A much younger Rituparno Ghosh (second from left) in 1998 with filmmaker Mrinal Sen (to his left) and other guests at Rajendra Vidyalaya auditorium, Jamshedpur

Rituparno Ghosh’s Chokher Bali, released in 2003, is best remembered 10 years later for being the definitive film that showed the world that Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai could also act.

Rituparno, who passed away in Calcutta on Thursday morning due to a sudden cardiac arrest, has left behind a Jamshedpur link with Chokher Bali that went on to win the national award and become the toast of film festivals Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Toronto, Palm Springs, Chicago, London and more.

In December 2002, Rituparno, who stayed at the Tata Steel Guesthouse in Northern Town for nine days, was engrossed in working on the script of Chokher Bali.

Ritu da, as he was universally known, visited Jamshedpur thrice, in 1998, 2001 and 2002.

He not only inaugurated the city’s then fledgling international film festivals, he also sportingly took classes at the just-started mass communication course at Karim City College in 2001.

This was when a spate of his films — Hirer Angti, Unishe April, Dahan, Bariwali, Asukh and Shubho Muhurat — were creating ripples globally.

But “Ritu da” had stayed down-to-earth and approachable.

Recalls Amitava Ghosh, secretary of Celluloid Chapter Art Foundation: “Around that time, we at Celluloid Chapter promoted young filmmakers, organised lively discussions on the craft. Ritu (Rituparno) was very comfortable in the city’s environment. We are privileged we had the opportunity to have him here and a link with a film like Chokher Bali.”

The foundation’s secretary added Rituparno loved the city’s food.

“Nothing specific, but he would try out everything. He was lively, enthusiastic and yes, passionate about films. I am shocked he is no more. He was one of the best Indian film-makers we had. His films speak of his intellect,” Ghosh added.

Students of the first batch of Karim City College’s mass communication-video production also had the chance to interact with the director who would go on to be called Satyajit Ray’s heir, make films in Hindi (Raincoat) and English (The Last Lear) and act in mold-breaking films such as Arekti Premer Galpo and Chitrangada.

Rituparno, in his film appreciation classes, spoke in detail on the craft of filmmaking and scriptwriting.

Filmmaker and critic Bikas Ranjan Mishra, then a student, recalled the experience. “I remember he (Rituparno) said cinema was like poetry. I asked him why, adding that another renowned filmmaker had recently told us that filmmaking was like storytelling. Ritu da said poetry also had the essence of storytelling and as film-makers, we could choose which style to adapt,” Mishra said on Thursday over the phone from Mumbai.

Amit Sharan, a freelance cinematographer based in the city and a Karim City College alumnus, added he had been struck by the celebrity film-maker’s humility.

“Back in 2001, it was very difficult to get a celebrity to Jamshedpur as the course was new. Rituparno Ghosh was a star-director but humble enough to make students understand the craft of filmmaking. A cinema student could learn a lot from him. His untimely death has left a deep void, but we can keep returning to his films,” Sharan said.

Which is your favourite Rituparno Ghosh movie and why? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com