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Journalism of Courage
Acclaimed filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh was cremated at Siriti burning ghat late on Thursday night in the presence of a host of film personalities,politicians and people from all walks of life. A team of Kolkata Police accorded gun salute to him.
Rituparnos body was first taken to Nandan cultural complex for public veiwing,from where it was taken to Technicians Studio at Tollygunge.
Rituparno passed away this morning at his residence,Tasher Ghar,at Indrani Park. He was 49. He was suffering from pancreatitis and is believed to have died in his sleep from a cardiac arrest.
The news of his premature death was received with a sense of disbelief by Kolkatans as well as his large number of admirers across the country. Film stars,politicians and common people began to throng his residence as soon as the news broke out.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,who was among the first to reach Ghoshs residence,said: Bengal has lost a golden artiste. It is an irreparable loss.
It was only last week that Ghosh had received Bangabibhushan,the states highest civilian award,from Mamata at Science City Auditorium. Besides several international awards,the filmmaker bagged 12 National Awards.
He was not only a stalwart in modern cinema but he also played a major role in the gay movement, eminent film maker Gautam Ghosh told The Indian Express.
I am shocked. He was so junior to me. I cant believe this has happened, actor Soumitra Chatterjee said.
Ghosh had last week completed shooting his last film,Satyaneshi,a crime thriller featuring the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi and based on a novel by Sharadindu Bandopadhyay
Ghosh is credited to have successfully revived the golden days of Bengali narrative cinema,bringing the audience back to the cinema halls with his artistic,serious and often thought-provoking productions. His films traversed the myriad ways of not only the upper middle class society but also touched on complex issues same-sex relationships.
In one of his editorial columns in a Bengali vernacular daily,Ghosh in recent times had talked about his days when he would be confined at home while under medical treatment and how he felt about all things temporal and spiritual.
Ghosh made his foray into the world of films with childrens film Hirer Angti in 1994. He won the first of his 12 National Awards for his film Unishe April,starring Aparna Sen and Debashree Roy,in the same year.
Ghosh made about 20 films,including one in English,The Last Lear,and two in Hindi,including Raincoat and unreleased Sunglass. He bagged as many as 12 National Awards for his films.
He successfully roped in several Bollywood actors in his films,including Amitabh Bachchan,Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal,and Aishwarya Rai in Chokher Bali,Kirron Kher for Bariwali,Rakhee in Shubho Muharat,Abhishek Bachhan,Soha Ali Khan and Jackie Sroff in Antarmahal.
The much-acclaimed film maker himself acted in four films,one Oriya,Katha Dentili Ma Ku,one English,Memories in March,and two Bengali films,Arekti Premer Golpo and the last released Chitrangada.
Known for glorifying women,he was one director who had the courage to depict same-sex relationships in his films.
Born in Kolkata in 1963,Ghosh went to South Point School and later studied Economics at Jadavpur University. His father,Sunil Ghosh,was a documentary film maker and painter,and Ghosh is believed to have learnt the first lessons of film making from his father.
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