About two days ago, TOI flashed the news that Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh has passed away at the age of 49. I was just stunned in disbelief when I read the news; 49 is no age to die and Rituparno certainly shouldn’t have exited this soon… A master story-teller, that is how I like to remember Rituparno as. His imagination, his vision and his sensitivity is so overwhelming. And he is one the few story tellers who are so true and real. What he showed on screen is what he was in real life. A caring but slightly lonely; caring but confused; His sheer courage in coming out of the male-female boundaries defined by the society and standing by what he felt; speaks volumes of the man.
In Rituparno’s passing away, I felt a deep personal loss. A sense of melancholy creped on me and it is still heaving me down. Much like his portrayed emotions, I didn’t feel tearful or choked or even pathetically sad, just a ball of grief engulfing me.
What drew me to Rituparno were obviously his films and to be precise 3 of his films – The Last Lear, The Memories in March and the Raincoat. I absolutely loved how the characters in each of these movies stood out and how they become so close and familiar to me as a person; in spite of having never met anyone like them before. I could actually relate to all the emotions whether it was Neeru’s helpless ness or Aurnab’s grief of Vandana’s frustrations – Rituparno’s ability to make you are a viewer feel the character’s emotions is the caliber of his success. The stories themselves are so beautiful and so strong; with a compelling need to be told.
The beautiful camera shots, so picturesque and so lyrical, Rituparno had the ability to make mundane objects speak and convey emotions.
My favorite of the 3 movies is Memories in March. Aside from its ace story line and power packed performances; Memories in March, to me, is congruent to Rituparno’s passing away. Much like Sid’s demise in Memories takes away adds in indescribable helpless vacuum in life of the other characters; Rituparno’s death has put in a dent in my life. As an admirer of his work; I feel saddened to know that I won’t be watching any more stories told, and any more visions believed.
There is no easy way for me to express my sadness; except to condole him by enjoying and more than that feeling each of his movies. By understanding that how real the world looked to him and how much he felt in such a short span. His awareness of human sentiments makes the best artist of his times…
In memories he says, “If I go away can I leave a part with you…”; and that is alpha omega of what Ritu means to me….
shwetaspeaks 