
Ritwik Ghatak
Directing
Biography
Ritwik Kumar Ghatak was a Bengali filmmaker and script writer. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality. Although their roles were often adversarial, they were ardent admirers of each other's work and, in doing so, the three directors charted the independent trajectory of parallel cinema, as a counterpoint to the mainstream fare of Hindi cinema in India. Ghatak received many awards in his career, including National Film Award's Rajat Kamal Award for Best Story in 1974 for his Jukti Takko Aar Gappo and Best Director's Award from Bangladesh Cine Journalist's Association for Titash Ekti Nadir Naam. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for Arts in 1970.
Known For

An in-depth look at the lives and struggles of a fishing community living by the River Titas in Bangladesh after the Partition of India in 1947.
A River Called Titas

After an old college friend offers him a job at an iron foundry, the upright and honest Ishwar leaves a shanty town on the outskirts of Calcutta where he lives with a group of refugees from East Bengal. With plans to forge a solid living for himself, sister Sita and Abhiram, an orphaned boy he offers a home to, Ishwar is accused of selling out and deserting his people.
The Golden Thread

The film brings to the screen the determination of the common man of Bangladesh to stand up to tyranny and win his priceless liberty back.
Where the River Padma Flows

The stories of three sets of people, linked by their connection to an old suburban house in Calcutta- An orphaned young woman who desperately wants her husband to make up with his estranged parents so that she may belong to a family once more, a wayward young man desperate to find a job to support his aged father and his widowed sister-in-law, and a shadowy neighbourhood ‘madman’
Musafir

A selfless young woman, the daughter of a middle-class refugee family from East Pakistan, sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
The Cloud-Capped Star

After Partition, a large group of farmers from East Bengal have to migrate to Calcutta.
The Uprooted

Bimal is a taxi-driver in a small provincial town. He lives alone, his taxi (an old 1920 Chevrolet jalopy which he named Jagaddal) is his only companion and, although very battered, it is the apple of Bimal's eye.
Ajantrik

Kanchan, all of eight years old, is always up to pranks and mischief in his village home. He finds his father a cruel demon who keeps his mother oppressed and imprisoned. In his dreams, the big city is El Dorado, until he reaches there.
Runaway

Set in 1950s Calcutta against the partition of India, the plot follows two rival factions born out of the divided leadership of the radical IPTA theater movement. Amidst their intense creative differences, a romance develops between two uprooted refugees, Bhrigu and Anusuya.
A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale

Two men take shelter in a derelict mansion situated in the countryside during a storm. One of the men suddenly becomes aware that he once visited this mansion in a past life; he recounts a story about when he was Anand, a painter, who fell in love with a tribal girl named Madhumati.
Madhumati

Four men, each peculiar in his own way, embark on a quest to reason with the estranged wife of the protagonist. This is considered to be Ghatak's autobiographical film.
Reason, Debate and a Story

The sole dream of Ramu, eldest son a family of migrants, and Uma to build a happy life together is burdened by a pile of obstacles on their way due to economic upheaval in post-partition Calcutta.
The Citizen

The film explains the details of the research scheme instituted by the Government of India for the benefit of young talented scientists. Under the Scheme, Government encourages students with a scientific bent of mind by awarding scholarships from the B.Sc. to Ph.D. degrees.
Scientists of Tomorrow

Amar Lenin is a 1970 black and white documentary film directed by film director Ritwik Ghatak made for Government of West Bengal in the centenary year (1970) of the birth of Vladimir Lenin.
My Lenin

Alarm has been sounded that the hydrogen bomb is about to be dropped. In this atmosphere of panic and fear a cross-section of humanity has been huddled together for safety in an experimental shelter. But even in this crisis the old attitudes and behaviour patterns do not change. FTII Diploma film for acting students of 1964-65 by Ritwik Ghatak.
Fear

Darpa, a cunning man, asks Rajkumari to pretend to be Princess Rajkanya Chandralekha so that he can keep all her riches for himself. However, when she realises the truth, she ensures all his plans fail.
Rajkanya

Life and disciples of legendary Indian classical musician and teacher, 'Guru' of Pandit Ravishankar, 'Baba' Ustad Alauddin Khan.
Ustad Alauddin Khan

Ramkinkar Baij is an incomplete personality study or documentary on sculptor Ramkinkar Baij created by legendary filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. He started creating the film in 1975. The film was almost complete but it still remained unfinished for the death of Ritwik Ghatak.
Ramkinkar Baij

A girl comes to Karla Caves to meet her lover planning to elope with him. She waits for a long time, but her lover does not turn up. All of a sudden, her attention is drawn towards a massive statue of a male and a female entwined in each other's arms. She feels as if the carved image is conveying the message of the noble relationship between man and woman. As she wanders about in the caves, she realizes that it is shameful and cowardly to run away with her lover. She has been transformed.
Rendezvous
In 1970, Ghatak explored the traditional heritage of Chhau in the documentary titled Puruliar Chhau. He explores the life of the performers, including close shots of eminent dancers like Madhu Ray, Gokul Roy, Gambhir Singh and Lal Mahato. His use of flambeau (a rural life lighting to avoid technical lights) and the dramatic way of the narration in which the narrator becomes an integral part of Chhau are highpoints of this documentary. Ritwik went to showcase how tribals use this artform to articulate their struggle against oppression and exploitation in this documentary as well as in Jukti Takko Aar Gappo.