Ritwik Ghatak at 100: Rajshahi home lies in ruins

Once a proud ancestral residence, the Rajshahi home of legendary filmmaker Ritwik Kumar Ghatak now stands in ruins—its walls weathered, rooms overrun by wild growth, and memories fading into dust. Tomorrow marks the 100th birth anniversary of this iconic filmmaker.

The remnants of the house in the Ghoramara area of Miyapara sit like a chronicle of neglect: mounds of red bricks under the open sky, a moss-covered broken boundary wall, and fragments of the structure strewn across the ground. Faded murals on cracked walls, including one commemorating Ghatak's birth anniversary, offer a final glimpse of a place that once nurtured a cinematic mind.

The dilapidated structure was demolished last year. What remains are piles of brick and a few fragments of its former form—markers of the childhood home of one of Bengal's most brilliant filmmakers.

Born in 1925, Ghatak spent his early years here, studying at Rajshahi Collegiate School and Rajshahi College before his family migrated to India after Partition. The home was later listed as vested property under the district administration, as the family had left the country in 1947.

In 1985, Rajshahi Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital authorities purchased the leased land. The building, however, remained intact for decades.

"We did not want the house to be demolished," said Dr Anisur Rahman, principal of the college. "We used it as an outdoor facility for the hospital. Some of our former students planned to demolish it, but we had forbidden them. Unfortunately, one evening they went ahead and brought it down. Still, the annual programme marking Ritwik Ghatak's birth anniversary will continue there, as it does every year."

Ritwik Ghatak Film Society President Ahsan Kabir Liton said the filmmaker spent one of the most important periods of his life in Rajshahi, and the city's environment deeply influenced his later work. "The Padma River, the Varendra Museum, and even the nearby public library—all these shaped his sensibility," he said. "When we formed our film society in 2008, most people didn't even know Ghatak had lived here. We began organising festivals and tributes from his ancestral home and renamed the group Ritwik Ghatak Film Society in 2009."

He added that the house once had a drawing room, bedrooms, a courtyard, and an old well, with a homoeopathic college established on the vacant land during the Ershad regime. "We demanded preservation and even received an official estimate of Tk 52 lakh from the administration for its restoration. But the initiative never materialised," he said.

Liton recalled that Ghatak's twin sister had once shown them around the home, sharing memories of their childhood. "Back then, the structure was still standing. It's heartbreaking to see it gone now," he added.

"Ritwik's early exposure to Rajshahi's culture and landscape left a profound imprint on his filmmaking," Liton continued. "When he made "Ajantrik", a story about a car, it was a radical departure from the mythological themes dominating Indian cinema at the time. His thought process was far ahead of his era."

The society continues to commemorate Ghatak's birth anniversary on November 4 each year. "This year, however, there is no house left to hold the event," Liton said. "Still, we hope the site can someday be turned into a museum or film institute in his memory."

Mahmud Hossain, general secretary of the Ritwik Ghatak Film Society, echoed the demand. "We have long urged that something be established there in Ghatak's name. With the help of the then deputy commissioner, we found records showing the land was originally under the name of Indubala Devi, Ghatak's mother. The college authorities cannot simply claim ownership—it was leased to them during the Ershad government," he said.

Professor Mozammel Hossain Bokul, moderator of the Rajshahi University Film Society and chairman of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, said that after the demolition, legal steps became difficult. "They took the leased land and prepared documents to declare it as college property," he said.

When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education and ICT) Tuktuk Talukdar, who chairs the governing body of the college, said, "When the building was demolished, I was not in charge. So, I am not fully aware of the circumstances. The principal can better explain the ownership and demolition issues."

Despite the loss, those who cherish Ghatak's legacy remain determined to keep his memory alive in Rajshahi. To them, the decaying remains of his ancestral home are fragments of history that once nurtured a filmmaker who reshaped Indian and Bangla cinema.