SIR theme at Ritwik Ghatak centenary installations
Times of India | 4 December 2025
Kolkata: A compilation of maps, newspaper clippings, and a video recording, documenting the harrowing experiences of individuals living under the threat of deportation to Bangladesh during the SIR crisis, is a highlight of the exhibition titled ‘Ritwik Japon'. This exhibition commemorates the birth centenary of the director who brought Partition trauma to the silver screen. The 10-day initiative by the Liver Foundation, inaugurated by Ritwik Ghatak's son Ritaban on Thursday, includes eight site-specific installations that explore the themes of Ghatak's feature films and his cinematic legacy in today's world.
Ritaban sang ‘Je Raate Mor Duar Guli' from ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara' at the inauguration in the presence of Ghatak's last-surviving producer, Habibur Rahman Khan from Bangladesh, film scholar Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, artist Hiran Mitra, actor Debshankar Haldar, among others. The exhibition is located at the proposed site for the University of Health and Human Sciences. Abhijit Chowdhury, chief mentor of the Liver Foundation, said the university aims to broaden the scope of health from being just a technical entity to include liberal arts, performing arts, social sciences, climate ecology, data sciences, and all disciplines that integrate health and humanities. Before the commencement of construction on the university, which will be built on philanthropic donations, the intention is to engage in various other intriguing projects.
Chowdhury, who first encountered Ghatak as a class VIII student in 1972 through a screening of ‘Subarnarekha' in his Birbhum village, said, "For many of us, Ritwik remains an emblem of the highest order of creative brilliance. No other work comes like one tight slap at societal hypocrisy. Ritwik is the Luis Buñuel of India or maybe, elsewhere in the world, people would consider Buñuel as the Ritwik of their land. To mark his birthdate on the 4th, our team of Sovan Tarafdar, Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, Devshankar Haldar, and Suman Mukhopadhyay plans to host events on that date every month," Chowdhury said.
Tarafdar, who curated this installation project, mentioned how Sourav Banerjee's installation on ‘Komal Gandhar' explores the idea of love in times of Partition, and Krishna Banerjee and NaMi-Ridoy's mural on ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara' focuses on the femininity of Nita using wall graffiti style. "Suman Kabiraj's work on ‘Titas Ekti Nodir Naam' foregrounds the agonised tale of a river, while Nilanjan Karmakar's photo collage on spaces like airstrips or documents from Cooper's refugee camp are reminiscent of ‘Subarnarekha'. Debashis Manna's junk sculpture is a tribute to ‘Ajantrik'," Tarafdar said.
Pradip Patra's installation on ‘Nagarik' — KYC (Know Your Citizen) — features a video installation that montages scenes from Ghatak's 1977 film with footage of individuals traumatised and imprisoned due to citizenship disputes. "Ritwik completed the film in 1952. At that time, he taught us that we must fight to survive. His narrative focused on the division of a nation. Today, the narrative concerns the division of people, with the State determining who is a citizen and who is not," Patra said.
Artist Mrinal Mandal made the kids of Khwaabgaon watch ‘Bari theke Paliye'. "Most of them were inspired to draw cityscapes that are being shown in the form of backlit slides at the venue," Mandal said.
Ghatak as Nilkantha Bagchi appears in Baroda-based Pritam Das's graphic story installation on ‘Jukti Takko aar Gappo'. "Among the 20 dialogues I illustrated, one is particularly haunting in contemporary times. In 1974, Ghatak's words (‘Nobin Bangladesh, je Bangladesher ajo jonmo hoyni kintu hobe') talk about a new Bangladesh that hasn't been born yet but holds the promise of a new beginning," Das said.