Remembering Rabi Ghosh: Five greatest roles of the master actor

Rabi Ghosh is no doubt one in a million. Most people would see him as a supporting actor or a comic relief. In reality, his roles were as hard-hitting as the lead ones. He often became the catalyst to so many cinematic flashes of brilliance. Without Rabi Ghosh, you can’t just imagine these films. Rabi Ghosh is regarded as one of the stalwarts who graced the Golden era of Bengali cinema. He was the master of acting, comedy king, theatre icon and was an established body builder as well. On his 22^th death anniversary we take a look at some of the most brilliant roles Rabi Ghosh portrayed on screen.

Rabi Gosh appeared as Dhanonjoy, the angel in the guise of a simple yet joyful servant. The troublesome families of Barokhoka, Sejokhoka and Chotokhoka were eventually so relieved to have peace at home because of Dhanonjoy. Dadu finally got his warm tea and life back on time. The servent managed to introduce balance and joy to the quarrelsome house. And we were so lucky to have an extraordinary cinematic experience!

This is by far the most entertaining role of Rabi Ghosh in an illustrious career. Not just Charuprakash Ghosh nailed it as Birinchi Baba, playing his assistant/ disciple Rabi Ghosh adds the icing on the cake with elan. His portrayal of the fake disciple proves how much a fake guru requires their assistants’ hard work! Brinchi Baba no doubt owes a lot to the chela for his success. And we also owe a lot to Rabi Ghosh to keep us glued to so many great films.

Rabi Ghosh as Haridas! Haridas is an extremely important person. He loves selling bulbul bhaja. Even Queen Victoria is herself his customer.

Can you guess what are we talking about? If you can’t digest this, you have to watch ‘Shriman Prithviraaj’. For those who have already watched it, here is a souvenir. But please don’t just start humming!

Haridas er bulbul bhaja, tatka taja khete moja
Haridas er bulbul bhaja, tatka taja khete moja

E bhaja khele pore, jombe na ar khaja goja
E bhaja khele pore, jombe na ar khaja goja
Haridas er bulbul bhaja, tatka taja khete moja

Maharani Victoria, e bhaja khan roj kiniya
Maharani Victoria, e bhaja khan roj kiniya
Haridas er bulbul bhaja, tatka taja khete moja.

Who would have known Goopy without Bagha? How could Satyajit Ray even weave his magic if Bagha didn’t exist? How could be Bhooter Raja a hero without Bagha? Our childhood wouldn’t be entertaining without Bagha! It’s Rabi ghosh who made this simple.

Rabi Ghosh, we salute you.

Rabi Ghosh was seen as Shekhar in a group of four friends and he is perhaps the most unimpressive among them. He is simple, jobless and a bit bullied in the group despite being close friends. The most interesting part is Shekhar appears to be the egoless and most ‘free’ among the four friends. Although he often gambles away his borrowed money, but controls himself in the drinking spree. Rabi Ghosh added an extra dimension to this Bengali cult classic. His French Riviera confidence during the famous bathing scene is a lifetime experience.