The centenary of Ritwik Ghatak’s birth, marked on November 4, 2025, has reignited a passionate conversation about one of India’s most influential yet often overlooked filmmakers. Born in Dhaka in 1925, Ghatak’s life and career were shaped by the seismic political and social upheavals that rocked the Indian subcontinent during his youth. From the horrors of the Bengal famine and the communal violence of 1946 to the traumatic Partition of India in 1947, Ghatak internalized the pain of displacement and loss—a theme that would echo throughout his work and resonate with generations long after his untimely death in 1976.
Ghatak’s journey into the arts began early. At just 14, he acted in his first play, and by 1946, he had published his first short story. Drawn to both political activism and creative expression, he became an active member of the Communist Party of India and the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). According to The Hindu, Ghatak’s involvement with IPTA, especially after being "thoroughly shaken" by the 1944 production of Bijon Bhattacharya’s play Nabanna about the Bengal famine, proved a pivotal moment in his artistic development. He would go on to write, act in, and direct numerous plays, all rooted in the suffering and trauma of the underprivileged and the uprooted.
Ghatak’s fascination with cinema blossomed in the early 1950s, fueled by the first International Film Festival of India and the visit of a Soviet film delegation. These events, as he later acknowledged, inspired him to create his debut film Nagarik (1952). Tragically, this landmark film was shelved for 25 years, a fate emblematic of the many professional setbacks that haunted Ghatak. Nevertheless, he persisted, releasing Ajantrik in 1958, and then his magnum opus—the Partition trilogy: Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), Komal Gandhar (1961), and Subarnarekha (1963).
Despite critical acclaim, Ghatak’s films rarely found commercial success or international fame during his lifetime. He completed only eight feature films and several documentaries before his death, but his impact on Indian cinema has only grown with time. According to Hindustan Times, "Ritwik’s were gritty, dark, real films, about real people and their real stories. Yet, even when there was a tragic climax, his films ended with a chime of hope." This enduring optimism, even amidst the bleakest narratives, has helped cement Ghatak’s place in the pantheon of cinematic greats.
Ghatak’s films are characterized by their exploration of homelessness, the search for identity, and the quest for dignity—universal themes that remain achingly relevant today. His debut, Nagarik, centers on a young man’s struggle to find work in Calcutta and his family’s desperate search for a home. Bari Theke Paliye (1958) tells the story of a boy who runs away to the city, only to confront the harsh realities of the world before returning home. Ajantrik offers a poignant meditation on companionship and belonging through the relationship between a man and his battered car—his surrogate family and home.
The Partition trilogy stands as Ghatak’s crowning achievement, chronicling the lives of people displaced by the traumatic division of Bengal. Film scholar Ira Bhaskar, as quoted in The Hindu, observes: "In a paranoiac exorcism he returned to the theme again and again in his films. This seething discontent and frustration led him to grapple with the primeval riddle of life and its meaning. Going beneath the socio-historical layers, Ghatak confronted and effectively dealt with the mythic under-structure of civilisation." Bhaskar adds, "His films reveal a comprehension of myth, archetypes, symbolism and allegory that remain unparalleled to-date in the context of Indian cinema."
Even Ghatak’s later works, such as Titas Ekti Nodir Naam (1973), which explores the devastating impact of climate change on a riverine community, and his final film Jukti, Takko aar Gappo (1974), an autobiographical meditation on addiction and societal fragmentation, continue to speak to contemporary anxieties. As Goutam Ghose, a filmmaker collaborating on a volume of essays about Ghatak, notes in Hindustan Times: "Ritwik continues to be relevant today because he obsessed about the human search for identity, home and nation. The world today is rife with instances of forced migration. The Rohingyas’ wail for help, the destruction of the homes and lives of thousands of people in Gaza; people everywhere looking for the corpses of those once closest to them; they are walking, as though in a silent procession, to find new lives and livelihoods."
Ghatak’s enduring relevance is evident not just in academic circles but also in popular and political culture. In 2019, the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal used clips from his films in a campaign video, sparking protests from his surviving family members. BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya responded, "One family cannot be the custodian of a film-maker like Ghatak, whose work appeals to a vast section of people. We have every right to use a dialogue from his film." This controversy, along with recent headlines about the demolition of Ghatak’s ancestral home in Rajshahi following the 2024 ‘Bangladesh Spring’, has kept his legacy in public discourse.
The centenary year has seen a surge of events celebrating Ghatak across West Bengal and throughout India. Film historian Sanjay Mukhopadhyay has been traveling extensively to speak about Ghatak, while a new volume of essays edited by Mukhopadhyay and Ghose is set to be published by the West Bengal government. In Kerala and beyond, film enthusiasts have organized screenings and discussions, hailing Ghatak as "the ultimate film-maker, the greatest this country has ever seen."
Ghatak’s influence extends far beyond India’s borders. As filmmaker Jahnu Barua told Hindustan Times, "That’s why his films are being talked about now; some of his films have been restored by people in the US and in England. People are discussing his films, writing dissertations about him and his films. Now, fifty years after his death, observers can still learn from his films. Learn to say truth to power. Even at the cost of life, even at the risk of ruin."
Ghatak’s artistry was widely acknowledged by peers and collaborators. Supriya Choudhury, the leading lady in Meghe Dhaka Tara and Komal Gandhar, remarked, "Ritwikda knew all aspects of film-making—camera, music, drama… it was all at his fingertips. I think many of his contemporaries were scared of his genius. Maybe that’s why there was always an attempt to sideline him." Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan added, "His originality lay in how he transformed melodrama into high art. He held extreme, even extremist, views on politics. He was an iconoclast in his approach to cinema as well."
Though Ghatak was sometimes dismissed as "superfluous to society" during his lifetime, his work now stands as a powerful testament to the enduring human condition. His films, rooted in the trauma of Partition and the quest for identity, continue to offer hope and inspiration to those grappling with displacement, loss, and the search for belonging.
As the world faces new waves of migration, climate crises, and the fracturing of communities, Ritwik Ghatak’s vision feels more urgent than ever. His legacy, once overshadowed by his peers, now shines as a beacon for those who believe in the transformative power of art to reveal, heal, and endure.