A River Called Titas
1973·Drama·2h 39m
7.1
★
An in-depth look at the lives and struggles of a fishing community living by the River Titas in Bangladesh after the Partition of India in 1947.
Directed by Ritwik Ghatak
village life
arranged marriage
fisherman
debt collector
descent into madness
orphan
suicide of mother
partition
food shortage
hasty marriage
lovers separated
fishing village
rural poverty
attempted kidnapping
india bangladesh border
river life
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Rosy Afsary
Basanti
Kabori Sarwar
Rajar Jhi
Rawshan Zamil
Basanti's Mother
Rani Sarkar
Mungli
Sufia Rustam
Udaytara
Prabir Mitra
Kishore
Shafikul Islam
Ananta
Golam Mustafa
Ramprasad / Kader Mian
Ritwik Ghatak
Tilakchand
Fakrul Hasan Bairagi
Nibaran Kundu
M.A. Khair
Basanti's Father
Nupur
Young Basanti
Crew
Ritwik Ghatak
Director
Ritwik Ghatak
Writer
Baby Islam
Director of Photography
Fakrul Hasan Bairagi
First Assistant Director
Popular Reviews
10 reviews
MopudPRO
8.0★ · 01/13/26
A slow, bittersweet film about a community fading with its river
A slow, bittersweet film about a community fading with its river
1
PoochieVince
8.0★ · 02/02/26
Every river tells a story.
Every river tells a story.
Ayeshoo
mungli: you're just a woman. what can you do?
basanti: i can do everything. if i can't do anything, i can set the village ablaze!
*****
basanti: husband or in-laws, i have none. i live without fear! come, misbegotten one! i'll teach you a lesson! if you have the guts, take me on! this is my motherland, my homeland! i'm not afraid! there's not a man who can scare me. the man who can hurt me has not been born!
*
basanti: sister, you worry me. stop joking with the crazy man. you don't know why he's crazy.
rajar jhi: yes, i know. because he lost his soulmate.
basanti: you cannot get his soulmate back.
rajar jhi: no, i can't do that. but i can try to become his soulmate.
*
basanti: will you ever understand how deep my river of pain is? can't i have my own dreams and desires?
*
rajar jhi: a woman's life is barren without a man.
*
basanti: there's only one real thing in the world: motherhood. there is nothing else.
◉◉◉
has there ever been a better character than basanti? i think not.
loved this. adored this. absolutely brilliant. adding to my on: radical feminism list, of course, with much to say about male-female socialisation under patriarchy. the expectations to marry and give birth to prove yourself a woman, worthy of respect. the thankless burden of care.
i need to make a movie.
basanti: i can do everything. if i can't do anything, i can set the village ablaze!
*****
basanti: husband or in-laws, i have none. i live without fear! come, misbegotten one! i'll teach you a lesson! if you have the guts, take me on! this is my motherland, my homeland! i'm not afraid! there's not a man who can scare me. the man who can hurt me has not been born!
*
basanti: sister, you worry me. stop joking with the crazy man. you don't know why he's crazy.
rajar jhi: yes, i know. because he lost his soulmate.
basanti: you cannot get his soulmate back.
rajar jhi: no, i can't do that. but i can try to become his soulmate.
*
basanti: will you ever understand how deep my river of pain is? can't i have my own dreams and desires?
*
rajar jhi: a woman's life is barren without a man.
*
basanti: there's only one real thing in the world: motherhood. there is nothing else.
◉◉◉
has there ever been a better character than basanti? i think not.
loved this. adored this. absolutely brilliant. adding to my on: radical feminism list, of course, with much to say about male-female socialisation under patriarchy. the expectations to marry and give birth to prove yourself a woman, worthy of respect. the thankless burden of care.
i need to make a movie.
mungli: you're just a woman. what can you do?
basanti: i can do everything. if i can't do anything, i can set the village ablaze!
*****
basanti: husband or in-laws, i have none. i live without fear! come, misbegotten one! i'll teach you a lesson! if you have the guts, take me on! this is my motherland, my homeland! i'm not afraid! there's not a man who can scare me. the man who can hurt me has not been born!
*
basanti: sister, you worry me. stop joking with the crazy man. you don't know why he's crazy.
rajar jhi: yes, i know. because he lost his soulmate.
basanti: you cannot get his soulmate back.
rajar jhi: no, i can't do that. but i can try to become his soulmate.
*
basanti: will you ever understand how deep my river of pain is? can't i have my own dreams and desires?
*
rajar jhi: a woman's life is barren without a man.
*
basanti: there's only one real thing in the world: motherhood. there is nothing else.
◉◉◉
has there ever been a better character than basanti? i think not.
loved this. adored this. absolutely brilliant. adding to my on: radical feminism list, of course, with much to say about male-female socialisation under patriarchy. the expectations to marry and give birth to prove yourself a woman, worthy of respect. the thankless burden of care.
i need to make a movie.
basanti: i can do everything. if i can't do anything, i can set the village ablaze!
*****
basanti: husband or in-laws, i have none. i live without fear! come, misbegotten one! i'll teach you a lesson! if you have the guts, take me on! this is my motherland, my homeland! i'm not afraid! there's not a man who can scare me. the man who can hurt me has not been born!
*
basanti: sister, you worry me. stop joking with the crazy man. you don't know why he's crazy.
rajar jhi: yes, i know. because he lost his soulmate.
basanti: you cannot get his soulmate back.
rajar jhi: no, i can't do that. but i can try to become his soulmate.
*
basanti: will you ever understand how deep my river of pain is? can't i have my own dreams and desires?
*
rajar jhi: a woman's life is barren without a man.
*
basanti: there's only one real thing in the world: motherhood. there is nothing else.
◉◉◉
has there ever been a better character than basanti? i think not.
loved this. adored this. absolutely brilliant. adding to my on: radical feminism list, of course, with much to say about male-female socialisation under patriarchy. the expectations to marry and give birth to prove yourself a woman, worthy of respect. the thankless burden of care.
i need to make a movie.
Alex Teichman
7.0★ · 03/18/25
Can’t believe there was a time in my life where I wasn’t a fan of black and white visuals. Purest form of the art.
Can’t believe there was a time in my life where I wasn’t a fan of black and white visuals. Purest form of the art.
Gabriel Silva
5.3★ · 09/22/24
I’ll have to give this a rewatch. I was not in the right mindset for this film. It is technically beautiful for its time and I admire the ambition to handle so many stories across a long period of time, but I need to revisit it when my mind isn’t muddled and I’m not so fatigued
I’ll have to give this a rewatch. I was not in the right mindset for this film. It is technically beautiful for its time and I admire the ambition to handle so many stories across a long period of time, but I need to revisit it when my mind isn’t muddled and I’m not so fatigued