The National Film Development Corporation–National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI) has completed 4K restorations of the entire feature filmography of acclaimed filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak and is presenting the works as part of a month-long retrospective at BFI Southbank in London, commemorating the director’s birth centenary.
The season, titled ‘Revolutionary Cinema: The Passion of Ritwik Ghatak’ runs throughout June and has been curated by filmmaker and academic Sanghita Sen.
Born in 1925, Ghatak is considered one of the key figures of Bengali parallel cinema, alongside Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. His films have explored themes such as Partition, displacement and the Bengal famine.
The restorations drew on original film elements preserved by NFDC-NFAI and the West Bengal State Film Archive, with colour grading supervised by National Film Award-winning cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay.
The retrospective features all eight restored feature films by Ghatak, including his celebrated Partition Trilogy — Meghe Dhaka Tara, Komal Gandhar, and Subarnarekha. Other restored titles include Nagarik, Ajantrik, Bari Thekey Paliye, Titas Ekti Nadir Naam, and Jukti Takko Aar Gappo.
Only five of these films were released in India before Ghatak’s death in 1976.
In addition to the feature films, the retrospective includes three unfinished projects, 13 fiction and documentary shorts, and films written by or featuring Ghatak as an actor, including The Traveller, The Diamond Butterfly, and The Uprooted.
Also featured in the season is Ghatak Was Here, a work-in-progress documentary directed by Sen.
The retrospective opened on June 2 with A River Called Ritwik, an introductory event featuring Sen, filmmaker and author Nasreen Munni Kabir, and producer Adam Dawtrey. The session was hosted by academic Manishita Dass.
“I am really proud and enthralled to be part of Ghatak restoration as he is one of the most original filmmaker nationally and internationally,” Mukhopadhyay told Variety. “NFDC-NFAI’s National Film Heritage Missions Ghatak restoration project is one their most commendable work for the future generation film enthusiast and film lover. I really thank the whole team for such a painstaking but wonderful effort”.
NFDC Managing Director Prakash Magdum said the retrospective would help introduce Ghatak’s work and India’s archival efforts to international audiences.
“As we mark the birth centenary of Ritwik Ghatak, we are pleased to collaborate with the BFI for this retrospective in London,” Magdum added. “It provides an excellent platform for the global film community to experience Ghatak’s brilliance and witness the caliber of India’s archival achievements firsthand”.
