Opening closets and dividing audiences: Rituparno Ghosh, the queer star of Bengali cinema

This article explores the Bengali auteur Rituparno Ghosh’s queer stardom. Through an exploration of his key films, writings, and television appearances we establish his socio-political significance in Bengal and beyond. We contextualise Ghosh’s work within the changing media landscape in West Bengal. The emergence of new satellite channels, print media, and corporate funding transformed Ghosh’s media presence and consolidated his position in the Bengali cultural imagination. Using grieving and mourning as conceptual devices this article argues that recognition of Ghosh’s queerness had wider implications around queer visibility, queer politics, and acceptance.