Ritwik Ghatak

Directing

Ritwik Ghatak

Born 1925-11-04 · Dacca, East Bengal, British India

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.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Heerer Prajapati poster
8.0

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

Heerer Prajapati

1968

A River Called Titas poster
6.7

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

1973

A River Called Titas poster
6.7

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

1973

The Cloud-Capped Star poster
7.2

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

1960

The Cloud-Capped Star poster
7.2

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

1960

The Golden Thread poster
6.4

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

1965

The Golden Thread poster
6.4

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

1965

Ajantrik poster
6.9

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

1958

Ajantrik poster
6.9

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

1958

Madhumati poster
6.9

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

1958

A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale poster
6.3

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

1961

A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale poster
6.3

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

1961

A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale poster
6.3

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

1961

Musafir poster
7.0

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

1957

Runaway poster
7.4

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

1958

Runaway poster
7.4

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

1958

Where the River Padma Flows poster
9.0

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

1971

Reason, Debate and a Story poster
6.6

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

1974

Reason, Debate and a Story poster
6.6

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

1974

The Citizen poster
8.0

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

1977

The Citizen poster
8.0

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

1977

Ustad Alauddin Khan poster
7.0

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

Ustad Alauddin Khan

1963

Ustad Alauddin Khan poster
7.0

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

Ustad Alauddin Khan

1963

My Lenin poster
5.5

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

1970