Bangladesh remembers film-maker Ritwik Ghatak

RAJSHAHI - A three-day Ritwik Ghatak film festival here is showing the works of one of the titans of Indian cinema who was hurt by the 1947 India-Pakistan partition and returned to make a film when Bangladesh became free.

Ghatak was born in Dhaka and lived for several years in this city before moving to Kolkata.

The festival, which began Thursday, is showing eight full-length films by Ghatak - “Nagarik”, “Ajantrik”, “Bari Theke Paliye”, “Meghe Dhaka Tara”, “Komal Gandhar”, “Subarnarekha”, “Titash Ekti Nadir Naam” and “Jukti Takko Aar Gappo”.

The loss of his home in East Bengal had a deep impact on Ghatak and his cinema, participants at a discussion noted.

“Ghatak’s films are now celebrated in India and beyond. His stature among Bengali film directors is comparable to that of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Nevertheless, he is rarely remembered ceremonially in Bangladesh,” The Daily Star said Friday.

Rina Chakrawarty and Aroma Dutta - nieces of Ritwik Ghatak - were present on the occasion, which drew a huge audience.

Aroma said that Ghatak was greatly upset for having to leave Bangladesh (then East Bengal) and he was proud of his roots.

After Bangladesh’s independence, Ghatak came to Dhaka with Satyajit Ray in 1972.

Among Ghatak’s last films was “Titas Ekti Nadir Naam”, which was an Indo-Bangladesh production made with actors from both countries, including Babita of Bangladesh and Sandhya roy from Kolkata.