Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Exactly a decade ago,Rituparno Ghosh took us to the world of Banalata in his underrated gem,Bariwali. A middle-aged woman leading a solitary life in a sprawling mansion at the outskirts of Kolkata,Banalata is destined to court tragedy. Her reflexes are that of a wounded animal,her demeanor matronly. She is constantly at loggerheads with her youthful and sexually active domestic help (played by Sudipta Chakraborty). She chastises her with a passivity which is almost girlish. When an attractive young,filmmaker invades her world (in order to shoot a film in her house) Banalatas suppressed desires compel her to be all that she couldnt be the fretting mother,the nagging wife. Ghosh directed his lead actor,Kiron Kher,with such consummate understanding that each thought and each impulse shines through her weathered skin.
Bariwali fetched Kher a National Award and Ghosh a nod of acknowledgement by the supposed be-all-and-end-all of Indian film industry,Bollywood. His earlier efforts,Dahan (1997) and Unishe April (1994),too had won awards galore. The Bengali middle-class whooped in delight. Here is a worthy successor to Rays legacy of marrying sensible cinema with entertainment, they said. Films like Asukh (1999) and Utsab (2000) cemented his position as the alternative face of Bengali Cinema. But then,Ghosh decided to pursue a longstanding dreamadapt Tagores Chokher Bali. In Bariwali too he had touched the complex novel through a film-within-a-film format (the film crew uses Banalatas mansion to shoot Chokher Bali) because he thought that he will never get to make the period drama. But his rising fortunes and his growing reputation ensured a willing producer and an eclectic cast. Aishwarya Rai flew in to be Ghoshs Binodini,and diehard Ghosh fans tsked-tsked. In 2003,when the film released,Bengal rushed to newly-refurbished halls (the north Kolkata hall,Mitra,was renovated for the occasion) to watch a lavishly-mounted,lush and moody adaptation of Tagores novel. It didnt have the searing sharpness of Dahan,nor was it a chiaroscuro of emotions like Bariwali,but what Ghosh delivered was a beautifully filigreed love letter to period dramas,complete with gilded frames and carved inscriptions.
The moody chamber-drama Raincoat (starring Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan) was Ghoshs foray into Hindi filmdom. The film ran to empty halls across even as its haunting songs (music by Debjyoti Mishra,lyrics by Ghosh) gained cult status among classical music aficionados.
But its probably Antarmahal that can be called Ghoshs most controversial film. A period drama about the exploitative nature of the zamindari system,it focused its gaze at the inner chambers (antarmahal) of a zamindars household. Ghosh received much flak for the uninhibited portrayal of sexuality in the film and also for depicting the idol of goddess Durga in an offensive manner. But what was lost in this wave of criticism was an honest,heartfelt assessment of fluctuating dynamics of human relationships.
His next film,Dosar which was rumoured to be a loose adaptation of Kieslowskis Blue,didnt fare much better. Though its stark cinematography was appreciated it was accused of being overtly sexual.
His much-delayed Amitabh Bachchan starrer,The Last Lear (2007)was a complex interplay of present moments and flashbacks,which proceeded in a languorous pace like quirky old storyteller prone to bouts of reverie. But it didnt boast of a taut narrative (Shubho Mahurat) or layered performances (Bariwali). His last release Khela,can also be called his weakest film. The films pacing is athletic,though the pulse of the narrative is gradually slowed. By the climax,the movie segues into a rumination on loss and the perils of being too playful.
A film about a womans attempt to understand his dead husband through his poetry,Sab Charitro Kalponik,which releases this week is supposed to be vintage Ghosh. Bipasha Basus text-bookishly perfect Bengali look notwithstanding,we are hopeful.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
