Best of Rituparno Ghosh: 23 movies of the filmmaker which prove his genius

Rituparno Ghosh is hailed as the young avant-garde director of Bengali cinema who ushered in the Renaissance movement of current-day filmmakers like Kaushik Ganguly and Srijit Mukherjee into the likes of the maestros like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. His movies are often credited for earning global recognition for Bengali cinema once again. Creating a niche within a multiplex audience isn’t an easy task, however, Ghosh discovered a way to make viewers rekindle their love for Bengali culture, literature, and the arts.

May 30, 2021, marked the eighth death anniversary of artistic genius. Rituparno was one of the few filmmakers who were able to successfully amalgamate the expression of art cinema with the commercial success of mainstream films. Not a lot of individuals have the metal to compete with the likes of Ray and Mrinal Sen and not fall short. An exception to this was certainly Rituparno Ghosh. From camera techniques to the storylines, Ghosh often borrowed inspiration from these legends; whether it was Mrinal Sen’s Khandar that inspired Bariwali by Ghosh or Andarmahal finding a calling in Ray’s Debi or Sob Choritro Kalponik in the evergreen Charulata.

With a career spanning over two decades, whether it was Ghosh’s first film Hirer Angti or his last, Chitrangada, the filmmaker never lost touch with the ever-evolving medium of cinema. The craft depicted in the works of Ghosh is proof of the way he perceived society - the lens clearly reflecting his vision.

Starting as a copywriter in Kolkata with Response India, Ghosh was known for succinct one-liners and slogans for ad campaigns during the ’80s. Things changed when in 1990, Ghosh was commissioned to make a documentary on Vande Mataram for Doordarshan. Thus began the journey of a thousand lives; one that was not bogged down by the real world.

Ghosh is often credited to have been the reason behind the revival of Tagore; with his depiction of homes, sarees, jewelry, or celebrations during Durga Puja. The film Raincoat saw poetry written in Brajabuli, the only other time the language was explored was when Tagore wrote Bhanusingher Padabali.

Ghosh is also hailed as a pioneer for the queer community as India’s first openly queer filmmaker. Breaking barriers of heteronormativity in films as well as in personal life, Ghosh won over 12 National Awards and numerous international accolades throughout his career. Here is a look at some of the finest works of the late filmmaker from his debut film to his last directorial, some of which are available to stream across OTT platforms:

1. Hirer Angti

Ghosh made his directorial debut in the feature film Hirer Angti which was released in 1992. A family-friendly film based on a novel written by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay about inheritance and conjuring tricks, the film starred Moon Moon Sen, Basanta Choudhury, and others. Gandharva Kumar's arrival disrupts the festive mood of Durga Puja at Ratanlal Babu's house. Gandharva captivates Ratanlal's grandchildren, Habul and Tinni, with his magical tricks. He then reveals a long-forgotten secret wherein he claims to be an heir to Ratanlal's ancestral property.

2. Unishe April (Jio Cinema)

Ghosh’s second film, Unishe April, starring Aparna Sen, Debashree Roy, Prosenjit Chatterjee, and Dipankar Dey, with a soundtrack composed by Jyotishka Dasgupta, was released in 1994. The film went on to win two National Film Awards in 1995, including Best Feature Film. It portrayed the relationship of an award-winning dancer and her emotionally abandoned daughter, who aspires to be a doctor. This film received both critical acclaim and commercial success.

3. Dahan (Airtelxstream)

The film inspired by true events and based on novelist Suchitra Bhattacharya’s novel of the same, released in 1997. It won Ghosh the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. Dahan was based on the true story of a woman who was molested on a street in Kolkata and of another woman, a witness who came forward to get legal action taken against the perpetrators but became frustrated by the callousness of society, including the victim's family.

4. Bariwali

Bariwali, released in 2000, stars Kirron Kher, Rupa Ganguly, and Chiranjeet Chakraborty in titular roles. Kirron Kher portrayed a lonely and withdrawn widow who rents out her large house for film production and fantasizes about the charming married director, who flirts with her but, predictably, disappoints her. Kher won a National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.

5. Asukh (Airtelxstream)

In the 1999 film Asukh, Ghosh dealt with the relationship between a young film star and her father who must depend unwillingly on his daughter's earnings. The film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. The film also won the FIPRESCI Prize, a special mention, at the Bombay International Film Festival in 1999.

