Directing

Ritwik Ghatak

Born November 4, 1925 · Dacca, East Bengal, British India

Died February 6, 1976 · aged 50

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 para…

Known For

A River Called Titas

A River Called Titas · 1973

A River Called Titas

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.

Musafir

Musafir · 1957

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’

Where the River Padma Flows

Where the River Padma Flows · 1971

Where the River Padma Flows

MovieDocumentaryWar

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.

The Cloud-Capped Star

The Cloud-Capped Star · 1960

The Cloud-Capped Star

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

Heerer Prajapati

Heerer Prajapati · 1968

Heerer Prajapati

the story of a lost butterfly-shaped diamond brooch that belongs to an elderly woman, and its passage through unexpected hands

Madhumati

Madhumati · 1958

MovieDramaRomance

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.

The Golden Thread

The Golden Thread · 1965

The Golden Thread

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.

Ustad Alauddin Khan

Ustad Alauddin Khan · 1963

Ustad Alauddin Khan

MovieDocumentaryMusic

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

Filmography

Sort

A River Called Titas

A River Called Titas · 1973

A River Called Titas

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.

Writer

Musafir

Musafir · 1957

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’

Screenplay

Where the River Padma Flows

Where the River Padma Flows · 1971

Where the River Padma Flows

MovieDocumentaryWar

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.

Director

The Cloud-Capped Star

The Cloud-Capped Star · 1960

The Cloud-Capped Star

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

Director

Heerer Prajapati

Heerer Prajapati · 1968

Heerer Prajapati

the story of a lost butterfly-shaped diamond brooch that belongs to an elderly woman, and its passage through unexpected hands

Writer

Madhumati

Madhumati · 1958

MovieDramaRomance

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.

Writer

The Golden Thread

The Golden Thread · 1965

The Golden Thread

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.

Director

Ustad Alauddin Khan

Ustad Alauddin Khan · 1963

Ustad Alauddin Khan

MovieDocumentaryMusic

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

Screenplay

Portrait of a Princess

Portrait of a Princess · 1965

Portrait of a Princess

MovieDramaMystery

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.

Screenplay

A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale

A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale · 1961

A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale

MovieDramaMusic

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.

Screenplay

Ajantrik

Ajantrik · 1958

MovieDramaComedy

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.

Writer

Reason, Debate and a Story

Reason, Debate and a Story · 1974

Reason, Debate and a Story

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.

Director

Fear

MovieScience Fiction

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.

Director

Runaway

Runaway · 1958

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.

Director

The Citizen

The Citizen · 1977

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.

Screenplay

The Life of the Adivasis

The Life of the Adivasis · 1955

The Life of the Adivasis

MovieDocumentary

A documentary made by Ghatak for the Government of Bihar observing the life of the Adivasis.

Director

Rendezvous

Rendezvous · 1964

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.

Supervising Technical Director

My Lenin

My Lenin · 1970

MovieDocumentary

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.

Writer

The Uprooted

The Uprooted · 1950

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

Ramkinkar Baij

Ramkinkar Baij · 1975

MovieDocumentary

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.

Production Design

Scientists of Tomorrow

Scientists of Tomorrow · 1967

Scientists of Tomorrow

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.

Director