On the 100th birthday anniversary of Indian filmmaker Mrinal Sen, here are some of his best films, which you should definitely watch
Mrinal Sen/picture courtesy Parambrata Chatterjee's Twitter account
Mrinal Sen directed influential movies that explored social and political problems in Indian society. He believed using the camera and direction to examine current situations was powerful. Sen was unique for portraying impoverished India in a romanticised way, setting him apart from other filmmakers.
On his 100th birth anniversary, here are some of his best films, which you should definitely watch.
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Akash Kusum (1965)
A young man played by Soumitra Chatterjee, wants a better life. He does a risky deal and borrows a car and house from his rich friend, Subhendu Chatterjee, to look wealthy. He falls in love with Aparna Sen, a lady from a rich family. He can't tell her the truth and, in the end, pays the price for lying.
Bhuvan Shome (1969)
'Bhuvan Shome' starring Uttpal Dutt, a famous actor, played a westernised railway officer who went on a duck hunting trip to Gujarat and realised that life is more than just bureaucracy. Suhasini Mulay played a tribal woman who helped Dutt rediscover the pleasures of life. The film was directed by Mrinal Sen and featured beautiful scenery captured by cinematographer KK Mahajan. It won two National Film Awards for Best Director and Best Film.
Interview (1970)
Mrinal Sen's 'Calcutta Trilogy' consists of three films: 'Interview', 'Calcutta 71', and 'Padatik'. The lead character, played by Ranjit Mullick, is a clever young man who is promised a job by a family friend working for a foreign firm. In order to secure the job, he must dress in a western-style suit for his interview. Unfortunately, a labour union strike prevents him from accessing his own suit from the laundry. After losing a borrowed suit in a conflict, the young man ultimately arrives at the interview attired in a traditional Bengali Dhuti-Panjabi.
Calcutta 71 (1972)
'Calcutta 71' portrays corruption and violence across generations and is fashioned from four short stories by well-known authors. The narratives are linked, creating an impactful message that lays bare the situation in the 1970s. The film presented an unadulterated portrayal of the sufferings of ordinary people by exploring the political unrest during the decade. Its powerfully intense moments rank it among the outstanding achievements in Indian cinema. Mrinal Sen spent six years collecting its raw content, which culminated in the release of 'Calcutta 71' in 1972.
Padatik (1973)
'Padatik' is set in the early 1970s in Kolkata, which is full of chaos and history. The movie goes to great lengths, presenting an image of the city plunging into a grim future through disjointed fragments. Mrinal Sen tackles pertinent issues at a time of political unrest. Throughout the film, he intermittently offers glimpses of newspaper headlines that create a sense of an imminent crisis, inducing panic or despair. It's about a young political activist (Dhritiman Chatterjee) who escapes from a police vehicle and takes refuge in a luxurious apartment owned by a caring young woman (Simi Garewal).
Mrigayaa (1976)
'Mrigaaya' is a movie about a skilled hunter played by Mithun Chakraborty who belongs to a tribal community. The British rulers admire his hunting abilities, but despite this, he is wrongly accused of killing a moneylender who had taken his wife captive, resulting in his being hanged. This event leads to a rebellion among the tribal people, who stand up to both the British and their oppressors, the zamindars. Mithun's exceptional acting helped make the movie a cult classic, earning him a National Award for Best Actor, while director Mrinal Sen received a National Award for Best Film.
Ek Din Pratidin (1979)
Mrinal Sen's film, 'Ek Din Pratidin', made a significant impact on Bengali cinema by examining gender norms. The story follows the family's eldest daughter, who provides for her unemployed brother and other male relatives. When she fails to return home from work one night, her family is consumed by grief and anxiety, forcing them to confront their reliance on her income. Mrinal Sen's thought-provoking film raises essential questions: do the family members react to her disappearance out of love, affection, or fear of losing their source of income? For his exceptional direction, 'Ek Din Pratidin' earned Mrinal Sen a well-deserved National Award.
Khandahar (1984)
The plot of a 1984 Bengali film 'Khandahar' centres around a group of friends who visit some rural ruins for a picnic and encounter a mother and daughter who reside there. The mother is blind and bedridden and has a false belief that one of the visitors is her daughter's fiance. However, this turns out to be untrue. One of the group members, a photographer portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah, decides to cooperate with the girl (played by Shabana Azmi). Nevertheless, their decision triggers a series of dramatic events, leading them to spend several gloomy and intense days in the ruins. The acclaimed film, 'Khandahar,' earned Mrinal Sen the National Film Award for Best Director.
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