6. Utsab (Hoichoi)

Ghosh won the National Award for Best Direction for Utsab, released in 2000. This is a family drama that is set against the backdrop of Durga Puja, West Bengal's biggest "Utshob" (Festival). The story is about a Bengali family, members of which have gathered in their native house on the occasion of Durga puja. Shishir, (Deepankar De) a relative who is also a big real estate agent, is interested in buying the house. Most of the family members want to sell the house as it doesn’t interest them and they have their own individual problems to solve with the money.

7. Titli Disney (Disney+Hotstar)

Titli is a 2002 Indian Bengali-language film by Rituparno Ghosh, starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Aparna Sen and Mithun Chakraborty. The film tells the story of a girl, played by Konkona who captures the sensitivity of a teenager perfectly. The film also depicts the portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship and quiet understanding within the pair. Titli is a 17-year-old girl (Konkona Sen Sharma), having a crush on Bollywood superstar Rohit Roy (Mithun Chakraborty), who is more than twice her age. Though her bedroom is filled with his posters and memorabilia, Titli's mother Urmila (Aparna Sen) is surprised to learn that she could even marry this man.

8. Shubho Mahurat (Hoichoi)

The 2003 film Shubho Mahurat, a whodunit based on Agatha Christie's book, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, starred veteran actors Rakhee and Sharmila Tagore, alongside Nandita Das, in major roles. The phrase "Shubho Mahurat" is associated with the beginning of shooting for a feature film. This Miss Marple-esque film begins with a grand reception. An NRI producer, Padmini Chowdhury (Sharmila Tagore), has come to India to invest in a film. Her second husband Sambit Roy (Sumanta Mukherjee), an out-of-work director, is assigned the job of direction.

9. Chokher bali (Disney+Hotstar)

The film is adapted from a novel of the same name by Rabindranath Tagore. This was Ghosh’s first adaptation of a story by Tagore. After the death of her husband, Binodini (Aishwarya Rai) a young widow is forced to live in Calcutta with Rajlakshmi (Lily Chakravarty) and her son, Mahendra (Prosenjit Chatterjee), who had rejected a former marriage proposal with her. Mahendra now gets attracted to Binodini even though he is already married to Ashalata (Raima Sen).

10. Raincoat (Hoichoi)

In 2004, Ghosh's first Hindi film, Raincoat, an adaptation of the short story, The Gift of the Magi (1906), by O. Henry was released. In this film, he worked with Aishwarya Rai again. The shooting of the film was completed in a mere 17 days. The movie went on to receive the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was later adapted in English by Mithaq Kazimi.

11. Antarmahal

Antarmahal is a 2005 Indian Bengali film, directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film is based on a short story by the name of Pratima, written by the renowned Bengali author Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. It stars Roopa Ganguly, Soha Ali Khan, and Jackie Shroff in lead roles, and Abhishek Bachchan, Sumanta Mukherjee, and Biswajit Chakraborty in supporting roles. Raima Sen also stars in a cameo role. The film was set in British India and revolved around a land-owning or zamindar family.

12. Dosor (Prime)

Kaushik (Prosenjit Chatterjee) is a corporate official, who on his return from a rendezvous outside the city with his girlfriend Meeta (Chandrayee Ghosh), meets with an accident that injures him brutally and kills her. When his wife Kaberi (Konkona Sen Sharma) discovers her husband’s infidelity, in the beginning, she refuses to take care of her husband and even calls a lawyer to file for divorce but has a change of heart as an insurmountable sense of moral obligation takes over.

13. The Last Lear

The Last Lear is a 2007 Indian drama film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film won the National Award for Best Feature Film in English in 2007. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta, Shefali Shah, and Jisshu Sengupta. Shefali Shah won the Best Supporting Actress National Award for her role in the movie. Basing the script on Utpal Dutt's semi-autobiographical play Aajker Shahjahan, Rituparno Ghosh penned it in 2006. The Last Lear becomes a captivating reflection on the comparative artifices of stagecraft and cinema.

14. Khela (jio cinema)

Khela (2008) is a Bengali film by Rituparno Ghosh. The film is about an idealistic director's (Prosenjit Chatterjee) quest to make a film with a boy who he thinks is just perfect for the role. Khela also marks actress Manisha Koirala's foray into Bengali cinema. Khela is about an idealistic director's (Prosenjit Chatterjee) desire to make a film with a boy who he thinks is just perfect for the role and his wife (Manisha Koirala) who wants a baby of their own however the husband feels that the child will compromise the artiste in him.

