Ranjon Ghoshal

Ranjon Ghoshal (Bengali: রঞ্জন ঘোষাল; 7 June 1955 – 9 July 2020) was an Indian theatre director and musician. He was a member of the Bengali band Moheener Ghoraguli, and ran an advertising agency, Mareech Advertising in Bangalore, apart from Forum Three, a theatre group.[1][2][3]

Ranjon Ghoshal
Moheener Ghoraguli in concert at Rabindra Sadan, 1979, left to right: Raja Banerjee, Pradip Chattopadhyay, Tapas Das, Pranab Sengupta, Gautam Chattopadhyay and Ranjon Ghoshal.
Ranjon Ghoshal portraying Rabindranath Tagore in 2011

Biography

He was born in a small town named Memari, District: Burdwan, West Bengal to Leela (born: 1925) and late Tarapada Ghoshal (1915 - 16 February 2008), both from Barishal (district) now in Bangladesh. Tarapada retired from a Govt. of India's political intelligence bureau posting equivalent of an additional Superintendent of Police in 1973. Leela has always been a homemaker. Ranjon has three elder brothers, Tapan (born:1945), Swapan (born: 1947) and Chandan (born: 1950), one sister, Mala (born: 1957) and a younger brother, Kanchan (born: 1960).

On 27 April 1980, Ranjon was married to Sangeeta (née Ghosh).

A first cousin of Gautam Chattopadhyay, who founded arguably Bengal's and India's first band in 1975 along with himself and other members;[4] Ranjon was the presenter of the band and also contributed to the lyrics. He used to handle all the media interaction and cover designing.

An electrical engineer from Jadavpur University and PGD in Industrial Management, NITIE, Mumbai, Ranjon has worked with BHEL for a few years before becoming a designer-entrepreneur. He resided in Bangalore, India with his wife Sangeeta and two sons, Indrayudh and Abhimanyu. Ranjon hosted various Bengali celebrities at his home in Bangalore which was also known as Yellow Submarine.[5]

He was an active member of the Bangalore theatre scene, directing and performing plays in English with the group Forum Three.[1]

Ranjon, as a part of his effort in keeping alive the spirit of Moheen songs, had organized the First Rock Concert in Bangalore[6] and Abar Bochhor Tirish Pore in Kolkata. He had started grooming brands under a venture named 'Mind It!'.

Ghoshal died on July 9, 2020, at the age of 65.[7]

Discography

Moheener Ghoraguli albums
Main article: Moheener Ghoraguli discography

Plays
As an Actor, Producer and Director
Nameyear
ShahJahan (Bengali: শাহ্‌জাহান)1980
Sajano Bagan (Bengali: সাজানো বাগান)1980
Banchharam's Orchard1981
Hayavadana1982
The Zoo Story1983
Mareech, the Legend1984
Waiting for Godot1985
End Game1986
Ram-jatra (Bengali: রাম-যাত্রা)1987
Baro-pishima (Bengali: বড় পিসিমা)1988
Lathi (Bengali: লাঠি)1990
An Audience With The King1999
Jagannath, Story of a Half-man2001
The Other Side of History2006
Schweyk in the Second World War2014
A Terrorist Hanged2016
The Blooming Orchard[8]2018
A Matter of Life and Death[9]2018
As an Actor and Playwright
Nameyear
Hello Tagore2009
Hello Rabindranath (Bengali: হ্যালো রবীন্দ্রনাথ)2010
A Journey With Tagore2011

Scandals

In October 2019, there were allegations of sexual harassment against Ranjon Ghoshal.[10] Though he had initially dismissed the allegations, he finally extended a public apology for his behavior, following social media outrage.[11] Gaurab Chatterjee, son of Moheener Ghoraguli leader Goutam Chatterjee, said "Ranjon Ghoshal is not synonymous with Moheener Ghoraguli" after these incidents.[12] An original member of the band, Tapas Bapi Das, also did the same.

References
  1. Bagchi, Shrabonti (10 September 2005). "Playing it right". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph (Kolkata). Archived from the original on 5 January 2013.
  2. Mehar, Rakesh (17 February 2007). "One for the road". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  3. "The Bangalore connection". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph. 5 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012.
  4. "Song of the stallion". The Times of India. 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011.
  5. "Playing it right". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. "Life-altering, influential: Anupam and Srijit remember Ranjon Ghoshal - Times of India". The Times of India. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  7. Theatre director Ranjon Ghosal passes away
  8. "Kapali fights back". Bangalore Mirror. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  9. Datta, Sravasti (31 May 2018). "An existential crisis". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  10. Chakraborty, Shamayita (21 October 2019). "#MeToo allegations against musician Ranjon Ghoshal". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  11. Chakraborty, Shamayita (22 October 2019). "I will ask her what I can do so that she forgives me: Ranjon Ghoshal". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  12. "Ranjon Ghoshal is not synonymous with Moheener Ghoraguli: Gaurab Chatterjee - Times of India". The Times of India. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
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