Rituparno Ghosh Cinema, gender and art [Hardcover]

An iconic filmmaker and inheritor of the legendary Satyajit Rays 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.

Introduction. Part I 1. Invoking Love, Death and an Elsewhere: Searching the auteur in Rituparno Ghoshs AbohomanSangeeta Datta2.Rituparno Ghosh and the Pursuit of Freedom Wimal Dissanayake3.Locating Rituparno Ghosh in Tollywood Anugyan Nag4.Just Like a Film Star! The Style of Being Rituparno Ghosh Sumit Dey5.The Endangered City in Rituparno Ghoshs Early Cinema of Confinement Sayandeb Chowdhury6. Borrowing, Becoming, and the Question of the Self in Shob Choritro KalponikSrimati Mukherjee 7.En-gendering the detective: Of love, longing and feminine follies Madhuja Mukherjee8.Closeted Desires and Open Secrets: Raincoat and NoukadubiRichard Allen9.Beyond the Binary: (Trans)gender Narratives and Class Distinction in Rituparno Ghoshs later films Aniruddha Dutta