Rituparno Ghosh death anniversary: Directing pan-Indian films with universal storytelling
"Mathura Nagarpati Kahe Tum Gokul Jaao" Exactly a decade back, cinephiles across India hummed this line from Raincoat when the maverick Rituparno Ghosh passed away on May 30, 2013. It has been 10 years since then and the void still remains the same. On his 10th death anniversary, we look back on how he made cinema pan-India even before the term existed.
Ghosh's career trajectory in a nutshell
As a cultural icon, Ghosh changed the definition of mainstream cinema. Much like his predecessor Satyajit Ray, Ghosh believed in exploring the grey spot of human characters. From writing strong female characters to portraying LGBTQ+ characters, he did it all! In an era when pan-India films are taking over, Ghosh devised this way back in 2000 when he cast Kirron Kher in Bariwali.
'Bariwali' (2000)
Being an economics graduate, Ghosh understood the importance of films being commercially viable. The adept director cast Kher in this Anupam Kher-bankrolled film. It revolved around the life of a lonely, sad middle-aged woman named Banalata. Kher delivered one of her career-best performances which bagged her the National Award for Best Actress. This was the beginning of Ghosh's pan-India projects.
'Shubho Mahurat' (2003)
One of Ghosh's biggest strengths was adapting stories to the Indian middle-class setup. This mystery thriller was an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple detective novel The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. Ghosh's ensemble cast included Raakhee and Sharmila Tagore, the true-blue pan-Indian stars of their era. The film was gripping and Ghosh did a genre outside his comfort zone.
'Chokher Bali' (2003)
Way before RRR got a top female Bollywood actor for a predominantly regional film, it was Ghosh who roped in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for his ambitious project Chokher Bali based on Rabindranath Tagore's novel of the same name. Rai Bachchan was cast opposite Prosenjit Chatterjee and this film went on rake in huge at the national box office and received rave reviews.
'Raincoat' (2004)
After being established as a new-gen great, Ghosh did his first Bollywood film starring Rai Bachchan and Ajay Devgn. It was based on O Henry's The Gift of the Magi. The film explored Devgn in a new light and the actor himself tapped into the unexplored facets of his acting range. The cast included Annu Kapoor, Mouli Ganguly, and Surekha Sikri.
'The Last Lear' (2007)
Ghosh reinvented commercial actors in his cinema. Be it giving a new tangent to Chatterjee's career in Tollywood or imagining the megastar Amitabh Bachchan in a new avatar, also in the second innings of his career, in The Last Lear. This English drama is among Ghosh's best works. The cast included Bachchan, Chatterjee, Arjun Rampal, Preity Zinta, Divya Dutta, Shefali Shah, and Jisshu Sengupta.
Why is his void still felt among Indian cinephiles?
The director did many more notable films in his career that explored various topics which had a connection with the viewers. The reason why his void is still felt among most Indians is his choice of storytelling. It was purely from the lens of a middle-class Indian. On his 10th death anniversary, we at NewsBytes have curated a list of must-watch Ghosh films.
Curated list of Ghosh's works
This list is curated from his career spanning almost two decades. Unishe April (1994), Dahan (1997), Bariwali (2000), Utsab (2000), Chokher Bali (2003), Raincoat (2004), Dosar (2006), The Last Lear (2007), Shob Charitro Kalponik (2008), Abohomaan (2010), Chitrangada (2012).
