Rituparno speaks on Abh-Ash wedding

Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh is in a real tizzy these days.

He is simultaneously completing post-production work for his bilingual film Sunglass, while finishing up shooting for his English film Last Lear (starring Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal).

Going by some reports, he is even helping out Jaya Bachchan in preparing for the wedding of the year on April 20.
A close friend of the Bachchans for many years, the director also forged a lasting friendship with their bahu Aishwarya Rai while shooting for Chokher Bali. So it seems that he will attend the wedding as a guest of both families.

You're busy helping Jaya in the wedding preparations...
No, I am not. Certain sections of the media mentioned my name, but they didn't even bother to speak to me. I have been busy completing the shooting of The Last Lear. In any case, it's a very low-key, understated wedding so not too many preparations are required.

Have you received a formal invitation?
I have been a well-wisher of the Rais and Bachchans for a long time, so for me it's not a matter of being formally invited. I don't want to comment on whether I have received an invitation or not. I can't belie their trust by talking about it, but I will be there as part of the family. The invitation doesn't apply to me at all. I don't know who is on the guest list and I don't even want to find out.

There have been reports that Jaya selected jewellery for the wedding in your home.
Jayadi came to Kolkata to shoot for Jayabroto Chatterjee's English film Love Song, and it was during one of her visits that she decided to select some jewellery for the wedding. She used the same jewellers (PC Chanda) that I had for Chokher Bali, as they already had Ash's measurements. I was just the point person between the jeweller and her. That's all. I have been totally immersed in completing Last Lear and the post-production work for Sunglass for the last month. There's been no time for anything else.

How was the experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan?
It was a joy working with Amitda. He plays a Shakespearean actor in Last Lear, who is convinced by a film director to act in a movie. Amitda redefines professionalism and has spoiled all my unit members. All those stories about him being difficult about production logistics are untrue. I would like to clarify that he paid for his own personal expenses while staying in Kolkata. In fact, he paid a large portion of the hotel bill himself. Working with him has made me greedy about wanting to work with him more often. Earlier, I was fascinated with Jayadi but today I am also looking forward to working more with Amitda. However, that doesn't mean I now love Jayadi less. She's very dear to me
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