Ritwik Ghatak

Ritwik Ghatak was born in Dhakka, East Bengal now Bangladesh on 4th November 1925. His father Suresh Ghatak was a poet, play-writer and District Magistrate while his mother Indubala Devi was a house-wife. Ritwik and his twin sister Prateeti were the youngest in the family. His family moved twice to different places before settling in Kolkata for good to get away from flood and Bengal famine of 1943 and the partition of Bengal in 1947. He was married to Surama Devi and had three kids, a son Ritaban and two daughters Samhita and Suchismita; before they got separated. His wife went to her family owned place in Shillong while he had to be admitted to a mental hospital.

Ritwik was a Bengali script-writer and a film-maker. His works were mostly recognized for being the exact portrayal of the condition of society during that time. Ghatak wrote his first play Kaalo Sayar in the year 1948. In the year 1951, he joined the Indian People’s Theatre Association where he used to write, act and direct various plays. Ghatak entered film industry with Nimai Ghosh’s Chinamul in the year 1950 as an actor and assistant director. Followed by Chinamul, Ghatak released his first directorial called Nagarik. Both of his films proved to be a breakthrough in Indian film industry. His science fiction themed, comedy-drama film – Ajantrik was his first commercial success. As a script-writer, Madhumati was his commercial success. Ritwik directed eight full-length films.

In the year 1966, he moved to Pune to teach at Film and Television Indian Institute. Music director Darbar Bhaduri was highly inspired by Ritwik and his work. Ritwik wrote his last play Jwala in the early 1970’s. Ghatak got back to directing films in early 1970’s with his movie Titash Ektir Naadir Naam, but soon due to his health conditions and addiction to alcohol, it became difficult for him to direct films anymore. Jukti Taako Aar Gappo was the last film to be directed by Ghatak in the year 1974. He was given credit for many complete and incomplete short feature and short films. Ritwik received various accolades such as Padma Shri, National Awards and Filmfare for his contribution to Indian Cinema. Ghatak also has a trust in his name called Ritwik Memorial trust, which is run by his son Ritaban. Ritwik and his work have managed to inspire many directors and screen-writers and it can be seen in their films and features. Ritwik died at the age of 50 on 6th February 1976.

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Ritwik Ghatak was an Indian filmmaker/scriptwriter, who was born on November 4th, 1925. He mainly worked in the Bengali Cinematography industry. Along with famous contemporary Bengali filmmakers Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen was a renowned and highly skilled India >> Read More... and Satyajit Ray Biographies reveal bare details about the maverick >> Read More... , his films primarily remembered for its meticulous portrayal of social reality. Although their roles were often adversarial, they always praised each other's work and, in doing so, these directors marked the independent trajectory of parallel cinema, as an alternative to the mainstream fare of Hindi cinema in India. Ritwik received numerous awards in his career, including NFA’s (National Film Awards) Rajat Kamal Award for Best Story in 1974 and Best Director's Award from Bangladesh Cine Journalist's Association. The Indian government awarded him with the Padma Shri for Arts in 1970.

Ritwik was born in Dhaka in East Bengal. His father Suresh Ghatak was a district magistrate and a poet and playwright. Ritwik’s mother's name was Indubala Devi. Ritwik and his twin sister Prateeti were the youngest of nine children. The other kids were Manish, Tapati, Sudhish, Sampreeti, Brototi, Lokesh Chandra, and Ashish Chandra. He and his family shifted to Berhampore, Murshidabad and then to Kolkata just before millions of refugees from East Bengal began to move into the city, fleeing the partition of Bengal in 1947. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War led to more refugees moving to India, and have a similar impact on Ritwik’s work. Ritwik married Surama Devi, who was the niece of the active left-wing member, Sadhana Roy Chowdhury.

They separated after some years, and she went to her ancestral place, Shillong after Ghatak temporarily sent to a mental hospital. The couple had three children, a son Ritaban and two daughters, Suchismita and Samhita. Ritaban became a filmmaker in his own right and is involved in the Ritwik Memorial Trust. He restored Ritwik's Bagalar Banga Darshan and completed his unfinished documentary on Ramkinkar. Ritaban has made a film named Unfinished Ritwik. He is currently working on adapting Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhya's novel Ichamati. Ghatak's elder daughter Samhita has made a Documentary named Nobo Nagarik. His younger daughter died in 2009. Ritwik's elder brother Manish was a radical writer of his time. He was a professor of English and a social activist and was deeply involved with the IPTA theatre movement. Manish’s daughter is the writer and activist Mahasweta Devi Mahasweta Devi, an Indian writer and activist, was >> Read More... .