IFFK honours Ritwik Ghatak; Four Timeless Classics to be screened
Thiruvananthapuram: The 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is all set to celebrate the centenary of the legendary director Ritwik Ghatak with a special retrospective.
The festival will screen four of his most notable films, presenting them in restored versions to a new generation of cinema lovers. Ghatak’s work remains essential for understanding the deep emotional scars left by the partition.
The tribute focuses on four Bengali masterpieces that capture the human cost of history. Leading the selection is Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Capped Star,1960). It tells the story of a refugee sister whose endless sacrifices for her family eventually destroys her own life. It is a raw and unforgettable look at displacement.
'Komal Gandhar' (1961), a complex drama about a theatre group struggling with love and political differences while navigating the crisis of a divided Bengal. This is followed by 'Subarnarekha' (1965), a devastating story of two refugee siblings who try to build a new life in Calcutta, only to face moral decay and profound tragedy. It won Certificate of Merit for the second Best Feature Film at the National Film Awards.
The retrospective concludes with Ghatak's last completed feature, ‘Titash Ekti Nadir Naam’ (A River Called Titash, 1973). This cinematic epic, which won the Best Director's Award from Bangladesh Cine Journalist's Association National Film, is a poetic and tragic lament for the simple, harmonious life lost forever along the Titash River communities in East Bengal.
Together, these films showcase Ritwik Ghatak’s cinematic genius. He took the massive pain of his homeland’s division and turned it into universal, haunting cinematic experience.
