Mumbai: Bengali star Jisshu Sengupta, who has been a part of a number of Rituparno Ghosh`s films, says that post the death of the filmmaker, he feels orphaned.
"Now I`ve no one too look after me. Right now I feel completely lost. I feel I`ve lost my friend, philosopher and guide in the truest sense. Rituda was my parents after I lost my father and mother," said Jisshu, who worked with the filmmaker in ‘Shob Charitro Kalponik’ and ‘Noukadubi’.
"After Rituda`s father passed away, there were only a few people he listened to. I was one of them. He was also very close to my wife Nilanjana. We used to meet every day. But in the last six months I had some problems in my office, so I couldn`t meet him every day. But I`d SMSed him constantly, make sure he took his medicines, etc. In fact, I was ready to direct him in a script that I had written by the end of this year. Now, this has happened..."
The multiple National Award winning film maker died of heart attack on May 30. He was 49.
Jisshu owes his career to his surrogate father.
"Rituda taught me everything I know about acting. Before I met him, I was just doing films for the heck of it," he said.
Talking about ‘Chitrangda’, he added: "It was an honour for me to work with Rituda as a co-actor in `Chitrangda`. I got the opportunity to help him with his camera range, lighting, etc...things that I had slightly better knowledge of. He knew he could trust this son of his. The equation between us had changed from director-actor to co-actors in `Chitrangda`. And I made sure I was there to guide him. I became more confident as an actor after this experience."
In fact, Jisshu signed Anurag Basu`s ‘Barfi!’ at Rituparno`s behest.
"I didn`t sign any film without consulting him. And if he told me not to, I excused myself from doing that film. He was my guardian and mentor," said the actor.
"He was instrumental in turning me and my wife into producers. When Star India approached him for a chat show, he agreed on condition that I was made the producer. I shared my dream with him of becoming a producer and he made my dream come true," he added.
Jisshu was holidaying in Thailand when the filmmaker died.
"In a way I am happy I didn`t see him dead. I will remember him the way I saw him last... laughing, screaming, scolding and caring....I met him a week before he passed away. I was supposed to get the television rights of `Bhyomkesh...` (the film version of which Ritu completed before his death). We bantered over that project and parted. I left for Thailand. Little did I know that I`d never see him again."
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.