Introducing this talk on Ritwik Ghatak as a tribute to his centenary, Adoor Gopalakrishnan reminisced his introduction with his Film Institute teacher of direction Ritwik Ghatak. “He introduced us to a gentleman and pointing out to him, told us, ‘here is the man who turned into the sacrificial goat at the altar of cinema.” The man was a producer of a Ghatak film which never earned commercial success. “This is what briefly summarises the man Ghatak.”

Adoor Gopalakrishnan, perhaps the most outstanding filmmaker today in the country, was a special guest at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival to deliver an address as a tribute to the special programme curated to celebrate the centenary of Ritwik Ghatak. He remains ever faithful to Ghatak and his memories having studied under him at the Film Institute in Pune.

He was bestowed the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his rich contribution to cinema in 2004, besides the Padma Shri (1984) and Padma Vibhushan in 2006. In 1984, he won the National Award for Best Writing in Cinema for a collection of essays on cinema under the title Cinemayude Lokam. In 2003, the French Government honoured him with Commandeur Des Arts et Lettres order for his outstanding contribution to international cinema. The Order of the Arts and Letters established in 1975 honours distinguished personalities in the fields of arts and letters and their contribution to the dissemination of culture in France and worldwide. His film Nizhal Kuttu (Shadow Kill) was co-produced by Artcam, a French company.

At 86, Adoor carries himself quite well with his white mane of hair giving away his age. Incidentally, he was a direct student of Ritwik Ghatak who taught direction at the Film Institute in Pune (the ‘and Televsion’ was added much later) and he shared with the houseful audience his reminiscences of his experience with both Ghatak and Satyajit Ray. Adoor countered much of the stories spread around about the ‘unfriendly’ relationship between Ghatak and Ray as “trash.” He added that the difference in their approach to cinema was probably rooted to Ray’s background in fine art and Ghatak’s in theatre. “I also came from theatre where I wrote plays, directed them, acted in them and it gave me a beautiful experience leading me on to........

© Mathrubhumi English