Adoor Gopalakrishnan recalls his FTII days with Ritwik Ghatak

KOLKATA: For legendary Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, one of the foremost figures in the New Indian Cinema movement of the 1970s that championed realistic and socially conscious storytelling, Kolkata has always felt like “home.” Adoor was a second-year student at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) when he first met Ritwik Ghatak, a teacher unlike any other.

Interestingly, it was reportedly Satyajit Ray who recommended Ghatak’s appointment to the film institute to Indira Gandhi, a fact not widely known. Adoor pointed out that there was a deep mutual respect between Ray and Ghatak. After watching ‘Aparajito’, Ghatak had openly praised Ray’s work.

As much as Adoor adores Ghatak, he also holds a close affection for Kolkata. He finds an easy connection between Malayalis and Bengalis, drawing parallels between their shared love for rice and fish.

“Even an average kid here has an interest in music and painting. And both Malayalis and Bengalis are progressive, at least I think so,” he smiled during a conversation with director Anup Singh at Sisir Mancha on Wednesday at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF). The veteran filmmaker also mentioned that he has read many Bengali books in translation, though he has rarely come across Malayalam literature translated into Bengali. Filmmaker Goutam Ghose added that, at one time, Kolkata had a sizeable Malayali population.

The octogenarian master admitted that he doesn’t get to watch many new Bengali films these days. Recalling an incident from a few years ago, he said that during one of his visits to Kolkata, he expressed a desire to watch all the new Bengali releases in theatres.

His local friends strongly discouraged him. “They said I would be disillusioned. They warned me, but in spite of that, I went and I was left disappointed,” said the Padma Vibhushan-winning director.