A month-long retrospective of filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak’s work is taking place in London throughout June, featuring newly restored 4K versions of his films as part of celebrations marking his birth centenary.
The programme, titled ‘Revolutionary Cinema: The Passion of Ritwik Ghatak’, opened on 2 June at BFI Southbank and showcases the complete feature filmography of the acclaimed Bengali filmmaker. The retrospective has been curated by filmmaker and academic Sanghita Sen.
The restoration project was completed by the National Film Development Corporation–National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI), which restored all of Ghatak’s feature films using original film materials preserved by NFDC-NFAI and the West Bengal State Film Archive. Colour grading for the restorations was supervised by National Film Award-winning cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay.
Born in 1925, Ghatak is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Bengali parallel cinema, alongside Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. His films frequently explored themes of Partition, displacement and the Bengal famine.
The retrospective includes all eight restored feature films directed by Ghatak. Among them are the celebrated Partition Trilogy comprising ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, ‘Komal Gandhar’ and ‘Subarnarekha’. The programme also features ‘Nagarik’, ‘Ajantrik’, ‘Bari Thekey Paliye’, ‘Titas Ekti Nadir Naam’ and ‘Jukti Takko Aar Gappo’.
Only five of these films were released during Ghatak’s lifetime. The filmmaker died in 1976.
Alongside the restored features, the season includes three unfinished projects and 13 fiction and documentary short films. The programme also showcases works written by or featuring Ghatak as an actor, including ‘The Traveller’, ‘The Diamond Butterfly’ and ‘The Uprooted’.
A work-in-progress documentary, ‘Ghatak Was Here’, directed by Sanghita Sen, is also part of the retrospective.
The season opened with a screening of ‘A River Called Ritwik’, followed by a discussion featuring Sanghita Sen, filmmaker and author Nasreen Munni Kabir, and producer Adam Dawtrey. The session was moderated by academic Manishita Dass.
Cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay described the restoration project as a significant achievement and said it represented an important effort for future generations of film enthusiasts.
NFDC Managing Director Prakash Magdum said the retrospective would introduce Ghatak’s work to a wider international audience while highlighting India’s archival preservation efforts through the collaboration.
The programme aims to bring renewed global attention to Ghatak’s cinema and reinforce his enduring place in the history of world filmmaking.
