PROFILE
PROFILE Mrinal Sen, last of the triumvirate of Bengali directing icons along with Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, who breathed his last at his Kolkata home on December 30 at the age of 95, explored the meaning and potency of cinema by putting Indian cinema on the global stage. K V Priya J udged by national and international acclaim, Left movement, Sen joined the Indian People’s the maverick writer-director, in a career Theatre Association (IPTA), the cultural wing of the spanning over five decades, left behind 28 Communist Party of India. However, he was not a feature films including one for children, 14 card holding party member. short films and five documentaries. Though all the three filmmakers were He was an assistant to the silent era veteran united in their humanist touch, they were Dhirendra Nath Ganguly for a while and watched different in their approach. Ghatak, who died young Ritwik Ghatak shoot Ajantrik in Ranchi in eastern in 1976 at the age of 51, was known for his post- India. Pooling resources, Sen debuted in 1955 with partition angst while maestro Satyajit Ray, who died Raat Bhor (The Dawn), a story about a village boy’s in 1992 at the age of 99, had ushered and nourished disillusionment in an alien city, with Bengali actor the genre of parallel or art cinema in India, but had Uttam Kumar in the lead, who went on to become a overlooked the decline around him. In comparison, superstar. But the film bombed at the box office. inspired by Marxist ethos, Sen was the boldest and radical of the three. “The film was a disaster, the biggest of all big disasters. All because what I thought earlier was “Sen was the most political of India’s filmmakers, wrong, because I realised I was not educated frequently wading into the sensitive themes of the enough, because the point was not just to decide plight of the dispossessed, disillusionment among the what to say, because I did not know how to say youth and the many moral and ethical dilemmas of it. And that precisely was my biggest problem, the urban middle class. His was a cinema of rage and my biggest weakness. Having made such a lousy provocation – many of his films were a call to action. film, I reckoned I had humiliated myself,” Sen All the stories that he put on the big screen were acknowledges in his memoir, Always Being Born. underlined by deep empathy for the disempowered and the exploited,” observes noted Indian film critic Disheartened, Sen took to medical salesmanship Saibal Chatterjee. and toured central India. But his heart was in filmmaking, so a few months later he returned to his Born in Faridpur town, now in Bangladesh, after place behind the lens. He made his second film Neel finishing school Mrinal Sen, graduated in Physics Akasher Neechey (Under the Blue Sky) in 1958, which from Scottish Church College in Kolkata, the city did much better than the first film and also earned which was the centre of intellectual and political praise from Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. activities in India. Drawn into the vortex of the Adapted from a story by Hindi writer Mahadevi Verma, the film is about a Chinese silk hawker selling 52 May-June 2019 INDIA & YOU
PROFILE his wares on the streets of Calcutta Other than Bengali, Sen explored filmmaking in Odiya, Hindi and Telgu languages and of his growing bond with a Bengali homemaker. Set in the 1930s, when Sen had been International Federation of the Film the British Raj was on its last legs and elected president of Societies and served as a member on imperialist Japan was launching attacks the International the international jury at various film on China, the film had obvious political Federation of the festivals, including Cannes, Venice, overtones. Ironically, the PM Nehru’s Film Societies Berlin, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Tokyo, praise notwithstanding, the film, with its Tehran, Mannheim, Nyon, Chicago, strong undertones of communism and Ray. Writing on Sen’s film Ek Din Ghent, Tunis, and Oberhausen, had which criticised the rich for ignoring the Achanak, (One Day Suddenly, 1989) won several honours and innumerable poor, was banned by the government, Ray wrote: “Never before the maker awards at these festivals. Notable ones becoming the first victim of independent showed ignorance about characters include the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s censor board. authored by him. I suspect Mrinal nominated as member of Rajya Sabha, does not know why the Professor the Upper House of Indian Parliament An uncompromising critic of disappeared in Ek Din Achanak.” from 1997-2007, the Commandeur de middle class, it became his favourite l’ordre des Arts et letters awarded target, notably in films like Kharij (Case Unfortunately, the private letters by the French government, and the Dismissed, 1982), in which the death of got leaked before Ray’s death and Ray’s Order of Friendship by the Russian a servant-boy by asphyxiation unsettles comments hurt Sen. The maestro had government. a bourgeois Kolkata couple, and Ek Din criticised the tendency of “some art Pratidin (And Quiet Rolls the Dawn, 1979), film makers who are more interested “None of them even Mrinal, knows the story of a family thrown into disarray in festival circuits than in establishing a the art of storytelling. Mrinal is a prime when the daughter fails to return home rapport with audience”. example of such shoddy film making,” from work one evening. Ray had