Not easy for a feminine male to portraya homosexual: Rituparno

Says Rituparno Ghosh, in conversation with Anjan Dutt and Jisshu Sengupta...
When you enter Rituparno Ghosh���s South Kolkata residence, it somehow feels like a trip to a museum. Small bulbs precariously balanced from interestingly thought-of wrought iron and wood panelled structures that hang from the ceiling, a giant brass slipper on a centre table that balances blue and white bottles with books on varied subjects, family photographs and even a mini iron-shaped ashtray ��� each vying for attention as if to tease any collector looking to embellish his treasure trove.
When TOI went to do a photo shoot with the three pivotal cast members of Chitrangada ��� The Crowning Wish, it metamorphosed into an occasion for Jisshu Sengupta, Rituparno Ghosh and Anjan Dutt to rewind to the times when the movie was conceptualized to handholding it for a release today.
While it takes time to adjust the lights, Dutt asks Sengupta about his career plans. ���I am not interested in doing out-and-out commercial movies and I know that the kind of role Rituda gave me in this film will be hard to come by in this industry. I have been a musician myself but this is the first time I am playing a junkie,��� Sengupta insists.
So, was it difficult for Sengupta to slip into a character that Dutt had also wanted to play in Chitrangada? Says Sengupta, ���No. Having Anjanda act in the same film helped me a lot. He even rewrote a scene between Rituda and me. Chitrangada has one of the finest performances by Dutt and all that without having much of a dialogue. Anjanda, do you remember how the audience at Osian Film Festival���s reacted to your performance in the final act?���
Dutt, who has been busy listening to Sengupta���s comment, is a little taken aback. ���Yes, I mean������ his voice trails off, while Jisshu picks up the conversation only to recollect, ���At the Siri Fort auditorium, we never expected such a huge turnout. The thundering applause to your performance was a pleasant surprise.���
Humbled by the praise, Dutt looks up and says, ���Yes, I remember. It���s true that I had wanted to play Jisshu���s character. But then, I realized that age had caught up with me and I was no longer young enough to play this character.��� As an afterthought, he smiles and says, ���I realized that I have grown old.���
But then, this isn���t the first time he couldn���t play a role in a Rituparno Ghosh movie. ���In Sob Charitro Kalponik, I was initially offered to play the protagonist. But by the time the film began, I had already grown older. By then, Prosenjit had reached an age where he could play that character opposite Bipasha (Basu),��� Dutt recalls.
Acting in SCK never happened but the camaraderie between the two directors continued. ���Stylistically, Ritu and I have very different visions. Yet, I have often read out my scripts to him and so has he. We came very close to co-directing a film on male bonding. But somehow, that has never happened. I am glad that I did this role in Chitrangada. I know people often wonder why Ritu, the actor, is often playing gay characters. He said, this is more of a cause for him. Ritu brought to the table what perhaps no other actor in Bengali cinema could have. I fear, anyone else in his place might have tripped and made a caricature out of the role. But Ritu, with his personal experiences, enacts the role with a sense of empathy even while taking care not to generate any pity for homosexuals.���
By then, Ghosh has already joined the conversation. ���I hate this psychology of being a victim. It���s not easy even for a feminine male to portray a homosexual on screen. Once a professor had said about me: Rituparno ei role gulo bhalo korbe. I wanted to ask her if she was sure that between her and Shabana Azmi, she would play a better professor on screen,��� he recalls.
Soon he says how interesting it has been for him to balance the two roles of authority and vulnerability of a director and an actor respectively. ���While both Raima and Jisshu have always depended on me to show them how to act, they behaved differently in this film. Jisshu would lovingly also offer technical guidance to me,��� Ghosh says, recalling.
By then, it���s already time to wind up the conversation. As a parting shot, Ghosh says, ���Having done Chitrangada, I can say that I will never want to direct myself in a film again. A cameo would be fine but not a full-fledged role.���
Chitrangada ��� The Crowning Wish, produced by Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt. Ltd., releases today.
"We respect Rituda as a director and when he brought this subject to me, I was quite astonished. Once the film was made, I remember getting emotional while watching it. I knew that people would appreciate the sensitivity of the maker. I am sure Chitrangada ��� The Crowning Wish will remain an important movie in Rituda���s filmography. In fact, I think this will be considered an important film made in the history of Indian cinema."
��� Shrikant Mohta, director, Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt. Ltd.