Rituparno Ghosh dies from heart attack at the age of 49

Indian filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh has died from a heart attack at the age of 49 in the city of Calcutta.

Award-winning director Rituparno Ghosh was suffering from pancreatitis for the last couple of weeks and died on Thursday morning.

Debuting with his 1994 film Heerer Angti (The diamond ring), Rituparno Ghosh made many critically acclaimed films like Unishe April (19 April), Chokher Bali (Sand in the eye) and Abohoman (The eternal).

He won several national and international awards for his work.

Rituparno Ghosh was well known for his realistic depictions of interpersonal relationships and urban-educated middle class angst.

The filmmaker worked with several big stars of Bengali cinema and Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

Rituparno Ghosh also acted in some of his films, including in Aar Ekti Premer Golpo (Just another love story) and Chitrangada.

His 2003 film Chokher Bali was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival and his last film, Chitrangada, won a special jury award in the 2012 national film awards.

Two days ago, Rituparno Ghosh wrote on Twitter that he had finished shooting his latest film Satyaneshi – based on the legendary Bengali detective fictional character, Byomkesh Bakshi.

As news of his death spread, several actors and actresses arrived at his home to pay their respects.

“I cannot believe that Rituparno is no more. It is very difficult to accept this news. We lost a very promising film director at a very early age,” the Press Trust of India quoted veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee as saying.

Many Indian film personalities and fans took to Twitter to express their grief.

“Shocked by passing of Rituparno Ghosh. He was dreaming of getting into what he called his <<next phase>>. Hugely creative explorer on film,” tweeted director Shekhar Kapur.

“Rituparno Ghosh had great sense of humor. He had a brilliant understanding of human behavior. Will miss him and his cinema. RIP my Friend,” wrote Bollywood actor Anupam Kher.

Noted film critic Rajeev Masand tweeted: “Deeply saddened by passing of Rituparno Ghosh. He understood the human condition with all its complexities and conveyed them with such sensitivity.”