghosh"s only English film "The Last Lear". It featured Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Preity Zinta and Shefali Shah. The film was based on actor Utpal Dutt"s semi-autobiographical play "Aajker Shahjahan" which Ghosh adapted for the film.

Shob Charitra Kalponik: Bipasha Basu"s debut in Bengali film, "Shob Charitra Kalponik" had her playing a wife to a maverick poet played by Prasenjit Chatterjee. The film narrates the story of "Radhika" and how she rediscovers her husband and his work only after his untimely death.

Abohoman: The film narrated the story of a renowned director who falls in love with young actress who is of his son"s age and how he mentors her to be a fine actress. The film featured Dipankar De, Mamata Shankar, Ananya Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta.