Rituparno Ghosh’s body being taken to Nandan, Calcutta, on Thursday morning. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Siliguri, May 30: Forty phuchkas, 21 takes — that was little Upasan Chakraborty’s only day of work with Rituparno Ghosh.

Upasan, known to his “Ritu uncle” as Rimik, was shooting for Khela (2008). His was a small role that took just a day.

Today, like everyone else, 15-year-old Upasan learnt from TV that Ritu uncle was no more.

“There was a scene in which I, along with Akashneel and Prosenjit Chatterjee (both starring in the film), had to gulp phuchka after phuchka. It was the first day of shoot for the film and there were 21 takes. We ate over 40 phuchkas,” the boy said.

Upasan said he found the director, who was his father’s friend, attentive to every detail — may be the reason for the 21 takes. “He took care of every detail,” he said, and “apprised me about my role.”

“Perfection” and “detail” were words used by those who had worked with him.

Upasan’s father Dipojyoti Chakraborty, who owns a resort in Lataguri, had known the director for several years.

At his Deshbandhupara home in Siliguri, Dipojyoti said he could not believe his friend was no more.

As recently as March this year, Rituparno and Dipojyoti had toured together in the Dooars for locations to shoot parts of Satyanweshi, the film the director completed but could not release.

“I knew Rituda for the past 10 years. We have been good friends and whenever he used to visit north Bengal, I had to accompany him to see locations and also during shoots. We had an excellent friendship,” Dipojyoti said.

“Ahead of the shooting of Khela in 2008, which we knew would be shot in the Dooars and the hills, he called me up and said he wants Rimik to act in a small role.”

“I took my son to Calcutta. It was a day’s work and later, Rimik again went for dubbing. It was a unique experience for my son and me,” he said.

Dipojyoti said Rituparno was equally enthusiastic about searching for locations as he was while shooting scenes.

“We visited places like Kumai More, a site close to Mongpong and some other places. He selected the locations, went back and came back with his full team to shoot the film (Satyanweshi),” Dipojyoti said.

“During the trip he told me he wanted to take a break and would spend some time at my home and in the Dooars after the film is completed,” Dipojyoti said.

That break did not happen.

Rituparno, who had shot at least five of his films in north Bengal, has succeeded in portraying the beauty of the region before the national and global audience, Dipojyoti said.

“We had heard about the film shooting in north Bengal in the seventies, particularly in the hills. It was after a long gap that Rituda shot Titli in 2002. After Titli, several filmmakers started visiting north Bengal again. Rituda’s contribution in reviving north Bengal as a shooting destination would be remembered,” Dipojyoti said.

Like Dipojyoti, there are others in Siliguri who had helped him in finding local artistes and resources for his shoots.

Santosh Saha, who runs a tour company and makes arrangements locally for film production crew, had worked for Satyanweshi in mid-March. The shoots were mostly in the Dooars and on the outskirts of Siliguri.

“I have worked with several directors but he was different. His set and location had to be perfect and we needed to fulfil his requirements as he had thought them out. He was a man of perfection,” Santosh said.

“Working with him and seeing him shooting films was a different experience and I cherish the memories.”

Pintu Roy of Friends’ Travels, another travel company owner based in Siliguri also worked with Rituparno for a few films. “We have known each other for over a decade. In March last year, I provided local assistance to him while he was shooting a documentary on Rabindranath Tagore in Kalimpong. Earlier, I had provided similar help for two other films — Abahomaan and Sunglass (yet to be released),” Roy said.