Originally from the Chittagong district of undivided Bengal, Sudhir Ranjan Khastgir studied fine arts under Nandalal Bose in Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan. He was known for an "Indian style" of painting, which began by depicting the beauty of landscapes, idealizing toilers of the land, and later creating abstracting themes from the mythical and historical past. He was influenced by the Tagore family during his student years at Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan, in its earliest stage.

Khastigir, later went on to teach at Doon School, Dehra Doon for a long period as an art teacher, followed by becoming the Principal at Govt. Art College, Lucknow. His visual thematic broadly depicted, cheerful dancers, santhals, the Palash flower, amaltash trees and the like. Khastgir was also sculptor, and did portraits of several eminent Indian and British personalities, including Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru. His sculptural compositions include themes from the real as well as the mythical world.