Ghatak was born in Dhaka, then in East Bengal, in 1925. He grew up in a family of intellectuals and writers and was exposed to various forms of art and literature from an early age. He was deeply affected by the partition of India in 1947, which divided Bengal into two parts and displaced millions of people. He witnessed the trauma and violence of partition firsthand, and it became a recurring theme in his films.

Ghatak’s early life was marked by his involvement in the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), where he honed his skills as a playwright and actor. He wrote his first play, “Kalo Sayar” (The Dark Lake), in 1948 and participated in the revival of the landmark play “Nabanna.” His education at Presidency College, Calcutta, and his association with the Communist Party of India significantly influenced his artistic vision.

Ghatak entered the film industry in 1950 as an actor and assistant director in Nimai Ghosh’s Chinnamul, a groundbreaking film that portrayed the plight of refugees from East Bengal. His first film as a director was Nagarik (1952), which explored the socio-economic problems of urban life in post-independence India. However, the film was not released until 1977, after his death.

Perhaps Ghatak’s only major commercial success was Bimal Roy’s “Madhumati (1958),” starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjyanthimala, a Hindi film for which he wrote the story. It was one of the early ones to deal with the theme of reincarnation and is believed to have been the source of inspiration for many later works like The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) and the Hindi film Karz (1980).

Ghatak’s most acclaimed works are his partition trilogy: “Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Capped Star, 1960),” “Komal Gandhar (E-Flat, 1961),” and “Subarnarekha (The Golden Thread, 1962).” These films are considered masterpieces of Indian cinema for their powerful portrayal of the human condition in the aftermath of partition. They combine documentary realism with stylised performance, folk music, and Brechtian techniques to create a unique cinematic language.

Ghatak was also a prolific writer who wrote plays, short stories, and scripts for his own films as well as for others. He won the National Film Award for Best Story in 1974 for his last film, “Jukti, Takko, Aar Gappo (Reason, Debate, and a Story),” which was a semi-autobiographical reflection on his life and career. He also wrote essays on cinema and culture, which were collected in his book Cinema and I. Satyajit Ray praised this book as one that covers all aspects of filmmaking.

Ghatak was not only a filmmaker but also a teacher who inspired many future generations of filmmakers. He taught at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune in 1966, where he mentored students like “Mani Kaul,” “Kumar Shahani,” “Adoor Gopalakrishnan,” “Saeed Akhtar Mirza,” and “John Abraham (the noted Malyali filmmaker).’ His students carried forward his ideas and vision into their own films.

Ghatak died on 6 February 1976 at the age of 50. He suffered from various health problems due to his alcoholism and depression. He did not receive much recognition or success during his lifetime, and most of his films were commercial failures. However, he is now widely regarded as one of the greatest directors of Indian cinema, whose works have influenced many filmmakers across the world.