A pall of gloom enveloped the world of arts here, particularly the film industry, after the untimely death of Rituparno Ghosh this morning. He was 49.
The doyen of Bengali films, Soumitra Chatterjee, said the news came as a great shock to him.
“He was a great genius and the void left after his death cannot be easily filled,” the actor said.
Raima Sen, grand daughter of legendary Suchitra Sen, said she was indebted to “Rituda” to give the turning point in her career.
“Rituda gave me a break with the film ’Chokher Bali’. He was more than a director to me; he was almost a part of our family. He was an unmeasurable genius,” she said.
Fellow national award-winning director Kaushik Ganguly said he was left shattered by the news.
Similar was the reaction of theatre personality Kaushik Sen who said, “He was supposed to come to watch my next production. It was a great loss.”
State Industry Minister Partho Chattopadhyay said Ghosh was a great genius and the gap left after his death would not be easy to fill up.
A loss to creativity: Manish Tewari
The death of renowned film director Rituparno Ghosh is a loss not only to the film industry, but also to creativity, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said Thursday.
“It is tragic and his demise is not only a loss to the film industry but also to creativity,” Mr. Tewari told reporters.
Mr. Tiwari said Rituparno Ghosh had the ability to touch frontiers of creativity and the courage to think out of the box.
“Right now, our hearts and minds should be with his family. We offer condolences to them,” he said.
Our Kolkata Correspondent adds:
An untimely death: Mamata
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was among the first to arrive at the residence of Rituparno Ghosh who passed on Thursday morning
She said that the life of a golden artist of a golden era came to an untimely end.
Ms. Banerjee said that the noted film makers body would be kept at the state's Nandan Film Complex for people to pay their last respects. It would thereafter be taken to the Tollygunj Technicians Studio before being cremated at south west Kolkata where his parents were also cremated one after the other within a short span, a few years ago.
" It is a sad sad day for us" , Ms. Banerjee said.
