Remembering filmmaking legend Mrinal Sen on 100th birth anniversary
Filmmaking auteur and screenwriter Mrinal Sen was a towering figure not just in Bengali cinema but also had a consequential impact on Hindi cinema and contributed to its illustrious legacy. He is credited with being one of the most instrumental figures of India's New Wave cinema and frequently infused his films with realist-socialist themes. On his 100th birth anniversary, let's revisit his major works.
'Bhuvan Shome' (1969)
Sen's 1969 Hindi directorial Bhuvan Shome was based on a story by Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay. It was headlined by Utpal Dutt (in the titular role) and Suhasini Mulay (in her film debut). Interestingly, Amitabh Bachchan was roped in to do the voiceover in this film that focused on the classist's chasms in India, among other themes. You can find the movie on YouTube.
'Antareen' (1993)
Antareen, a 1993 Bengali drama, was an adaptation of Saadat Hasan Manto's Badshahat Ka Khatimah, though it opted for a different ending. Led by Dimple Kapadia, Anjan Dutt, and Tathagata Sanyal, it was awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. It is the study of a relationship between a young writer seeking inspiration and his chance interactions with a stranger.
'Genesis'(1986)
A Hindi film that played at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, Genesis starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, and Om Puri—actors who were central to the New Wave Cinema Movement. IMDb describes it as follows, "A weaver and a farmer live peacefully on the edge of a desert until, one day, a woman wanders into their world, and her presence slowly disrupts their routine existence."
'Parashuram' (1979)
Parashuram is another Bengali film that exists as an example of Sen's popularity in the international film festival circuit. The film, starring Arun Mukherjee and Arati Das, won the Silver Prize at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival. Its plot is described as follows,"A rural migrant comes to the city and shares a temporary shelter with an old beggar in an abandoned graveyard."
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