Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish

Last updated

Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish
Chitrangada The Crowning Wish.jpg
Theatrical poster of the film.
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh
Written byRituparno Ghosh
Produced by Shree Venkatesh Films
StarringRituparno Ghosh
Jisshu Sengupta
Cinematography Abhik Mukhopadhyay
Edited by Arghyakamal Mitra
Music by Debojyoti Mishra
Release dates
Running time
135 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali

Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish is a 2012 Bengali-language film written and directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film premiered on 25 May 2012 at the New York Indian Film Festival. [1] The film tells the story of a choreographer who is struggling with his gender identity. It is loosely based on Rabindranath Tagore's play Chitra; which is Tagore's take on the story of Chitrāngadā, a character from the Mahābhārata . [2]

Contents

Plot

Rudra Chatterjee (Rituparno Ghosh) has spent his life going against social convention. As a young man he defied his father's wishes, and became a choreographer instead of an engineer. As he prepares with his team to stage Tagore's Chitrangada , he meets Partho (Jisshu Sengupta) who is a drug-addict percussionist introduced to the team by the main dancer Kasturi (Raima Sen). Soon, Rudra develops a chemistry with Partho and they are deep into a passionate love affair. During the course of their relationship, they decide to adopt a child. But there is one problem: same-sex couples are not permitted to adopt children. So Rudra decides to go through a gender change treatment to embrace the womanhood he longs for. But will this surgery change his life and fulfill all his long-cherished dreams? The story ends with the line "Be What You Wish To Be".

Cast

Awards

Special Jury Award at the 60th National Film Awards [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rituparno Ghosh</span> Indian film director, actor, writer, and lyricist

Rituparno Ghosh was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his second feature film Unishe April which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. Having won 19 National Awards, along with his contemporaries Aparna Sen and Goutam Ghose, Rituparno heralded contemporary Bengali cinema to greater heights. Ghosh died on 30 May 2013 in Kolkata after a heart attack. Ghosh was also one of the openly homosexual personalities in Indian cinema.

<i>The Last Lear</i> 2007 Indian film

The Last Lear is a 2007 Indian drama film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film won the National Award of India for Best Feature Film in English in 2007. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta, Shefali Shah and Jisshu Sengupta. Shefali Shah won the Best Supporting Actress National Award for her role in the movie. It was produced by Arindam Chaudhuri of Planman Motion Pictures.

<i>Chokher Bali</i> (film) 2003 Indian film

Chokher Bali is a 2003 Indian Bengali language drama film based on the 1903 novel Chokher Bali by Rabindranath Tagore. It was directed by Rituparno Ghosh in 2003 and stars Aishwarya Rai as Binodini and Raima Sen as Ashalata. Ashalata and Binodini refer to each other as Chokher Bali. The other major characters are played by Prosenjit Chatterjee as Mahendra, Lily Chakravarty as Rajlakshmi, the mother of Mahendra, Tota Roy Chowdhury as Behari, Rajlakshmi's adopted son and Swastika Mukherjee in a cameo role. The film was later dubbed into Hindi and was released internationally in that language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jisshu Sengupta</span> Indian actor

Jisshu Ujjwal Sengupta is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter. who predominantly works in Bengali, Hindi and Telugu films. Sengupta made his debut through a Bengali TV series, Mahaprabhu where he portrayed the role of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; the role gained him much recognition. Subsequently, he made his film debut with Priyojon (1997), which became a debacle at the box office. In 2002, he played Tagore in Sukanta Roy's ambitious venture Chelebela alongside Debashree Roy playing Kadambari Devi. following which he appeared in a spate of critically and commercially unsuccessful projects. He made his Bollywood debut with Shyam Benegal's National Award winning film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2004). A turning point came in his career when he collaborated with Rituparno Ghosh for the latter's Abohomaan, which earned him critical acclaim. His subsequent collaborations with Ghosh for films which include Noukadubi and Shob Charitro Kalponik brought him a higher degree of critical and commercial success. Sengupta's collaborations with other directors for films such as Jaatishwar enabled him to become one of the most sought out actors in Bengali cinema.

<i>Shob Charitro Kalponik</i> 2009 Indian film

Sob Charitro Kalponik, is a 2009 Bengali film by Rituparno Ghosh starring Bipasha Basu, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta. It was selected for the 30th Durban International Film Festival and won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali 2009. It was screened in the Marché du Film section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Abar Aranye</i> 2003 Indian film

Abar Aranye (2003) is an Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Goutom Ghosh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kadambari Devi</span> Wife of Jyotirindranath Tagore, sister-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore

Kadambari Devi was the wife of Jyotirindranath Tagore and daughter-in-law of Debendranath Tagore. She was ten years younger than her husband, whom she married on 5 July 1868, at the age of nine. Her husband arranged for her to be educated. She was nearly the same age as her brother-in-law Rabindranath Tagore being only two years older than him.

