FTII Breathes New Life into Ritwik Ghatak’s Fear
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) unveils a 4K restored version of Fear (1965), a rare staff film directed by Ritwik Ghatak. Available on FTII’s YouTube channel, this chilling cinematic gem highlights Ghatak’s enduring genius and the early performances of Indian cinema legends.
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has recently pulled a rabbit out of the hat, unveiling a masterfully restored 4K version of Fear (1965) — a little-known gem directed by the legendary Ritwik Ghatak. Now available for public viewing on FTII’s official YouTube channel, this restoration offers cinephiles and students of cinema a rare chance to marvel at one of Ghatak’s more overlooked works.
Originally conceived as a mere training exercise for acting students, Fear boasts a cast brimming with future stalwarts of Indian cinema: Subhash Ghai, Sudha Rani, Urvashi Dutta, Govardhan Sharma, and Asrani. In hindsight, it was rather like spotting gold dust in a sandpit — these young performers would go on to leave an indelible mark on the silver screen.
Shot in Hindi, the film captures a singularly chilling scenario: the ominous alarm sounds, warning that a hydrogen bomb is about to be unleashed. A motley crew of humanity is herded into an experimental shelter, their survival hanging by a thread. Yet even with Armageddon knocking at the door, entrenched divisions, prejudices, and all-too-human frailties stubbornly refuse to die down. It’s classic Ghatak through and through — a razor-sharp examination of societal decay and the battered but unbowed human spirit. One might say, even at the brink of oblivion, old habits die hard.
The technical team — Lall Jaswaney on photography, U.C. Sinha on sound, and V.V. Revankar on editing — deserves a hearty pat on the back. Their work weaves a claustrophobic atmosphere that ratchets up the emotional and psychological stakes, leaving viewers perched on the edge of their seats.
During his relatively brief stint at FTII, Ritwik Ghatak proved himself a veritable tour de force, shaping the minds of students who would go on to revolutionise Indian cinema. Among his illustrious protégés were Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, and John Abraham — a list that reads like a who’s who of cinematic innovation.
Ghatak’s creative genius did not go unnoticed. He was awarded the prestigious Rajat Kamal for Best Story at the National Film Awards in 1974 for Jukti Takko Aar Gappo, his magnum opus. A few years earlier, in 1970, the Government of India had already tipped its hat to him, conferring upon him the Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution to the arts.
The restoration of Fear is part and parcel of FTII’s broader initiative to preserve and celebrate the legacy of its distinguished alumni. Under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM), FTII has been diligently digitising and uploading restored versions of classic student films. These uploads have unearthed early performances by the likes of Irrfan Khan, and showcased the budding directorial talents of Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani — a real treasure trove for lovers of cinema.
In breathing new life into Fear, FTII has not merely dusted off an old relic; they have given today’s generation an invaluable window into the formative visions of one of cinema’s towering figures. And for that, cinephiles the world over must surely be chuffed to bits. Click the link below to watch the movie.
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