Rituporno GOSHHH !

I think it was most probably in 1998 a new Bengali film got released…’ Unishe April ‘ It brought a freshness which the Bengali film industry was suffering that moment. Every Bengali film lover saw a savior in Rituporno Ghosh the director of the film. I just completed my college that year and it was the first Bengali movie (apart from some children’s movie which I watched when I was a child) I went to watch in a theatre. After coming out from the theatre I instantly became a fan of Rituporno Ghosh.

Unishe April fetched national awards and after this film Mr.Ghosh directed numerous movies that became favorites of many Bengalis…including me. He became the most talked about man and many controversies surrounded him. The way he talked, the way he dressed were all topic of discussions among common men. Due to his distinguished personality and style, anchors started imitating him on shows and on stages. MIR, who is a very well known anchor and a RJ imitated him the best. Mir is a person of immense talent and he again brought a new trend in the field of anchoring. He imitates many celebrities as mimicry is an art (maybe its an inferior art) and imitating celebrities is very common and the audience loves it.

Rituporno Ghosh conducts a talk show ‘ Ghosh & company ‘ which is aired on a private channel every Sunday. He invites eminent guests on the show and does a very informal ‘adda’ with them. Undoubtedly the show is quite a hit show and the guests are stalwart personalities. Shobha De, Dilip De, Aparna Sen, Kalyan Ray, Bappi Lahiri, and many more celebrities were invited on the show. Last Sunday (16th nov) Mir was Mr.Ghosh’s guest. The teasers throughout the week were very attractive and I’m sure that day a lot many people watched the show than other Sundays as Mir and Rituporno talking to each other is something everyone would love to watch because Mir imitates Rituporno ditto.

The show stared. It’s a 1hr show…the first 15 minutes were general discussion about Mir’s childhood, his full name etc. Now a talk show of 1hr is divided into 4 slots, 15 minutes each, 3 slots are for discussion and 1 slot is for advertisements. After the first 15 minutes were over the rest 30 minutes Rituporno completely attacked Mir taking him off his feet. He insulted Mir by saying that as mimicry in an inferior form of performance he (Mir) is earning his living by practicing this art. He told Mir that Mir has no right to insult the minority community (effeminate men) by mimicking Rituporno as Rituporno is the representative of that community. Anybody who watched that episode will realise that it was a well rehearsed, well planned, well thought beforehand to insult Mir. Mir was so taken aback that he just kept quiet and whenever he tried to say anything Rituporno stopped him and went on attacking him. He even questioned Mir whether he tries to hide his identity (as Mir also belongs to a minority community) by shortening his name and why he (Mir) married a hindu lady.

The Sunday’s episode was an eye opener to all Rituporno’s fans (including me) I guess, about the man (?) he is. It is Rituporno’s talk show where he invited a guest with a preplanned notion to insult him…this of course does not give a very good picture of himself. Rituporno used his position, his weight as a nationally famous personality to take revenge on a person who is not at par with him by inviting him on his show. If Mr.Ghosh knew that mimicry in an inferior form of performance then why did he invite Mir on the same forum where he invited Aparna Sen and Moushumi Chatterjee?? We all have seen Ritupono enjoying Mir’s mimicry on him in various award shows… then why pretend whereas in reality he held so much grudge against Mir?? Rituporno was not even honest enough to tell that he feels insulted and he don’t like Mir mimicking him but instead he kept on telling that it doesn’t bother him but he is worried and letting Mir know what the minority community (effeminate men) think. What a joke Mr.Ghosh !!!

At the end of the show Mir just told one thing “ aamar mone hoy personally tomar kothao aante gha legechhe tai tumi amake Ghosh & Company te deke eisob bolchho” (I think somewhere your ego has been hurt so you are insulting me by inviting me in your show). Even I think Mir what you told is completely correct. Rituporno should be honest enough to accept the reality. If you want to establish that you are an effeminate man then why get angry when the world tells you that?? This was not at all expected from a man of Rituporno’s stature, a person who is well known for his sensitive cinema suddenly became so insensitive to insult a guest on his show…that too in national television. Mir, u need not worry…your fans will always remain your fans but I think after this episode Rituporno will lose some fans…at least I can tell about myself.