India, Nov. 4 -- Ritwik Ghatak made his last film in 1974; he died in 1976. That the BJP's youth wing in West Bengal wanted to use clips from his films in their campaign video in late 2019 speaks of his relevance even today, even in that most everyday affair: electoral politics.

That Ritwik's surviving family members protested against such use, spoke of it too. BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya responded with: "One family cannot be the custodian of a film-maker like Ghatak, whose work appeals to a vast section of people. We have every right to use a dialogue from his film."

Out of nowhere almost, the long forgotten-and forgiven-Ritwik, an undesirable drunk when he was around, was back in the discussion. Like, again, after the 2024 'Banglade...