Beautiful Thread 
Happy Pride Month 
On this occasion would like to mention,
RITUPARNO GHOSH 
Rituparno Ghosh was one of the most vocal and popular queer personalities in the Indian film industry. The veteran Bengali filmmaker depicted human behaviors, complexities, emotions, and social dogmas centered on sexuality in urban educated middle-class Bengali society throughout his film journey. As a queer personality and social icon, Rituparno's perspective on the complexities of women, men, and sexual minorities in our society is uniquely exceptional in the Indian cinema. Rituparno Ghosh was not only a filmmaker but also a lyricist, actor, and writer. His sense of aesthetics is still marked as a reference for the cosmopolitan Kolkata. All his films are deeply gender sensitive and reflect on the complexities associated with gender in our urban trajectory. He was the first Bengali director to risk stardom through including the philosophies of his own sexual identity into his work, despite popular criticism.
Rituparno being a transgender had a massive influence of his personal life on his films. He was very open about his sexuality. In the film âMemories in Marchâ he portrays the role of a gay art director whose lover dies in an accident and the mother (of the lover) refuses to accept her sonâs sexual identity. He beautifully reflects the common perception of Bengali parents regarding their childrenâs sexual preference. His films humanized queer life in a nation which had long reinforced religious and cultural taboo around homosexuality. He popularized the debates and discussions regarding homosexuality and acted as the voice of the queer community.
Rituparno arrived in the media and advertising scene of Kolkata during the 80âs first as a copywriter, then as a documentary filmmaker. Following his first film âHirer Angtiâ, he published his second film, Unishe April in 1994 which depicted the connection between an award-winning dancer and her emotionally abandoned daughter, who aspires to be a doctor. This film highlighted the complexities of a career-driven mother's relationship with her daughter. He adapted âChokher Baliâ from the literary works of Rabindranath Tagore where he highlights the sexual desires of widows in our society. This was again a very challenging film considering our social dogmas. He comes up with another film named âRaincoatâ where he portrays the nature of a traditional urban young Bengali woman in her household and domestic life. His films depicted the urban complexities with a continuous exploration for gender in parallel to his own exploration towards his sexuality. The level of intensity at which he used to portray his characters was something that the Indian cinema never saw before.
In the autobiographical book, "First Person" he openly talked about his personal experiences as a queer personality, the challenges in a male dominated film industry and the existing narrative in films from a male lens. He writes "My point is why shouldn't I celebrate my sexuality?" He asked through his writings if a woman could fully express herself as a woman and still be considered a âgoodâ mother. He says in an interview "There is much more to such relationships. Same-sex relationships, too, are extremely soulful, emotional and have the same pathos that any heterosexual relationship has". One of Rituparno's most significant efforts was to reintroduce urban, middle-class viewers to the cinema. And, although being uncomfortable, his film topics caught the eye of the educated middle class.
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
