Archive · 4 Oct 2026
Mohaiemen Connects Raihan’s Cinema With Ritwik Ghatak
A camera moves through the stairs of the BFDC, where portraits of filmmakers are displayed.
It passes portraits of Raihan and Satyajit Ray.
The gallery places the two men near each other.
Mohaiemen suggests that Ritwik Ghatak is a better match for Raihan.
He points to similarities in their dramatic and emotionally intense filmmaking.
The excerpt also says Ghatak’s films were shaped by Partition and displacement.
It presents cinema as a way filmmakers can respond to major changes in people’s lives.
Mohaiemen’s camera passes portraits of Raihan and Satyajit Ray at the BFDC.
The BFDC gallery places the two filmmakers’ portraits close together.
Mohaiemen challenges that pairing with on-screen text naming Ritwik Ghatak.
He describes Ghatak as a better fit for Raihan in spirit.
The excerpt links Raihan and Ghatak through charged filmmaking and cinema shaped by upheaval.
- Who
- Mohaiemen, Raihan, Satyajit Ray, and Ritwik Ghatak.
- What
- Mohaiemen questions the BFDC’s visual pairing of Raihan with Satyajit Ray and argues Ghatak is a closer fit in spirit.
- Where
- The stairs and portrait gallery of the BFDC.
- Why
- The excerpt connects Raihan and Ghatak through stylistic similarities and cinema shaped by historical upheaval.
BFDC gallery pairing
Mohaiemen’s proposed connection
Which filmmaker belongs beside Raihan
BFDC gallery pairing
The BFDC gallery places Raihan’s portrait near Satyajit Ray’s.
Mohaiemen’s proposed connection
Mohaiemen argues Ritwik Ghatak is a better fit for Raihan in spirit, citing stylistic and thematic kinship.
- Location
- The stairs of the BFDC
- Portrait pairing
- Raihan and Satyajit Ray are displayed near each other.
- Mohaiemen’s view
- Ritwik Ghatak is a better fit for Raihan in spirit.
- Shared style noted
- Canted, psychologically charged closeups and harsh melodrama
- Ghatak’s cinematic context
- His cinema was profoundly marked by Partition and displacement.