Where to begin with Ritwik Ghatak

Emerging from the communist theatre movement in post-Partition Bengal, Ritwik Kumar Ghatak became one of cinema’s most radical voices and the conscience of his time. Ghatak’s influence on South Asian cinema grew exponentially over time. Despite enduring nearly two decades of extraordinary hardship while working as a director, screenwriter, producer and briefly as a teacher, Ghatak created a remarkable body of work. This included eight completed features, over 10 shorts / documentaries / advertisements, four unfinished features along with three unfinished documentaries, seven screenplays later directed by others, and at least 20 scripts or draft scripts that were never made into films. With the exception of The Cloud-Capped Star (Meghe Dhaka Tara, 1960), most of his films either failed commercially or were never released in his lifetime. Even today, many of his works remain difficult to access, which continues to be one of the greatest challenges for audiences trying to ‘see’ Ghatak’s cinema.

Unlike his internationally celebrated contemporaries, such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, Ghatak himself never travelled outside his homeland, and neither did most of his films. Only The Pathetic Fallacy (Ajantrik, 1958) and The Runaway (Bari Theke Paliye, 1959) were screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1958 and 1959 respectively. British critic Derek Malcolm described him as “a passionate and intensely national filmmaker… who was most certainly of International calibre.”

While this assessment is especially true of Ghatak’s powerful depiction of the Partition of Bengal and its enduring trauma, his films also speak to much larger global realities shaped by colonial and imperial oppression, constant war, genocide and displacement. This broader political vision is what makes Ghatak continually relevant as an international filmmaker. His films richly combine Bengal’s geography, mythology, iconography, music, history and literature, yet rather than limiting their appeal, these elements also open up universal experiences and emotions that resonate with audiences everywhere.

Ghatak often stated that he did not particularly love cinema for itself, but he valued it above theatre and literature, the mediums he started his creative careers with, because of its medial potential to reach millions of people at the same time. He wanted to use this potential of cinema to present his views of the world and political critique to the audiences. 

Ghatak was a master craftsman whose films exemplify cinematic brilliance. Yet his work must also be understood through his radical artistic vision, so that their political and philosophical force is not overshadowed by their artistry. His messages endure precisely because he was such a powerful filmmaker. In revisiting Ritwik Ghatak today, we rediscover not only a master filmmaker but also a profoundly human voice whose cinema continues to speak urgently to the fractured world we inhabit.

Although it’s tempting to suggest The Runaway – another extraordinary work that reveals Ghatak’s deep humanism and formal brilliance, but in a light-hearted way – as the easiest place to start, it’s The Cloud-Capped Star that remains the most well-known and widely celebrated Ghatak film, thanks to home video releases in the UK and USA from BFI and Criterion. It’s the first part of what is now called his Partition Trilogy.

The experimentation he started with multi-layered narrative in The Pathetic Fallacy crystallised in this film. It captures everything that makes Ghatak unforgettable: engrossing narrative, emotional intensity, political consciousness, innovative use of sound and music, and an extraordinary compassion for ordinary people fractured by Partition. 

Through the unforgettable portrayal of Neeta, a young girl living in Calcutta with her family of refugees from East Pakistan, Ghatak transforms personal suffering into a universal tragedy. Deeply rooted in Bengal yet profoundly global in its emotional reach, The Cloud-Capped Star remains one of the most moving and essential films in world cinema.

There are a few fine options to continue watching Ghatak, such as E-Flat (Komol Gandhar, 1961) and The Golden Line (Subarnarekha, 1965), which conclude the Partition Trilogy. However, these films are harder to access. So, the next more available point of entry is A River Called Titas (Titash Ekti Nadir Naam, 1973). Adapted from the novel of the same name by Dalit writer-journalist Advaita Mallabarman, the film chronicles a fishing community whose lives and livelihood are intricately connected to the dying River Titas. Long before terms such as the Anthropocene or climate crisis entered public discussion, Ghatak created a film that powerfully explored environmental collapse and humanity’s fragile dependence on ecosystems. In this sense, the film demonstrates just how far ahead of his time Ghatak truly was.

Blending personal and communal tragedy with ecological devastation, A River Called Titas offers a haunting portrait of survival in a world shaped by climate displacement. Rich in atmosphere, music and visual poetry, it remains one of cinema’s most profound reflections on climate and community.

Although Reason, Debate and a Story (Jukti Takko aar Gappo, 1974) is one of this writer’s two personal favourites from Ghatak’s cinema, and arguably his most astonishing political work, it is probably not the best place to begin watching his films. Beyond the familiar difficulty of accessing them, this final and deeply autobiographical work demands an active intellectual engagement with the many debates it foregrounds.

Set in 1971, during one of the most turbulent moments in Bengal’s history on both sides of the border, the film unfolds against the backdrop of the genocide and Liberation War in East Pakistan that led to the birth of Bangladesh, alongside the rise of the Naxalite movement in India, which called for land reform and structural change. What makes the film extraordinary is that Ghatak engages with these immense political and historical crises while simultaneously turning the camera inward, casting himself as the protagonist of a deeply self-reflective cinematic autobiography.

This is a dense, layered, and challenging film, best approached after becoming familiar with Ghatak’s world. Once you are ready, however, it offers one of the richest and most rewarding experiences in political cinema.

Revolutionary Cinema: The Passion of Ritwik Ghatak is at BFI Southbank in June.

The Pathetic Fallacy and The Runaway are coming to BFI Player on 8 June. A River Called Titas follows on 15 June.