Shoojit Sircar tells Karan Bhardwaj that his first Bengali film was being written by Rituparno Ghosh, who also had a role to play in it
I was devastated when I heard the news. In the present resurgence of Bengali cinema, he was a pioneer. His films would entertain, had social message. I was associated with Rituparno Ghosh since Raincoat days. He would often call me to shoot a long or establishing shot for his film. I had shot the beginning and ending shots featuring coal-engines in Raincoat. He found those shots beautiful. When Vicky Donor released, I asked him to watch it. He procured a DVD which couldn’t play. Then, I sent him film’s DVD as well as a DVD player to watch it. He liked it and said, ‘You are a Bengali. You must do a Bengali film.’ That’s how we began working on a film together. He said he would write the script but I will have to direct it. The film is called Red Carpet. It was also supposed to be my first Bengali film. Interestingly, Ghosh had also written a character for himself in the movie. His character was an editor of a film journal, a cunning and snooty editor. The final draft of the script was being done. I wanted to start shooting early next year. But now, since he is no more, I cannot imagine Red Carpet! For me, it is over! But, I want to show it to the world. Whenever I get the script that he has written, I will put it online.
I spoke to him five days ago. He asked me to visit sets of his latest film Satyanweshi (The Truth Seeker), a crime thriller about a popular fictional Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, in Kolkata. But that meeting couldn’t materialise. In his cinema, the most important thing I found was the portrayal of women. He knew women more than any other director. From Bariwali, Chokher Bali to Abohoman, women were powerful. I don’t think anybody can write like him.”