Ritwik Ghatak
Ritwik Kumar Ghatak, born on the 4th of november 1925, died on the 6th of february 1976, was a well noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright with bengali focus. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality, partition and feminism. He won the 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.
Filmography
1951 Arup Katha (inach.)
1953 Nagarik (Le citoyen)
1958 Ajantrik (Le vagabond)
1959 Bari theke paliye (L'emigré)
1960 Meghe dhaka tara (L'étoile caché)
1961 Komal gandhar (e- moll)
1962 Subarnarekha (La rivièere Subarnarekha)
1973 Titash ekti nadir naam (La rivière Titash)
1974 Jukti, takko aar gappo
Jukti, Takko aar gappo (1990)
In this last film Ritwik Ghatak himself plays Nilkantha Bagchi, an alcoholic, in the character's own words «a broken intellectual». His wife leaves him taking away his books and records which were his only properties left. When Bagchi insisted she shouldn't, Durga replied that she is taking this away so that his son grows up with these books and music, but he managed to keep a fan which he sells to buy country liquor to start his unusual and abstract ride. More
Titash ekti nadir naam - A River Called Titas (1973)
A fisherman, Kishore, marries a young girl accidentally when he visits a nearby village. After their wedding night, Kishore's young bride is kidnapped on the river. On losing his wife, Kishore becomes mad. Meanwhile, his young bride fights with the bandits, jumps into the river and is saved by some villagers. Unfortunately, the young bride knows nothing about her husband, she doesn't even know her husband's name. The only thing she remembers is the name of the village Kishore belongs to. Ten years later, she attempts to find Kishore with their son. More
Subarnarekha (1962)
The film tells the story of Ishwar Chakraborty, a Hindu refugee from East Pakistan after the 1947 partition of India. He goes to West Bengal with his little sister Sita where he tries to start a new life. In a refugee camp, they see the abduction of a low-caste woman and Ishwar takes her little son Abhiram with him. He gets a job at a factory in the province, near the Subarnarekha River, courtesy his college friend Rambilas. Ishwar, Sita and Abhiram arrive at Chatimpur, a small settlement near Ghatshila where they meet Mukherjee, foreman of the foundry workshop, who greets them with love. More
Komal gandhar (1961)
Komal Gandhar, also known as A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale, refers in its title to the Hindustani equivalent of "E-flat". It was part of the trilogy composed of «Meghe Dhaka Tara» (1960), «Komal Gandhar» and «Subarnarekha» (1962), all dealing with the aftermath of the Partition of India in 1947 and the refugees coping with it, though this was the most optimistic film of his oeuvre. More
Meghe dhaka tara (1960)
The film tells the story of Nita, a beautiful young woman who lives with her family, refugees from East Pakistan, in the suburbs of Calcutta. Nita is a self-sacrificing person who is constantly exploited by everyone around her, even her own family, who take her goodness for granted. Her life is ridden with personal tragedy: she loses first her fiancé, then her job and finally her health by contracting tuberculosis. It is only when she collapses that her family begins to realize what they have done to her. More
