Kolkata, Feb 6 (UNI) Filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak whose cinemas inspired new age directors across the country was fondly remembered today on his 41st death anniversary. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has paid homage to the Bengali filmmaker and script-writer Ritwik Ghatak on the occasion. “Homage to Ritwik Ghatak on his death anniversary,” Ms Banerjee tweeted. Ghatak was one of the forerunners of Parallel Cinema, who in his rather short 50-year lifespan brought to the Indian film industry a range of movies driven by realism and his sociopolitical outlook A former principal of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Ghatak received a number of awards in his career, including National Film Award, Rajat Kamal Award for Best Story in 1974 for his Jukti Takko Aar Gappo and Best Director's Award from Bangladesh Cine Journalist's Association for Titash Ekti Nadir Naam. Central Government honoured him with the Padma Shri for Arts in 1970 Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality. Although their roles were often adversarial, they were ardent admirers of each other's work and, in doing so; the three directors charted the independent trajectory of parallel cinema, as a counterpoint to the mainstream fare of Hindi cinema in India. Primarily known as a director, with eight full-length feature films, a few short films and documentaries to his credit, Ghatak has also been recognised for writing movies, plays and essays on film making. Ghatak's views and commentaries on films, having written more than 50 articles and essays on the subject, are counted as a part of scholarly studies and researches. Filmmaking was not only art for him. In his opinion it was only a means to the end of serving people: It was only a means of expressing his anger at the sorrows and sufferings of his people. Ghatak though his films made an impact much after his death, jewels like Meghe Dhaka Tara in 1960 and Nagrik in 1952 till date have a dedicated audience. Most of his films focussed on themes of partition of 1947 and the feeling of being uprooted from the rural milieu of East Bengal. Though his films were strictly non-commercial, Ghatak penned the script for the reincarnation blockbuster Madhumati in 1958 The legendary filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak breathed his last in Kolkata on February 6, 1976. UNI BM SJC