Parbati Ghose: The Lady Who Redefined Odia Cinema

Bhubaneswar: The death of Parbati Ghose, the first woman director and producer of Odia cine industry, is a huge loss to the film fraternity.

Entering the film industry at a time, when words like ‘women empowerment’ and ‘feminism’ were rarely used, Parbati Ghose’s work took the industry to a different level and earned Odia cinema a respectable position at the national level.

Making her debut as a child artise in ‘Shri Jagannath’ alongside Gopal Ghose and Kishwari Devi, Parbati, with her beauty and sensible acting, became a household name after acting in movies like ‘Bhai Bhai,’ ‘Amar Prem’ and ‘Maa.’

Looking beyond the present, her films like ‘Amari Gaon Jhia’ dealt with social topics like child marriage, which is relevant even today.

Her performance in the movies ‘Laxmi’, ‘Kaa’ and ‘Stree’ earned her the much-deserved national awards.

Her on-screen romance with Gour Ghose was a rage and eventually the on-screen pair became a couple off-screen.

An equally successful director and producer, Parbati directed ‘Sansaar,’ ‘Samadhan’ among many others. She has also made several short films, documentaries and music videos.

At an age, where cinema is more about remakes, the aura that a legend like Parbati Ghose has added to the movie industry, is unmatched. Her death has not only ended an era in Odia cinema, but has also taken away a portion of the Odia cine industry’s soul.