National Film Development Corporation of India – National Film Archive of India has completed a 4K restoration of author Ritwick Ghatak’s entire feature filmography and will unveil it in a month-long retrospective at London’s BFI South Bank until June to commemorate the director’s 100th birth anniversary.
Titled ‘Revolutionary Cinema: The Passion of Ritwik Ghatak’, the season is curated by filmmaker and academic Sangita Sen.
Born in 1925, Ghatak is considered one of the central figures of Bengali parallel cinema, along with Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Much of his work was shaped by the trauma of Partition and the Bengal Famine, and although it remained largely out of mainstream circulation during his lifetime, it has since attracted sustained international critical attention.
The restoration was carried out under the National Film Heritage Mission, an archival initiative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, making use of original film elements held by the NFDC-NFAI and the West Bengal State Film Archive. Color grading was supervised by Indian National Film Award winning cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay.
This program covers a wide range of Ghatak’s achievements. The eight restored novels include his Partition trilogy – ‘Mege Dhaka Tara’, ‘Komal Gandhar’, ‘Suvarnalekkha’ and ‘Nagarik’, ‘Ajantrik’, ‘Bari Teki Pariye’, ‘Titas Ekti Nadir Naam’ and ‘Jukti Takko Aar Gappo’, of which only five works date from 1976. It was released in India before his death in . There are unfinished films, 13 fiction and documentary shorts that Ghatak has written or acted in, including “The Traveler,” “The Diamond Butterfly” and “Uprooted.” Also included is a documentary in progress by director Sen, “Ghatak Was Here.”
The season will kick off on June 2 with an introductory event, “A River called Ritwik,” featuring Sen, director/writer Nasreen Munni Kabir, producer Adam Daughtry, and hosted by academic Manishita Das. Select titles will be available to stream on BFI Player.
Director Mukhopadhyay said, “He is one of the most original filmmakers in the country and abroad, so I am really proud and excited to be a part of the restoration of Ghatak.” “NFDC-NFAI’s National Film Heritage Mission Ghatak Restoration Project is one of the most commendable undertakings for the next generation of film enthusiasts and cinephiles. I am truly grateful to the entire team for such a painstaking but wonderful undertaking.”
“We are delighted to collaborate with the BFI for this retrospective exhibition in London to commemorate Ritwik Ghatak’s 100th birth anniversary,” added Prakash Magdam, Managing Director, NFDC. “This provides an excellent platform for the global film community to experience the brilliance of Ghatak and witness first-hand the brilliance of India’s archival achievements.”
