Rituparno Ghosh: Bengali filmmaker dies in India Published duration 30 May 2013

image caption Rituparno Ghosh won several national and international awards for his work

Award-winning Indian film director Rituparno Ghosh has died from a heart attack in the city of Calcutta.

Mr Ghosh, 49, 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), he 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.

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

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

Mr 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, Ghosh wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter that he had finished shooting his latest film Satyaneshi - based on the legendary Bengali detective fictional character, Byomkesh Bakshi.

'Promising director'

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 humour. He had a brilliant understanding of human behaviour. Will miss him and his cinema. RIP my Friend," wrote Bollywood actor Anupam Kher.