Chitrangada the crowning wish penned by the
renowned Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh screened under the competition
category was really amazing. Rudra, the protagonist of the movie given flesh
and blood by Rituparno himself plans to perform a drama entitled Chitrangada on
behalf of Indian poet par excellence Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary. Rudra plays the role of Madan, who
helps Arjuna to fall in love with the princess Chitrangada. Partha is a
percussionist who wants to join Rudra’s group. During the rehearsal, they get
close to each other. Both long to adopt a baby. But the law of the land does
not allow two men to adopt a child. Rudra considers becoming a woman in order
to be able to do it. This
results in an identity conflict in Rudra and he has a nervous breakdown. He
realises the truth that Partha adored only the manliness in him. Finally Rudra
talks to the doctor and cancels his transplantation surgery.
Chitrangada which received the special jury award
at the 60th National Film
Awards was a feather in the cap of his literary career. He was a director who
depicted liberal sexuality both on screen and off it. In this Ghosh played a
gay character faced with difficult and life altering choices. Rituparno, a
beacon for the LGBT community was not only a loss for the sexually marginalised
people but also for the profound admirers of classic cinemas.
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