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Rituparno Ghosh's sensibility, aesthetic sense made him special
Undoubtedly, Rituparno Ghosh was a courageous filmmaker who tackled bold themes. He even dealt with his own sexuality in a film. Deepti Naval tells Anindita Acharya.Man who mastered the female psyche | Tearful farewell to Rituparno Ghosh
The news came as a rude shock. Rituparno is a special director. He represented Indian cinema in various international platforms. His death is a loss for the film industry and especially Indian cinema.
I’m a big admirer of his films and his process of filmmaking. I love his films, especially Choker Bali and Raincoat. I love his sensibility and aesthetic sense.
He was like a painter who painted with his thoughts. He had a fantastic eye for detail. He understood the psychology of women, which he beautifully portrayed in his films.
Undoubtedly, Rituparno was a courageous filmmaker who tackled bold themes. He even dealt with his own sexuality in a film. He had sent me a script he had written.
Sanjoy Nag who directed Memories In March, was supposed to direct it in Hindi. Farooq Sheikh and I were supposed to star in it. The script of the film is still on my laptop.
One of my most recent films, Memories In March (2010), was with Rituparno. He was not the director of the film, but he had written the script. It was beautiful. He was also acting alongside me in the film.
It didn’t feel like it was only his second film as an actor. He was good. Before we began working on Memories In March, he had shown me Ar Ekti Premer Galpo, on DVD. It was his debut film as an actor and I liked the subject matter of the film.
I told Rituparno — “I don’t want you as my co-actor. I would like you to direct me in a film some day.”
I remember he couldn’t come to the set on the first day of shooting of Memories In March. I generally prefer to sit with the writer on the set and get a better understanding of the film. But that day I was told he was unwell and in fact, he didn’t come for two to three days. So when he was not there on the set, I felt jittery.
In 2010 I had come down to Kolkata to attend the premiere of Memories In March. Eventually, the film went onto win the National Award for best feature film in English. I also managed to bag a few awards abroad for my performance in the film.
I tried to call up Rituparno several times, but couldn’t reach him on the phone. I know he was suffering, but didn’t know it would turn fatal.
Deepti Naval, a Bollywood actor, worked with Rituparno Ghosh in Memories In March
(As told to Anindita Acharya)
