The Politics of Desire: Body, Space, and Queerness in Rituparno Ghosh’s Cinematic Canvas

This paper explores Rituparno Ghosh’s staging of desire that challenges established norms through the lens of body politics, queer sensibilities and spatial aesthetics that evoke desired emotions in Unishe April (1994), Arekti Premer Golpo (2010) and Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish (2012). Drawing on Michel Foucault’s theory of biopower, Judith Butler’s idea of gender performativity and Henri Lefebvre’s concept of produced space, this paper explores an in-depth analysis of visual and textual colour schemes, stage designs and props across these three films. Whereas, Unishe April features intimate domestic interiors and maternal gestures that disrupt arbitrarily decided norms and Arekti Premer Golpo focuses on the trans identity in a medical gaze and dimly lit intangible spaces, Chitrangada turns the stage of theatre into a ritualized heterotopic gender fluid space. The study also digs into how recurrent themes such as gramophone, colourful textiles and quiet hallways do linger between the public and private spheres through the frame-by-frame interpretations of key moments. The study makes an assertion that Ghosh’s presentation of visual arts creates queer enclaves inside heteronormative environments by merging spatial techniques with performative acts. In conclusion, this study showcases how Ghosh’s avant-garde aesthetic interventions portray and impact the LGBT and queer identities.