Celebrating 10 years in Tollywood: Ritwick’s finest performances over the years

Despite not being the conventionally glamorous or commercially on high demand actor; Ritwick Chakraborty’s acting brilliance, his unique choice of films and individuality has helped him create a completely different niche for him. Movie after movie, role after role, he has displayed time and again his acting prowess. Be it the finesse or the natural easement into his characters, Ritwick’s approach is both refreshing and emotionally authentic. On completing 10 years in Tollywood, we made a list of Bengali films of Ritwick Chakraborty you shouldn’t miss.

Kaushik Ganguly’s national-award winning film never shy away from the emotionally wrenching core, but also shows a refreshing, wry sense of humour which comes in with a poignant touch. While Riddhi Sen delivers a career-defining performance (one that earned him the Best Actor award at the 2018 National Film Awards), Ritwick exceptionally matches the young actor note for note. There are only a few actors in Bengali cinema who can bring such a delicate poignancy to dialogue as simple as ‘Is it really possible – this idea of a man falling in love with a man?’

Director Kaushik Ganguly introduced an innovative storyline which has never been thought before. The narrative revolves around the life of a foley artist (Ritwick Chakraborty) who is lost in the world of virtual sounds and gets disconnected from the real world. A unique concept accompanied by superb acting from Ritwick Chakraborty makes this movie a must watch. Raima Sen, as the loving and caring wife, who can go to any extent to bring her husband back into normal life, is also profound.

While Prosenjit Chatterjee playing the elder son Indrajit is just right as the star who is conscious of his image even in the midst of the most personal tragedies, Ritwick playing Partha, the younger brother, is a treat to watch in every frame, walking away with the acting honours. Partha is a distinguished actor in his own right – perhaps even a better one, as Indrajit himself admits – though limited to local plays, and it gives the relationship between the two brothers an edge that makes for fascinating viewing.

Ritwick as the deliciously twisted Adi Bose is again a treat to watch. Ritwick can no doubt do Adi Bose in his sleep – it’s actually right up his alley – and he doesn’t disappoint. Not to forget a series of quirky and often disarmingly engaging sequences in stark contrast to the overall grimness of the narrative: Adi Bose humming ‘Ajeeb dastan hai yeh’ or asking Vinci da for a cup of tea with a ‘twist of ginger’ after a particularly gruesome killing, is quite fascinating.

‘Maacher Jhol’ travels beyond food to highlight the complex nature of modern relationships. It focuses on ambitions which often faces wrath from old school thoughts and traditions. Ritwick essays his role of a Paris-based chef with consummate ease, shifting gear from being a popular chef, to a responsible child of his mother and lastly a puzzled son while facing his father. What stands out in this film is the lack of unnecessary melodrama, a compact screenplay and editing, straightforward dialogues and a much needed essence of nostalgia.

In Pratim Das Gupta’s ‘Ahare Mon’, the versatile actor plays a flashy thief opposite Parno Mittra. With interesting names like Michael Tendulkar (Ritwick) and Suzi Q (Parno), the pair has touched the right chord winning hearts. Their relationship is as quirky as their names. The old-school-climbing-up-the-wall pro Michael and the chilled-out new-age Suzie instantly steals your heart. Speaking about his character in the film, Ritwick recently said he is not like Michael Tendulkar in real life but in ‘Ahare Mon’ he had to do so many things that one can’t do in real life.

In Ek Phali Rodh, Atanu Ghosh unfolds the puzzled story of Somshankar Roy, a social scientist (Dhritiman Chatterjee) who is obsessed with experimentation of the ‘Bystander Effect.’ It’s the human nature of walking away when one witnesses a street crisis. He appoints two young volunteers Swagato (Ritwick Chakraborty) and Anwesha (Aparajita Ghosh Chakraborty) to stage fake crisis situations in order to see how passers-by react. Rittwick Chakraborty excels in his usual natural self while creating and observing the fake crisis situations, delivers his anguish perfectly facing real crisis as his girlfriend goes missing matched with his shocking reaction when he learns why.

‘Byomkesh Parbo’ successfully captivated the audience with a more gripping story and some unabated action. Abir as the quintessential cerebral Bengali sleuth revealed his daring side as he pulled off few daredevil stunts for the very the first time. Ritwick as Ajit, Byomkesh’s sidekick, added subtle humour and the essence of an intellectual Bengalee with supreme effort. The film starts just after the independence, where the Byomkesh makes his way through the deep jungles of Dooars solving the mystery of a ghostrider and recent murders in north Bengal.

Directed by Debasish Sen Sharma and Sumit Das, ‘Bicycle Kick’ leaves an impression that lasts long. The sports drama tells the story of an introvert guy Rubayet (Saurav Banerjee) who comes to Kolkata to study. One day he was passing by a football ground and when a ball comes towards him, he gets unusually shaken and leaves the scene. Moti Nandi (Ritwick Chatterjee), the coach on the ground, realizes that something is not right with Rubayet. A few days later Moti intentionally throws a ball at him. Rubayet receives the ball quite skillfully and returns it in a way which is only possible for an extremely talented footballer. What happens next is the film all about.