Rituparno Ghosh, celebrated film director, died prematurely at 49. His focus was on Bengali films but he had a pan- India stature as he did two outstanding Hindi films like “Raincoat” and “Naukadubi”. He also hit the Indian panorama winning the National Award for what was probably his most outstanding film “Abohoman”. He was a director with a difference as he did not belong to the glitzy set with a plush lifestyle. In fact, he had an addiction only to tea as he was seen sipping a cup of tea on TV while chatting with his admirers. Yet his call came at a relatively early age and he would never get round to making a masterpiece like “Draupadi” featuring Bipasha Basu.
When Bengali cinema had hit rock bottom with Uttam Kumar gone, Soumitra Chattergee and Deepankar Dey in semi- retirement along with great actresses like Supriya Chaudhury, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sabitri Chatterjee (the charismatic Suchitra Sen shunning the public eye for decades), Ghosh had to revive Tollywood with a whiff of culture. He of course focused on Rabindranath- “Chhokher Bali” and “Naukadubi” were his homage to Tagore. He had however no aversion to Bollywood actresses- Sharmila Tagore, Rakhee, Aishwarya Ray, Ajay Devgan and Bipasha Basu. But he wanted to isolate his films from average Hindi kitsch. His greatest film was a tribute to actor- playwright Girish Ghosh and his favourite actress, Nati Binodini in “Abohaman” which was a singularly inspiring period piece. It is a pity that the revival of Bengali films under his baton has come to a sudden end as he breathed his last. The human heart is a very fragile organ.
