ABSTRACT
Commissioned by the editor of an online film journal to interview Rituparno Ghosh, I met the director on 13 July 2012. By that time, the theatrical trailer of Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish had already wisped up excitement, controversy, speculation, and apprehension among the city’s Bengali middle class audience. I had known Ghosh for the past two years, and had often talked on the phone and exchanged texts, but had never met. Preoccupied with the post-production of Chitrangada, Ghosh gave me the impression that he could barely spare half an hour for an interview, and after, changing three dates, he finally agreed to meet me on July 13 at 10 am. I reached his place, Tasher Ghar (The House of Cards), armed with some 25 questions. But, surprisingly, ‘Let’s get down to business’ mode of the interview soon transpired into an engaging rendezvous which went on for five hours at a stretch. I had initially made him hold a voice recorder while I had opened a writing pad to scribble down his responses; but both the devices were soon abandoned. Ghosh showed no sign of being in a hurry, got into a candid adda mood and went on talking as if he knew me forever.
