“Meghe Dhaka Natok” – Ritwik Kumar Ghatak Centenary

Chanchal Bhattacharya

Ritwik Kumar Ghatak was born on November 4, 1925 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His ancestral home was in Naya Varenga, Pabna. His father’s name was Suresh Chandra Ghatak.

In 1950, although he completed his M.A. coursework in English at the University of Calcutta, he did not sit for the final examination. Growing up in a culturally rich environment, his elder brothers and sisters used to sing, dance, and act, and Ritwik too participated. In their adaptation of the play Chandragupta, he played the role of Chanakya.

At the young age of 18 in 1943, he staged several of Rabindranath Tagore’s plays—Dakghar, Bisarjan, and Achalayatan—with his friends at the Rajshahi Public Library. Along with his college friend Kumar Roy, he also performed Phalguni and Raja. Kumar Roy, born on March 2, 1926 in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, was Ghatak’s classmate at Rajshahi College.

Kumar Roy was arrested during the historic 1942 movement and appeared for his matriculation exam from jail. After these experiences, he permanently moved to Calcutta and, in February 1949, joined Bohurupee theatre through Ritwik Ghatak’s introduction. Outside the college circle, Ghoramara Natya Samaj staged Paritran, where Ritwik played Dhananjay Bairagi and Kumar Roy portrayed the king.

Following the Partition of India, Ritwik moved from Rajshahi to Berhampore. His first play Jwala was performed secretly in an open space on Lake View Road, where he played the role of a madman wrapped in a torn quilt. Another of his plays was Kalo Sayar.

Although widely known as a distinguished filmmaker, in the early part of his artistic life he was an actor, playwright, and director. Panu Pal brought him into the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).

Panu Pal, a pioneer of street theatre, was born on January 2, 1919 in Gaibandha, Rangpur. His famous street play Voter Bhet (1952), featuring Utpal Dutt, Umanath Bhattacharya, Mumtaj Ahmed, and Panu Pal himself, became part of theatre history. Mumtaj Ahmed also acted in Dalil, written and directed by Ritwik Ghatak in 1950–51. The play was sent to the IPTA conference in Bombay, where it mesmerized audiences with its depiction of the struggles of refugees.

Ritwik played Raghupati in Bisarjan, though there remains some debate over whether he or Utpal Dutt directed the play. Ghatak also directed Panu Pal’s play Bhanga Bandar, staged in 1951.

Among Ritwik Ghatak’s own plays are Jwala, Galileo Charit (adapted from Brecht’s Life of Galileo), Sanko, Jwalanto, and Dalil. He also acted in Utpal Dutt’s direction of Officer (the Bengali version of The Government Inspector). Ghatak was the first to translate Brecht’s Life of Galileo into Bengali, and the play was staged by the Teachers’ Association of Burdwan University in 1964. He was also the editor of the theatre journal Abhinay Darpan (later renamed Abhinay).

The Government of India honoured Ritwik Ghatak with the Padma Shri in 1969, and in 1973, Bangladesh recognized him as a State Guest.

As a tribute to his centenary, Chetana presented Meghe Dhaka Ghatak, written by Jeet Satragni and revised and directed by Sujan Mukhopadhyay. The play was staged on Saturday, August 2, at Academy of Fine Arts, with two shows, matinee and evening.