15. Shob Charitro Kalponik (Hoichoi)

Sob Charitro Kalponik is a 2009 Bengali film by Rituparno Ghosh starring Bipasha Basu, Prosenjit Chatterjee, and Jisshu Sengupta. It was selected for the 30th Durban International Film Festival and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali 2009. It was screened in the Marché du Film section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Non-resident Bengali Radhika (Bipasha Basu) marries poet Indranil Mitra (Prosenjit Chatterjee) to settle in Kolkata. While the apparently irresponsible and introverted Indranil does one menace after another (like quitting his job after getting an award), Radhika stands like a rock to make the family financially sound.

16. Abohomaan (Prime)

Abohomaan is a 2010 Bengali-language film by Rituparno Ghosh. The film explores the nuances of relationships through a married film director who falls in love with an actress who is the same age as his son. The film stars Deepankar De, Mamata Shankar, Ananya Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Riya Sen and is produced by Mahesh Ramanathan, Reliance Big Pictures. Rituparno Ghosh, Arghyakamal Mitra, Mahesh Ramanathan, and Ananya Chatterjee won National Film Awards in 2010 for Best Director, Best Editor, Best Bengali Film, and Best Actress respectively. The film was screened in the Marché du Film section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

17. Arekti Premer Golpo

The film is about Abhiroop Sen (Rituparno Ghosh), a filmmaker, who is involved with the cinematographer (Indraneil Sengupta) of the film. They visit Kolkata to make a documentary on the life of the actor Chapal Bhaduri, noted for his portrayal of female roles at a time when women did not perform on stage. During the course of the shoot, Abhiroop feels himself in the position of Chapal Bhaduri. The film goes on with a comparison between Abhiroop's intimate relation with Indraneil Sengupta, who is married to Rani (Churni Ganguly), and Chapal Bhaduri's (Rituparno Ghosh) relation with Kumar (Indraneil Sengupta), who is married to Gopa (Churni Ganguly). The film takes the viewers through the present life of Abhiroop Sen and the past life of Chapal Bhaduri with the same actors.

18. Memories in March (Hoichoi)

Delhi-based Arati Mishra (Deepti Naval) believed her worst day was when she divorced her husband, Suresh until she got the news that her son, Siddhartha(Rituparno Ghosh), had been killed in an accident. The film follows the story of a mother coming to terms with her son’s death and actual life.

19. Mumbai Cutting

Mumbai Cutting is a 2008 Indian anthology film comprising eleven short films, telling eleven different stories based on life in Mumbai, directed by a host of eleven directors. The film Urge in the anthology was directed by Rituparno Ghosh.

20. Noukadubi (prime)

Noukadubi is a Bengali film directed by Rituparno Ghosh, released in January 2011. The movie is a period film set in the 1920s, based on a 1906 novel with the same name by Rabindranath Tagore. Although the credits claim that the film is ‘inspired by the Tagore novel because Rituparno Ghosh has taken the skeleton of the original story and woven it with his own inputs – cerebral and emotional.

21. Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish (Hoichoi)

Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish is a 2012 Bengali-language film written and directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film premiered on 25 May 2012 at the New York Indian Film Festival. It narrates the story of a choreographer who is struggling with his gender identity. It is loosely based on Rabindranath Tagore's play Chitra which is Tagore's take on the story of Chitrangada, a character from the Mahabharata..

22. Satyanweshi (Hoichoi)

Satyanweshi is a 2013 Bengali mystery-thriller film directed by Rituparno Ghosh and produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni. This was Ghosh's last full-length film as a director. Indian film director Sujoy Ghosh portrayed the character of Byomkesh Bakshi in this film. Before his death on May 30, 2013, he completed shooting most of the film. The remaining work of the film was done by Ghosh's core team, through Sujoy Ghosh.

23. Sunglass

Sunglass is a 2013 bilingual Indian comedy thriller film written and directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film is a satirical comedy about the seven-year itch between a husband (Tota Roy Chowdhury/Madhavan/) and wife (Konkona Sen Sharma) and how their life turns topsy-turvy with the entry of what seems to be an ordinary pair of antique sunglasses. The film was shot in 2006 but did not have a theatrical release, and later premièred at the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival in 2013. As a tribute to the director, the film was selected to premiere at the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival in 2013 and was subsequently censored and retitled as Taak Jhaank for the Hindi version.