Brutal Realism in Ritwik Ghatak's Filmmaking

#videoessay #film #cinema #bengalicinema #bengalifilm #indiancinema #indianfilms

Even in the darkest of times a faint light of hope and better future can be seen and that was evident when India became an independent country, one of the darkest and turbulent times of the nation
However the aftermath did gave rise to various artistically defining movements, Bengal being the most prominent force in that campaign, which was heavily influenced by what the Bengali Renaissance departed the place with
A cultural, social, intellectual and artistic turning point for the people residing there and the literature from them were used as a base to explore various issues that came about after the British Rule
Amongst all those artists that were seen as the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, Ritwik Ghatak stands apart with his easily distinguishable method of direction and the way he filmed the scenes for his films
A rare director whose work hardly had any traces of Western influence, an entirely self-taught filmmaker who used his expressionist methods to visualize and emotionalize the lives and struggles of his people
A culture which in his eyes was being strained by outside forces who constructed a barrier between them by ripping them apart into multiple pieces, hence partition was an ever-present theme in his work
And how it affected the victims in so many layered ways and the violent hatred that it gave birth to between those groups of people, which still hasn't faded away after almost a century since it first happened

Voice V - You know what, I think I need a bit of break from this

Voice S - From what exactly?

Voice V - Focusing on these films

Voice S - But isn't this what you wanted to do?

Voice V - Yes, I did

Voice S - I thought you were starting to enjoy it

Voice V - I am, but that isn't the issue here

Voice S - Then what is?

Voice V - The material and subject matter is great, however it takes a lot out of me to discuss about them

Voice S - How so?

Voice V - Well it's not that easy to explain

Voice S - Give it a try, after all I'm here to listen to you, so go on

Voice V - I do cherish them, with all of my heart and there isn't a part of that doesn't work on them

Voice S - Well then what is it?

Voice V - It can be a bit of chore to get hold of them

Voice S - Understandable, but that doesn't mean you can leave them stranded like others

Voice V - I know and I'm not saying that I will do that

Voice S - Just a little break from them right?

Voice V - Yes, until I found more of it to dissect and share it to others

Voice S - Now that's more reasonable, just don't forget this cause of ours