Ghai wants to work again with Rituparno after ‘Noukadubi’

Kolkata: After producing Rituparno Ghosh`s film on Rabindranath Tagore`s ‘Noukadubi’, to be released on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of the poet, Subhash Ghai said he would like to work with the filmmaker again.

"I am happy with the way Rituparno, undoubtedly one of the most talented filmmakers of the country, has weaved magic with Tagore`s story on celluloid. I also like the rich imagery the director employed," Ghai told reporters. Speaking after the music launch of the Bengali version of the film aboard a boat in the Ganga ahead of its release next Friday, Ghai said as part of his endeavour to promote "culturally rich cinema" he would like to work with Ghosh again. Ghai even hinted that talks were already on with the National Award winning director for another film. "Yes, things can even start by the end of this year or in another year`s time, but I can`t shed more light on the subject or anything else. That will be too premature," said Ghai. He said he was ready to collaborate if approached with good scripts and work with the directorial talents of Bengal and encourage creative efforts. "I want to take good Bengali cinema to a global scale," Ghai, producer of acclaimed films like `Iqbal` by Nagesh Kukunoor, said. Coming to `Noukadubi`, Ghai recalled that he first saw the film after shooting was over at studio and the imagery, the execution of the complex tale of cross-wired lovers, the boatwreck and the haunting music impressed him immensely. As for the Hindi version of the film `Kashmakash`, Ghai said Gulzar had beautifully transliterated the Bengali lyrics of Tagore which he described as one of his best works till date. While Ghosh-directed `Noukadubi` will be released across Bengal on May 20, ``Kashmakash` will hit the screens in the rest of the country on the same date, Ghai said and felt the Bengali version undoubtedly was more tuned to the sensibilities of the local audience. Recollecing his association with Ghai, Ghosh said they became friends 10 years back during the making of Raincoat and once Ghai heard about his plans to turn Noukadubi into celluloid, he wanted to produce the film. However, Ghosh explained, the Hindi version with all the dubbing work was not his work, but Subhasji`s with whatever re-editing done. "I am happy with Guljar`s lyrics," Ghosh insisted during the music launch. Asked about the roles of the sisters Raima Sen (Hemnalini) and Riya Sen (Kamala) in the film, Ghosh said they have essayed different shades of the two women characters in the film powerfully. "Casting Raima has almost become my bad habit and in Noukadubi her sister is also present," he said in jest. The unique music launch of the movie took place aboard a cruiser on the Ganga since the backdrop was focused on the river and sinking of the boat. The thematic boat sailed between the historic ghats of Kolkata, decked up with movie stills and flowers and lights with the music of `Noukadubi` playing in the background on Sunday evening. While the music of Hindi version was composed by Gulzar, the Noukadubi music was composed by Sanjay Das/Rajnarayan Deb. The cast included apart from the Sen sisters ace actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta. PTI