ABSTRACT

An iconic filmmaker and inheritor of the legendary Satyajit Ray’s legacy, Rituparno Ghosh was one of the finest auteurs to emerge out of contemporary Bengal. His films, though rooted firmly in middle-class values, desires and aspirations, are highly critical of hetero-patriarchal power structures. From the very outset, Ghosh displayed a strong feminist sensibility which later evolved into radical queer politics.

This volume analyses his films, his craft, his stardom and his contribution to sexual identity politics. In this first scholarly study undertaken on Rituparno Ghosh, the essays discuss the cultural import of his work within the dynamics of a rapidly evolving film industry in Bengal and more largely the cinematic landscape of India. The anthology also contains a conversation section (interviews with the filmmaker and with industry cast and crew) drawing a critical and personal portrait of this remarkable filmmaker.

chapter |26 pages

The World of Rituparno Ghosh

An Introduction

part I|197 pages

Reading Rituparno Ghosh and his Texts

chapter 1|20 pages

Invoking Love, Death and an Elsewhere

Searching the auteur in Rituparno Ghosh's Abohoman

chapter 4|21 pages

‘Just Like a Film Star!' 1

The style of being Rituparno Ghosh

chapter 7|14 pages

En-Gendering the Detective

Of love, longing and feminine follies

chapter 8|17 pages

Closeted Desires and Open Secrets

Raincoat and Noukadubi

chapter 9|20 pages

Beyond the Binary

(Trans)gender narratives and class distinction in Rituparno Ghosh's later films

chapter 10|14 pages

‘Kissed on one Cheek and Slapped on the Other'

Rituparno Ghosh's Chitrangada as an allegory of oppositional readings 1

chapter 11|20 pages

A Room of Hir 1 Own

The queer aesthetics of Rituparno Ghosh

part III|29 pages

Cast and Crew Speak

chapter 14|3 pages

Interviewer's Note

chapter 15|11 pages

Cast

Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bachchan and Aparna Sen

chapter 16|13 pages

Crew

Avik Mukhopadhyay, Arghyakamal Mitra, Indranil Ghosh and Debojyoti Mishra