Mrinal Sen, one of India's greatest directors, will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in New Delhi on February 2. In this excerpt from a conversation with Samik Bandopadhyay, Mrinalda discusses three familiar actors he has worked with.
Smita (Patil) knew she wanted to do the role. And Shabana (Azmi) knew she wanted to, too. They knew that I was working on this film. They were then acting in Mandi. Shabana was the landlady. Smita was the prostitute. And Sreela (Majumdar)was in it too. Both of them called me up and said that they wanted to act in my new film. And Sreela too, following their example, pitched in with her request. I told her to calm down. 'You are practically family. Stop worrying.' I sat down and wrote to both Shabana and Smita. 'You are definitely acting in my next film. But unlike Shyam (Benegal), I cannot move about with a harem, like a Mughal Emperor. He can take plenty of women at a time, but I can't take more than one woman at a time. I start with you. After you, I'll take on another actress. You are a great actress. So is the other one.'
I wrote 'Dear Shabana' on one and 'Dear Smita' on the other. I deliberately interchanged the envelopes and sent them off. I got to hear of the end result much later, from Shyam (Benegal). They were at the dinner table. It was during the filming of Aarohan (produced by West Bengal Film Development Corporation). (They had exposed 10,000 feet in order to shoot some lightning. I was told by the best laboratory of West Europe that they had never seen lightning shot this way before. I had borrowed some of that for Genesis.) Shabana came to dinner, wearing a long face. And told Smita, 'This is a letter for you.' And Smita too, pulling out a letter from her wallet, said, 'Here, this one's yours.' (Laughs.) They confessed that they'd had a big laugh about it.
Shabana could really put one on the spot. One couldn't say no. One never had a chance to do so. I was visiting Shabana once at her father's place in Juhu. As I got up to leave, she gave me a rose. We exchanged kisses and left. This was before Khandahar (1983). The moment I stepped out, I met Smita who had come to collect her parents. They were on the way to Prithvi Theatre to watch a play. There I was, outside Shabana's house, clutching a rose to my breast. Like a Mughal Emperor on his way to war! 'Mrinalda, I've caught you at it!' she exclaimed and hugged me. I didn't know what to say. 'I'm sorry. Do forgive me.' 'No. I've caught you this time. There is only one way you can atone for your sins. You must watch my film Umbartha tomorrow.' 'But my plane leaves at noon tomorrow.'
She was not to be swayed and fixed it up so that I could watch it at the laboratory itself. Somewhere near the Film City. It took an age to get hold of a print and by the time we began watching it, it was almost ten thirty. The film was a long one, and Smita's parents were there too. I sent off a young man who was with me, to the airport, to check in. The moment the film ended, I ran to the car. 'I cannot speak with you now. I must be off or else I'll miss my flight. Well done.' I patted her on the back and was off. 'Next time I come I'll have puran polis with you,' I told her parents, her mother in particular.
She used to make them for me especially and send them over. Smita's mother used to tell me about how she had spent a lot of time traveling with her husband, on political work for the Congress. She said to me, 'I would like to be with your team when you work. I can cook. I have heard so much from Smita. All of you become like one big family. I would like to be a part of it.' I promised Smita that I would call her when I reached home. But she called me first. 'How did you like it?' 'I thought you did very well, although I have my reservations about the film as a whole,' I said. 'I forgive you then, since you did make time to watch the film,' she replied.
After that, when I completed Khandahar, I received a long fax from Cannes. My faxes would come to the Grand Hotel, in those days. They had written that although they had seen Khandahar, they could not accept two films from the same country. They had heard of Ray's Ghare Bairey. And wee convinced that this was his last film because he had fallen sick while filming. They had started this festival with Pather Panchali. Let the Cannes festival end with Ghare Bairey, they requested. No one had seen his film yet. And everyone was worried – if my film won an award and his didn't, then that itself would perhaps kill him off. They said they would extend every support to me and my film but that I must concede to this one request. They screened it, but out of the competitive section. I had nothing to say.
The people at Venice were enraged. 'Why didn't you give it to us?' Anyway, then it went to Montreal. Where it got the Second Prize. And to Chicago where it got the Best Film Award. Then, it was also included in the Film Guide -- where the five best films from all over the world are chosen every year.
