As the Indian film fraternity and the country at large mourns the death of filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, the Press Club of India, in association with the Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF), organised a tribute for the non-conformist filmmaker in New Delhi. Ghosh, who passed away recently, left behind a void in Indian cinema, and will be remembered for his unconventional subjects and a no-holds-barred treatment.
The tribute comprised an address by film critic Shubhra Gupta along with a screening of the award winning filmmaker’s last film, Chitrangada .
The LIFF which commences in Ladakh next month has chosen to give primacy to gender equality this year. In this regard, over 100 films will be showcased at the three-day festival (July 5-7). Present at the event were the founders of the LIFF, Melwyn Williams and Meghna Dubey, along with senior members of the Press Club.
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“Through his work, Rituparno has given us another reason to celebrate cinema. His most amazing feat lay in the fact that he was instrumental in getting the public back to the theatres,” said Williams. Gupta in her speech retraced Ghosh’s journey in cinema, explaining the complexities that he grappled with.
While she asserted that the artist’s mettle lay in exploring the intricacies in human relationships, he pioneered the art of featuring chambered dramas to bring out the same. In fact, Gupta felt that it was Ghosh’s achievement that the middle class Bengali bhadrolok came back to the movie halls, simultaneously encouraging the entry of a new crop of filmmakers.
“Rituparno’s career carefully traverses his conflicting gender identity. In his last few films, it seemed that he was reaching answers. Having chartered unsafe territory unapologetically, his distinct quality remains that his characters never mouthed any dialogues. Rituparno’s characters spoke to each other,” she concluded.
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