When Rituparno Ghosh disowned his film ‘Noukadubi’s Hindi version, dubbed by Subhash Ghai

Late filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh’s film ‘Noukadubi’ was a landmark in Bengali cinema. Incidentally, the film was produced by showman Subhash Ghai. After it turned out to be an instant hit in Bengal, Ghai liked the film so much that he dubbed it in Hindi as ‘Kashmakash’ and released it in Mumbai and Delhi.
However, not happy with the Hindi version Rituparno disowned ‘Kashmakash’ when it was released in 2011.Later Subhash Ghai said during an interview that he respects Rituparno’s views but they got the film dubbed in Hindi and scored the music after his consent. Rituparno gave them the freedom to go for the Hindi version while he will take care of the original Bengali version. Ghai further added that they will ensure that the Hindi version reaches out to the rest of India.

Subhash Ghai first saw ‘Noukadubi’ after the shooting was over at the studio and the imagery, the execution of the complex story of cross-wired lovers, the boat wreck, and the haunting music heavily impressed him. As for the Hindi version of the film 'Kashmakash', Ghai said Gulzar had beautifully transliterated the Bengali lyrics of Rabindranath Tagore.
Featuring sisters Raima Sen and Riya Sen alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta, ‘Noukadubi’ earned critical acclaim. The relationship drama combined the best of both worlds - Tagore's writing and Rituporno's direction. It’s a cinematic retelling of a Tagore classic and raises questions on the very institution of pre-arranged marriages.