Rituparno Ghosh's " Noukadubi" will open the Indian Premier Section of the International Film Festival of India in Goa.

The director, who wasn't keeping too well recently and had given quite a few international film festivals a miss, is planning to go to Goa to attend this Festival that also has two other films of his — "Abohomaan" and "Just Another Love Story" — in the Indian Panorama.

Ask Rituparno why he chose to adapt "Noukadubi" and he says, ""Noukadubi" isn't regarded as one of Tagore's best works. While reading "Noukadubi", there could be moments when one wouldn't know if it was penned by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay or Rabindranath Tagore. Yet, I felt that "Noukadubi", would give to Bengali cinema a film with a strong narrative. In recent times, it has become a fad to think that breaking the narrative is the only way of making good cinema in Bengal. While breaking the narrative could be a style of film-making, that can't be the only method. There has to be space for both styles. One need not usurp the space of the other." In the mad rush among film-makers to occupy the urban space, is Rituparno then hinting at the loss of faith in the strength of cinematically narrating a well-told story? "When we were growing up, we used to watch movies of Ajay Kar, Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar. We had all grown up in cities and yet, the stories of these movies (many of which were based in a rural set-up) moved us. Anekdin ekta sheirokom er bhalo Bangla chhobi hoe ni."

That's the space, where Rituparno feels, "Noukadubi" will fit into. "I've often done films based on my own stories. Sometimes, I've taken the germ of the idea from others. For "Antarmahal", I had referred to "Protima". For "The Last Lear", it was a reference from "Ajker Shahjahan". When I made "Chokher Bali", there were many who thought that it wasn't Tagore enough. I still haven't been able to figure out if the objection was to casting Ash as Binodini or to it being non-Tagore in its essence. Some might still raise doubts over whether "Noukadubi" is Tagore enough but I never made the film to correct perceptions," he says.

In fact, Rituparno claims that he isn't riding piggyback on the casting coup of Sen sisters in his movie. "I don't believe in the concept of images. When I had cast Raima or Ash in "CB", I didn't go by their images in earlier movies. Raima had done "Daman" but in "CB", she was very different. I am very close to the Sen family and if I request them to be a part of my projects, all of them agree to do so. The moment I had told Riya to do a small role in "Abohomaan", she agreed. While working with Riya in "Abohomaan", I realized that she is a very intelligent actor. Raima is a very surrendering actor. Though Riya is a director's actor, she is also capable of independent expressions. She will not panic to give vent to her own understanding. Besides, Riya has inherited her aesthetic sense from Moon di and has a keen eye for artistic work," he says.

Why then has the Indian film industry not tapped Riya's talent as yet? "I think, she is misunderstood. Loke bhabe o khyapa, pagol, moody and, even, snooty. But I know she is none of that. The fact that she isn't usually given serious roles might have had its repercussions on her. That's why her defense mechanism is strong and she doesn't really interact with people as much as Raima does. I could have asked Riya to play the role that Raima has played. It would have been easier for her. But I wanted to give her a challenging role. Raima too has done a good job. She had to lip-sync to many songs of Tagore. Sudeshna Chatterjee, a member of our unit, taught Raima how to master singing those songs so that her expressions were correct."

Meanwhile, Subhash Ghai is planning a Hindi version of "Noukadubi". Says Ghai, "I liked the film and feel it can work in all languages, including Hindi. Gulzar is going to write the Hindi lyrics for the Hindi version since he has really loved the film. We are trying to dub with original stars in Hindi. I would like to retain the Bengali flavour in the film's Hindi version too. I think "Noukadubi" is the best work of Rituparno that I've seen so far."

As for Rituparno, he says, "I have made "Noukadubi" as a Bengali film and haven't shot for a Hindi version. I have cast actors from Bengal. Jisshu has done a good job. Bumba (Prosenjit Chatterjee) has a special appearance in the film. Amu Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee's wife, has made her debut in this film. Her looks — the neatly cropped salt-and-pepper hair — is just right for the role of Khemokori. She is a Tamilian. We will be dubbing her lines," he adds.

What about rumours that he could be working with Ash and Abhishek again in the near future? "No, that's not true," he says, adding, "Ash had messaged me when I had gone to receive the National Awards. This time when she was in Kolkata, she sent a message saying she was close to my house and would like to come down to meet me. But as luck would have it, my phone was switched off when she messaged. By the time, I switched on my phone, she had already taken a flight back to Mumbai. With Ash and Abhishek, I share a special bond. When my mother passed away, Ash was the jury at Cannes. Early morning, she called me up from Cannes when she heard the news. Abhishek too is equally sensitive and even protective about me. Recently, when I was hospitalized, he happened to be in Kolkata. He insisted on visiting me at the hospital and I had to literally request him not to do so."

While professional relationships are important, Rituparno understands that there exists a space that's more intimate and extremely private. "Ash had seen both my parents and had often visited my house when she would be shooting for "Raincoat". She can feel how I am dealing with bereavement," his voice trails off.

But life still has to go on. He has just won the Best Screenplay Award for Sanjoy Nag's "Memories in March" at the MIAAC Film Festival and is now looking forward to his Goa trip. He will be leaving on November 24 and returning by the 29th. As a parting shot, he says, "It's been long since I went behind the camera. I am a little tired of wearing make-up and saying lines in front of the camera. A lot has happened this year. My father passed away and then, I had problems with my eye and, then, my leg. I had been hospitalized too. My unit is busy working on a megaserial. But I am itching to begin my next movie. I've had a word with Avik Mukhopadhyay about doing my next movie. It's been a while since Avik and I worked together. My next will be a Bengali movie. I have written a couple of stories but haven't yet decided on what I want to start now."