“Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes,” this famous quote by Robert Altman is an inspiration for many filmmakers. However, the age 49 is a blooming age for a filmmaker. James Cameron made Titanic when he was 43 and Satyajit Ray filmed “Pratidwandi” when he was 49. The age 49, however, isn’t fortunate for all filmmakers, especially for showman Rituparno Ghosh.
The year 1990 witnessed the arrival of a budding young filmmaker in the international Bengali film industry with the film “Hirer Angti.” Rituparno Ghosh rose to fame with his second film “Unishe April” in the year 1995. Mr. Ghosh’s ability of understanding the psychology of women helped him portray beautiful characters like Banalata and Malati in “Bariwali”, the courageous Srobona and the inferior Romita in “Dahan”, the witty Ranga Pishima and her curious niece Mallika in “ Subho Maharat “ or the mother daughter chemistry of Sarojini and Aditi in “Unishe April” and of Urmila and Titli in “ Titli”.
Famous Indian celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Jaya Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Bipasha Basu, Preity Zinta, Nandita Das, Manisha Koirala and many others have worked under his direction and have gained critical acclaim for their performances. Several heroes and heroines like Prosenjit Chatterji, Rituparna Sengupta, Indrani Halder have later turned into actors and actresses after working in his films. His films have boosted the carriers of actors Jishu Sengupta, Tota Roy Chowdhury, and Ananya Chatterji.
Rituparno also worked as an actor with other filmmakers. Koushik Ganguly’s “Ar ekti premer golpo “ and Sanjay Nag’s “ Memories in March “ and his film “Chitrangada” saw him as an actor as well.
With several national and international film awards and with a mix of box-office success and massive critical acclaim, Ghosh’s life and career ended permanently on 30th May 2013 when he passed away in his sleep and never woke up. Filmmaker, actor, author, and lyricist Mr. Rituparno Ghosh will always rule our hearts and will be immortal through his work.