Rinki Bhattacharya
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Rinki Roy Bhattacharya (born 1942) is an Indian writer, columnist and documentary filmmaker. Daughter of film director
Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 7 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as , '' Parineeta'', ''Biraj Bahu'', '' Devdas'', '' Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' Parakh'' and '' Ba ...
, she was married to
Basu Bhattacharya Basu Bhattacharya (1934 – 19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of Bollywood, Hindi films. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film ''Teesri Kasam'', starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman (based on the short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam ...
and collaborated on his films. She is the vice-chairperson of the
Children's Film Society of India Children's Film Society India (CFSI) was a nodal organisation of Government of India that produced children's films and various TV programs in various Indian languages. Established in 1955, CFSI functioned under the Ministry of Information an ...
(CFSI) and the founder chairperson of
Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 7 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as , '' Parineeta'', ''Biraj Bahu'', '' Devdas'', '' Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' Parakh'' and '' Ba ...
Memorial & Film Society. As a freelance journalist, she has been writing extensively on films, theatre, art and feminist issues, for publications of
The Times Group Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), d/b/a the Times Group, is an Indian media conglomerate based in Mumbai. Notable media properties owned and operated by the group include India's largest selling daily English-language newspaper ''The ...
, ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'', ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' and ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' .


Biography

A
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
native, Rinki was born in 1942. She was the eldest daughter of the renowned Indian filmmaker,
Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 7 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as , '' Parineeta'', ''Biraj Bahu'', '' Devdas'', '' Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' Parakh'' and '' Ba ...
. Her childhood was spent around prominent writers, poets and artists, who frequented their household, which was also noted for its gourmet
Bengali cuisine Bengali cuisine is the culinary style of Bengal, that comprises Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, and Assam's Karimganj district. The cuisine has been shaped by the region's diverse history of Bengal, history and climate. It is k ...
. She began her career as a
freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
in 1966 and had articles published in ''
The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...
'', ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' and many other periodicals. In spite of the fact that she grew up in the company of writers in Bengali and that her father made films in Hindi, she chose to write in English, a colonial language, and began her career writing in the economic times and the times of India. She made her debut into making documentary films with ''Char Divari'', a documentary which deals with wife-beating, which was followed soon after by a sequel on related issues involving violence against women in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. She became deeply involved in the
Women's Movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...
in India and has written several books on the subject, including ''Behind Closed Doors: Domestic Violence In India'', ''Bimal Roy - A Man of Silence'', ''Indelible Imprints'', an essay in ''Uncertain Liaisons'' as well as several cookbooks. She also published a book on the making of the film, ''
Madhumati ''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, story and screenplay written by Ritwik Ghatak and dialogues written by Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip ...
'' (1958), ''Bimal Roy's Madhumati: Untold Stories from Behind the Scenes'' (2014).


Personal life

In 1961, Rinki married film director
Basu Bhattacharya Basu Bhattacharya (1934 – 19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of Bollywood, Hindi films. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film ''Teesri Kasam'', starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman (based on the short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam ...
(1934–1997). The couple had three children: a son
Aditya Bhattacharya Aditya Bhattacharya (born 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, most known for his feature film, (1989), starring Aamir Khan and Pankaj Kapur, which garnered three National Film Awards. He is the son of film director Basu Bhattach ...
(b. 1965), who is a film director, and two daughters, Chimmu Acharya and Anwesha Arya, the latter a writer. Chimmu Acharya is married to Sumit Acharya, a Dubai-based corporate executive. Their daughter, Drisha, married Karan Deol, son of
Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, and politician. One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema, he has worked in Sunny Deol filmography, more than 100 Hindi ...
, in June 2023 in Mumbai. In a 1984 interview with journalist
Madhu Kishwar Madhu Purnima Kishwar is an Indian academic and a Hindutva commentator.
for the publication ''Manushi,'' Rinki revealed that she had left her husband in 1982 and alleged that she had suffered domestic abuse. The couple were formally divorced in 1990. Rinki has also had a history of discord with her mother and siblings. Following the death of her father in 1966, Rinki disputed over property with her mother and siblings, filing cases in court against them on the basis of legal technicalities. Her family reached a settlement with her in preference to spending years in litigation, and Rinki thus received an enhanced share of her father's property. Rinki lives in
Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...
, Mumbai.


Bibliography

* ''Cuisine Creations from Bengal'', 1993, India Book House Pvt. Ltd., . * ''Bimal Roy: A Man of Silence'', 1994, South Asia Books, . * ''Behind Closed Doors: Domestic Violence in India''. 2004, Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd. . * ''Bengal Spices'', 2004, Rupa & Co., . * ''Janani - Mothers, Daughters, Motherhood'', 2006, Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd, . * ''Bimal Roy's Madhumati: Untold Stories from Behind the Scenes'', 2014. Rupa Publications. .


References


External links

*
Article at ''The Hindu''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Rinki 1942 births Living people Indian columnists Indian documentary filmmakers Indian women columnists Indian food writers Indian women activists Bengali Hindus Bengali writers Writers from Kolkata Women food writers Activists from West Bengal Women writers from West Bengal 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian women artists 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian women artists 21st-century Indian biographers Indian women documentary filmmakers Indian women biographers