<i>Abohomaan</i> 2010 film by Rituparno Ghosh

Abohomaan is a 2010 Bengali-language film by Rituparno Ghosh, which explores the nuances of relationships through a married film director who falls in love with an actress who is the same age as his son. The film stars Deepankar De, Mamata Shankar, Ananya Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Riya Sen and is produced by Mahesh Ramanathan, Reliance Big Pictures. Rituparno Ghosh, Arghyakamal Mitra, Mahesh Ramanathan and Ananya Chatterjee won National Film Awards in 2010 for Best Director, Best Editor Best Bengali Film and Best Actress respectively. The film was screened in the Marché du Film section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Arekti Premer Golpo</i> 2010 Indian Bengali-language film

Arekti Premer Golpo is a 2010 Indian drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly, written by Kaushik Ganguly. It stars Rituparno Ghosh and Indraneil Sengupta, with Ghosh playing a transgender filmmaker. It is the first film on queerness to be shot after the Delhi High Court struck down portions of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in July 2009 as unconstitutional with respect to gay sex. The film premiered at the 60th Berlin Film Festival in 2010.

<i>Noukadubi</i> (2011 film) 2011 Indian film

Noukadubi is a Bengali film directed by Rituparno Ghosh, released in January 2011. The movie is a period film set in the 1920s, based on a 1906 novel with the same name by Rabindranath Tagore, although the credits claim that the film is 'inspired' by the Tagore novel because Rituparno Ghosh has taken the skeleton of the original story and woven it with his own inputs – cerebral and emotional.

<i>Memories in March</i> 2010 Indian film

Memories in March is a 2010 Indian drama film directed by Sanjoy Nag. The film stars Deepti Naval, Rituparno Ghosh and Raima Sen. The film is the effective exploration of a situation wherein a bereaved mother comes to terms with her late son's sexual identity. The film was released on 1 Apr 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suman Ghosh (director)</span> Bengali director

Suman Ghosh is a film director, and a professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University.

<i>Room No. 103</i> 2015 Indian film

Room No. 103 (2015) is a Bengali film directed by Aniket Chattopadhyay and produced by Kaustav Roy. This film is comedy with thriller elements.

<i>Rajkahini</i> 2015 Indian film

Rajkahini is an Indian Bengali-language historical drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji. The shooting of the film completed in June 2015 and the film released on 16 October 2015. The film has an ensemble cast of eleven major female characters led by Rituparna Sengupta and also stars Saswata Chatterjee, Kaushik Sen, Jisshu Sengupta, Abir Chatterjee and Jaya Ahsan in other pivotal roles. It has been remade in Hindi by Mukherji as Begum Jaan. The film was Critically and commercial success. The film was super-hit at box-office surpassing the record of Shudhu Tomari Jonyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westpac Indian Film Festival of Sydney</span>

The Indian Film Festival of Sydney – Bollywood and Beyond is a film festival held in Sydney. The director of festival is Mitu Bhowmick Lange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jisshu Sengupta filmography</span>

Jisshu Sengupta is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and anchor who predominantly works in Bengali cinema, in addition to few Hindi and Telugu language films. Sengupta made his debut through a Bengali TV series, Mahaprabhu where he portrayed the role of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; the role gained him much recognition. Subsequently, he made his film debut with Priyojon (1999), which became a debacle at the box office. In 2002, he played Tagore in Sukanta Roy's ambitious venture Chelebela alongside Debashree Roy playing Kadambari Devi. following which he appeared in a spate of critically and commercially unsuccessful projects. He made his Bollywood debut with Shyam Benegal's National Award winning film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2004). A turning point came in his career when he collaborated with Rituparno Ghosh for the latter's Abohomaan, which earned him critical acclaim. His subsequent collaborations with Ghosh for films which include Noukadubi and Shob Charitro Kalponik brought him a higher degree of critical and commercial success. Sengupta's collaborations with other directors for films such as Jaatishwar, Ek Je Chhilo Raja, Posto enabled him to become one of the most sought out actors in Bengali cinema.

<i>Abhijaan</i> (2022 film) 2022 Indian Bengali-language film by Parambrata Chatterjee

Abhijaan is a 2022 Indian Bengali biographical film directed by Parambrata Chatterjee. The film is based on the life and works of legendary actor and Bengali icon Soumitra Chatterjee. The central character of Soumitra Chatterjee is played by Jisshu Sengupta along with a supporting cast of Prosenjit Chatterjee, Basabdatta Chatterjee, Q, Paoli Dam, Debshankar Haldar, Sohini Sengupta, Rudranil Ghosh, Tridha Choudhury and Parambrata Chatterjee.

References

  1. "NYIFF 2012 Centerpiece : Chitrangada". New York Indian Film Festival. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  2. Roychoudhury, Amborish. "Rituparno Ghosh and the enduring influence of Tagore". Mint .
  3. "'Chitrangada' Indian premier at Osian festival". IBN Live. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  4. "60th National Film Awards Announced" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 18 March 2013.