Gilles Jacob, director of the Cannes Festival, was present at the Montreal Festival. It is a French-speaking region and Smita was part of the jury too. Gilles called me up one morning: 'Mrinal, though I am leaving this morning, and a friend of mine from India is also leaving, can we meet over breakfast? We perhaps have no time for lunch.' I agreed. I also knew that the friend she wanted to bring for lunch would be none other than Smita. She congratulated me warmly, and said, 'Mrinalda, I simply have to tell you this. I have never seen Shabana look so beautiful before.' It was such a compliment and such an honest confession. Although there were undercurrents of tension between those two leading ladies. Just before that, referring to Smita, Shabana had told me, 'Mrinalda, this woman is sick in the head.' That was the difference between the two. Geeta was very fond of Smita.
Gilles Jacob said, 'You've taken her for one film which won an award at Berlin. I want you to make another film with her, which you must give to me. To my festival.' I agreed. Smita quickly picked up a paper napkin and wrote down this decision. And I signed it, putting down the place and the date. Gilles signed it too and so did Smita. And I remember absolutely clearly, how lovingly and gently she folded it and put it away in her handbag. Three months later she was dead. I was getting hourly updates on her condition. The moment I heard about her death, I sent off a fax to Jacob. And he called me back immediately. 'Whom can I call up, to pay my condolences?' I gave him Smita's husband's number. It was very sad.
(It was so unexpected, so unnecessary…)
Yes, absolutely. One of the city's most famous doctors had confided to me -- a gynaecologist -- 'One of us is responsible for her death. I visit Bombay frequently and have heard about it. She died because of gross negligence.'
* * *
One morning I visited Khwaja Ahmed Abbas (1914 to 1987, journalist, columnist, scriptwriter and filmmaker), who lived next door. 'Abbas-saheb,' I said. 'I'm making a film.' 'Yes, I've heard.' 'And everyone in it is new. If I go to the Films Division, I know I will get plenty of people – Pratap Shama and the like – whose voices I can use. But I don't want to. We are all such old friends. I want a new voice. Since everyone else is new, I would like this person to be an unknown figure too.'
There was a young man there, amongst many others. Tall. Thin. 'Mrinalda, aami Bangla jaani. Aami kolkatay chhilo,' he said. (Mrinalda, I can speak Bengali. I used to live in Calcutta.) I told him, 'Your Bengali is lousy but your voice is great. And for your information, my film is a Hindi one. The name is Bengali and the protagonist is also Bengali, but it's a Hindi film. I need your voice for a few words a little after the movie begins and then a little bit again, towards the end. Are you willing?' I had to trade with his director.
This young man was working in a movie called Saat Hindustani, at that point. His director, Abbas, said the chap was being loaned to me on condition -- that I would get him Utpal in return. I agreed. I took the young man to Jagdish Banerjee's house -- he had done some work for the Films Division -- who agreed to do the recording. We had a budget of only one and a half lakhs and so had to skimp at every turn. Oh, what a trial that was. The sound of fish being fried next door and then the smell of that same fish wafting past us. It was impossible. I said, 'What the hell! Let's spend some money anyway.' So off we went to Blaze, where we finished the recording in twenty minutes. There was a Hindi translation of Sonaar Bangla. The young man asked me, 'Mrinalda, shall I say "sonaar Bangla"?' I agreed.
When I went to pay him, he refused. 'This is my very first work in films. I simply cannot accept money for it.' I reasoned with him. 'Look, all of us are accepting payment. You cannot insult us like this. Take it professionally. Is this your profession?' 'Yes,' he replied. 'Well then, make a start with this.' So those three hundred rupees were his first earning in the world of films. When I asked him for his name, for the credit line, he simply said, 'Amitabh.' At that point he was still undecided about whether he would keep the Bachchan part of it.
Amitabh Bachchan had spoken the commentary for Bhuvan Shome.
Sen was born in 1923 in Faridpur ( now in Bangladesh ). He studied with Physics major in Calcutta University. In his young age he got interested in Marxist philosophy. He was used to write film reviews. In 1943 he joined Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). His interest in film was sudden when he came a across a book titled "FILM" by Rudolf Arnheim. His films were influenced by leftist idealism and mostly focused the social and political , the crisis in middle class life. Mrinal's first movie was "raat bhor" in 1956. His second movie "Neel Akasher Nichey ( Under The Blue Sky)" was banned by Govt for two months in 1958. He made "baisey sravan"(A wedding day) in 1960 which was a love story ending in famine. In 1956 he made Akash Kusum (The Daydream). His most remarkable films include Ekdin Pratidin(1979) and Kharij(1982) where he depicted the middle class urban life complexity. In 1980 he directed Akaler Sandhaney( In Search of Famine). The political unrest in Calcutta was portrayed in his movies as in, Interview, Calcutta 71, Padatik. He made some movies in languages other than Bengali - Oriya, Telegu and Hindi.