observed. Despite this, Sen continued to Sen also explored beyond the be invited to various film festivals Nevertheless, Sen, who always boundaries of Bengal. He made films in around the world. Sen, who had doubted himself, admitted his failures Odiya (Matir Manisha, 1966), in Hindi been elected president of the and understood his shortcomings of (several, including Bhuvan Shome, 1969), his work. Despite this, he continues and in Telugu (Oka Oori Katha, 1977). to inspire younger Indian filmmakers, Also, he did not limit himself to works especially those who believe that in Bengali. For example, Neel Akasher cinema is more than just a medium of Niche (1958) was based on a work by escapist entertainment. Mahadevi Verma, Matira Manisha (Two Brothers, 1966) and Mrigaya (The Hunt, 1976) on works by Odiya authors Kalindi Charan Panigrahi and Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi respectively, Oka Oorie Katha (The Outsiders, 1977) on a Hindi story by Munshi Premchand, Antareen (The Confined, 1993) on a work by Sadat Hasan Manto. Going beyond his immediate milieu he also probed the hardship faced by the subaltern classes. Mrigayaa, (The Royal Hunt) made in 1976 in Hindi, for instance, portrayed the effects of the imperial rule on the lives of the simple tribals of the jungles of central India. The film viewed the fraught relationship between British exploitation of forests and the resistance by an untameable young and brave Santhal hunter (played by debutant Mithun Chakraborty) not through an elitist prism but from the standpoint of the subjugated tribal population. The performance fetched Mithun a National Award. His Calcutta triology in the 1970s with Interview (1970), Calcutta 71 (1972) and Padatik (Guerilla Fighter, 1973) sought to capture the angst and spirit of the turbulent times in the metro and around the country. Rather surprisingly, one of the fiercest critics of Mrinal Sen’s work was Satyajit INDIA & YOU May-June 2019 53
Mark Your Diary International Film Festival of India International Film Festival of India (IFFI), started in 1952, is one of Asia’s first and most prestigious film festival that aims to provide a common platform to the cinemas across the world to project the excellence of the art of film making. This year celebrates the Golden Jubilee of the festival and will see a great fiesta of movies, memories and masters along with participation from major international and domestic filmmakers. When: November 20-28, 2019 Where: Goa Website: iffigoa.org Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Kolkata International Film Festival Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star is an inclusive movie Kolkata Film Festival, started in 1995, is the culmination of feast, showcasing the latest cutting-edge, independent cinema- a film society movement inspired by the masters of Bengali art house fare alongside genre movies from Bollywood and Cinema - Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen.The festival Hollywood and cult international movies.The festival offers the now with the support of the Government of West Bengal best of world cinema to the people of India and Indian cinema has grown larger and more inclusive.The festival sees coming to the world.The festival is run by the Mumbai Academy of together of contemporary international and domestic films Moving Image (MAMI).The film festival showcased around 220 and documentaries.The previous edition of the festival handpicked films across genres in the previous edition. screened 170 films from 70 countries. When: October 17-24, 2019 When: November 8-15, 2019 Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra Where: Kolkata,West Bengal Website: mumbaifilmfestival.com Website: kiff.in Date...................... Subscribe Now I would like to subscribe India & You for 12 issues May-June 2019 First Name: Mr a Mrs a Miss a ................................................................................................................................... Company Name ................................................................................................ Address ....................................................................................................................................Postal Code .............................. City ............................................. Country .................................................. Tel. No. (Resi) ............................................... (Office) ................................................. (Mob.) ...................................................... E-mail ........................................................................................................ I read India & You for Personal Reasons a Professional Reasons a I would like to pay the amount in Africa: 115€ a Malaysia: 700 MYR a UAE: 270 AED a Belgium: 100€ a Mauritius: 5000 MRU a Singapore: 250 SGD a UK: 80 GPB a Canada: 150 CAD a Saudi Arabia: 270 SAR a France: 85€ a Other GCC: 275 AED a Oman: RO 35 a India: 5000 INR a Switzerland: 100€ a Other Europe: 100€ a Subscription in Paris a I am attaching my cheque in favour of “Media India” Address: India & You, Subscriptions, 32 rue Le Peletier, 75009, Paris, France Subscription in India a I am attaching my cheque in favour of “Lavanya Media Pvt. Ltd.” Address: India & You, Subscriptions, 1226, DLF Tower-A, Jasola District Centre, Jasola, New Delhi - 110025 54 May-June 2019 INDIA & YOU
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