Rituporno's films were not only a protest rather a resistance
MAB Siddique
As the news of Rituparno Ghosh’s demise spread through the media and social-media websites, a grief engulfed thousands of his fans, filmmakers, critiques and film-loving people across the India and Bangladesh.
Facebook, twitter and other social media experience a wave of shock as the users started changing their profile pictures and updating their status notes pouring love and respect upon the eminent filmmaker.
“To me, he [Rituparno] was original...When others try to incorporate commercial things to their films, he kept things organic and authentic. That's what helped his films to stand high and separate, and brought back the powerful middle class back to the theaters. His loss is immense not only for the Bengali cinema but also for the cinema as a whole,” Khijir Hayat Khan, a filmmaker living in Vancouver, Canada, commented to Dhaka Tribune on Thursday.
“What Rituparno meant in his films was the depth of relations, some relations which may not be accepted by the society always but have their own, different and unique contexts. His film is not only a protest to some taboo, rather a resistance on a humane ground." commented actress Rokeya Prachi who has a branch of memories with the reputed filmmaker since she met him several times in different film festivals.
“Through his films, Rituparno actually designed a unique lifestyle encouraging thousands to follow it,” Prachi also a popular actress in Bangla cinema added.
In his films, Rituparno emphasized particularly on the diverse forms of relationship; also brought the complexities, ups and downs in human life in an open and direct manner.
Fahmidul Haque, a film critic also teacher of Dhaka University’s Mass Communication and Journalism, said Rituparno was the last filmmaker who advanced a trend alone for a decade that was established by Satyajit, Mrinal, and then carried out by Buddhadev, Goutam and Aparna.
“He [Rituparno] was different. He could make the art films commercially successful,” Fahmidul evaluated.
"He [Rituparno] died at 49. And you see he made around 20 films in his career which indicates he, on an average, made one film in a year. In some years he made more than one films, of which, at least 12 bagged awards. It was none other than Rituparno who first proved that art films can attract more viewers than commercial films,” Fahmidul continued.
Fahmidul thinks Rituparno dealt with issues related to sexuality and identity which is unusual in the films made in this part of the globe, though for this he, in some cases, faced bitter social reactions, Rituparno introduced quite a distinct and a new set of issues in his films, so the films by him were so diverse.
Culture and literature theorist Rafique Ullah Khan, a professor of Dhaka university said, “Rituparno brought changes into the method of bringing life into films. His films are distinct in nature and time-oriented. His films convey a sense of different poetics in context of this electroning age which marks a paradigm shift.”
Ashraf Siddiquee Bitu, former president of Dhaka University Film Society, said, "I have watched all most all the movies of him [Rituparno].”
“Satyajit Roy, he [Rituparno] gave Bengali films yet another lift. We will always miss his creations,” commented Bitu who organised a Rituporno Ghosh retrospective at Dhaka University back in 2004. “Rituparno made quite a good number of films within a short span of time which had enormous artistic value. Each of his film represents a unique style in making.” Bitu observed.
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