Sen lives in Calcutta and has mot made any movies for quite some time now.
Baise Sravan
Akash Kusum
Genesis
Khandahar
Calcutta 71
Awards:
National : Swarna Kamal (Gold) -- Best film of the year - 4 times, Rajat Kamal (Silver) - Best in various categories/ crafts - many times.
International : Major and minor prizes in International Festivals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Mannheim, Chicago, Montreal, Valladolid (Spain), Avillino, Naples (Italy), Carthage (Tunis), Colombo & Delhi.
Other Awards : Nehru Soviet Land Award, 1979, Padma Bhusan (India), 1981, Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et letters (France), 1983, D Litt (Honoris Causa), Bardwan University, D Litt (Honoris Causa), Jadavpur University, Calcutta, 1996.
Miscellaneous : Served as member of International Jury at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Moscow, Karlovy vary, Tokyo, Tehran, Mannheim, Nyon, Chicago, Ghent, Tunis, Oberhausen etc.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years agoMrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen entered the world of arts through Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA) in 1943. He made his first film Raat Bhor in 1956. Deeply influenced by the leftist ideology, most of his films dealt with social and political themes. His second film Neel Akasher Nichey was banned by the Government for two months in 1958. In most of his films he discussed the complexities of the middle class urban life of Bengal in depth. He also made films in Oriya, Telugu and Hindi.
Mrinal Sen won the National award for best film four times. His films were screened in a number of International film festivals and also won several awards. He has served as a jury member at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Filmography:
Masters of Indian Cinema | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name of the Film: Ek Din Achanak (Suddenly One Day) Name of the Director: Mrinal Sen Plot Summary: Ek Din Achanak in Hindi can be loosely translated as, "One day, without warning." This movie beautifully captures the vagaries of life in a typical middle-class home in a nondescript city in India. The subject of the movie is a retired professor who walks out on a rainy day and disappears without any reasons. The story unfolds as the family reacts to this disappearance first with shock, then sorrow, resignation and finally acceptance. This story is told with the lyrical background of rain and the pace is leisurely. No explanations are given, nor any analysis performed. The director tries to keep the movie focused on the central theme without degenerating the plot to a thriller. Filmmaker Bio: Cast and lead cast bios: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year made: 1989
Language: Hindi Length: 105 Min |
Mrinal Sen has been chosen for this year's Dada Saheb Phalke award, for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. |
Jenny kissed me.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years agoIn my School and College days, I was an ardent fan of Amitabh Bachchan. Scarcely would I miss any of his starrers, and not content with a single viewing, usually I ended up watching a Bachchan starrer a number of times. Around that time, quite naturally, I had an apathy towards the "other Cinema." The "art cinema", I found, was very slow paced, mostly shot in dark making the characters invisible, based on themes of poverty, hunger and famine and the treatment very confusing.
After College, I went to the University. My love affair with Bachchan continued. One day, quite by chance, I saw the film "CALCUTTA 71". The experience was a mind-blowing one. This Bengali film, directed by Mrinal Sen, was a highly intense feature based on four short stories by eminent Bengali writers like Manik Bandopadhyay, Samaresh Basu and others, against the backdrop of Naxalite movement. It was my initiation into the world of Mrinal Sen, Gautam Ghosh, Bhaben Saikia, Arinbam Shyam Sharma and other realistic 'Indian Filmmakers.' I developed an interest in their work and whenever I got an opportunity to see more of their works, I availed it.
I found that Mrinal Sen, with a career spanning four decades, had an impressive filmography of highly intense and disturbing original works, arguably the finest specimen of Indian films ever made. I felt both disturbed and enlightened by watching his masterworks like 'Baisey Shravan','Bhuvan Shome', 'Padatik', 'Kharij', 'Ek Din Pratidin', 'Akaler Sandhane','Mrigaya', 'Khandahar','Oka Orie Katha' and many more. His films have, quite naturally, been honored at the most prestigious International Film Festivals like Berlin, Cannes, Venice and others. His films have evoked a keen interest in all major filmmaking Countries.
Unfortunately, in his own country, he is one of the lesser known personalities, and hardly any of his masterworks have been released in a big scale, or enjoyed a good run at the Theatres. In retrospect, even the Indian Govt. seems to be neglecting this septuagenarian genius. National Honors like Dadasaheb Phalke, which is long overdue, still seems to be eluding, whereas cine personalities of much lesser depths are being honored by the Govt. each year. When will our National Committees honor such gifted people, whose numbers are dwindling with every passing day?