Mrinal Sen was an Indian filmmaker widely regarded as one of the foremost figures of parallel cinema and a leading exponent of socially engaged film-making in post-Independence India. Working primarily in Bengali, but also in Hindi, Telugu and Oriya, he directed feature films, documentaries and short films over a career spanning more than five decades. Along with Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, he is considered one of the three towering figures of Bengali art cinema.
Key facts
| Full name | Mrinal Sen |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 May 1923, Faridpur, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Bangladesh) |
| Died | 30 December 2018, Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, author |
| Languages of work | Bengali, Hindi, Telugu, Oriya |
| Education | Scottish Church College and University of Calcutta (Physics) |
| Notable films | Bhuvan Shome (1969), Calcutta 71 (1972), Mrigayaa (1976), Ek Din Pratidin (1979), Akaler Sandhane (1980), Kharij (1982) |
| Major awards | Padma Bhushan (1981), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2003), multiple National Film Awards, French Legion of Honour, Russian Order of Friendship |
| Spouse | Gita Sen (actress) |
Background and early life
Mrinal Sen was born on 14 May 1923 in Faridpur, in present-day Bangladesh, into a politically conscious middle-class Bengali family. He moved to Kolkata for higher studies, completing his schooling and later graduating in physics from Scottish Church College, affiliated to the University of Calcutta. During his student years he was associated with the cultural front of the Communist Party of India and was an active member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), an experience that shaped his lifelong engagement with leftist thought and the politics of class.
Before turning to direction, Sen worked variously as a medical representative, journalist and sound technician. His extensive reading on cinema during this period, particularly on Soviet film theory and Italian neorealism, formed the intellectual base for his later work.
Career
Early films
Sen's first feature was Raat Bhore (1955), which he later described as an unsatisfactory beginning. His second film, Neel Akasher Neechey (1959), set against the backdrop of the freedom movement, brought him wider recognition. Baishey Shravana (1960), a stark account of marriage and famine in rural Bengal, was screened at international festivals and established his presence in the world circuit.
Bhuvan Shome and the New Wave
Bhuvan Shome (1969), made in Hindi and starring Utpal Dutt and Suhasini Mulay, was partly financed by the Film Finance Corporation and is widely credited with inaugurating the Indian New Wave, or parallel cinema. Made on a modest budget, the film won National Film Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Direction and Best Actor, and demonstrated that low-cost, artistically ambitious cinema could find both critical and limited commercial success.
The Calcutta trilogy
Through the early 1970s, Sen directed his celebrated Calcutta trilogy: Interview (1971), Calcutta 71 (1972) and Padatik (1973). The trilogy reflected on unemployment, urban decay, the Naxalite movement and the political turbulence of the period, employing self-reflexive techniques, direct address to the audience, and documentary inserts.
Films in other languages and the middle period
Sen worked outside Bengali on several occasions. Mrigayaa (1976), in Hindi, marked the screen debut of Mithun Chakraborty and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. Oka Oori Katha (1977), in Telugu, based on a Premchand story, dealt with rural poverty and exploitation, while Matira Manisha in his earlier career had been adapted from a Kalindi Charan Panigrahi novel in Oriya.
Introspective phase
From the late 1970s, Sen's cinema turned more inward, examining the moral and emotional lives of the urban middle class. Ek Din Pratidin (1979) followed a Calcutta family's night-long anxiety over a missing daughter; Akaler Sandhane (1980), set during the making of a film about the 1943 Bengal famine, won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival; Chaalchitra (1981) won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Festival; and Kharij (1982), about the death of a child domestic worker, won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Later work
Subsequent films included Khandhar (1984), Genesis (1986, an Indo-French-Belgian co-production), Ek Din Achanak (1989), Mahaprithivi (1991) and Antareen (1993). His final feature was Aamaar Bhuvan (2002), set in rural Murshidabad. He also made documentaries, including a film on the Indian people for the Films Division.
Style and themes
Sen's films are characterised by political directness, formal experimentation and a willingness to confront the audience. Influenced by Bertolt Brecht, Italian neorealism and Soviet montage, he frequently broke narrative illusion through freeze frames, jump cuts, voice-over commentary and direct address. Recurring concerns include poverty and famine, the urban Bengali middle class, gender and domestic morality, the failures of the post-colonial state, and the role of the artist in society.
Public life and writings
Sen served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2003. He authored several books on cinema, including Views on Cinema, Cinema, Adhunikata (in Bengali) and the autobiographical Always Being Born (2004). He was a frequent participant at international film festivals and served on juries at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Tokyo and Chicago.
Awards and honours
- Padma Bhushan, Government of India, 1981
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 2003 (for the year 2005 conferral cycle as recognised by the Government of India)
- Multiple National Film Awards across categories including Best Feature Film and Best Direction
- Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize, Berlin International Film Festival, for Akaler Sandhane (1981)
- Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, for Kharij (1983)
- Golden Leopard, Locarno Film Festival, for Chaalchitra
- Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, France
- Officer of the Legion of Honour, France
- Order of Friendship, Russia
- Honorary D.Litt. from several Indian universities
Personal life and death
Mrinal Sen was married to the actress Gita Sen, who appeared in many of his films. Their son, Kunal Sen, is an academic based in the United States. Mrinal Sen died at his residence in Kolkata on 30 December 2018 at the age of 95.
Legacy
Sen is remembered as a pioneer who, alongside Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, redefined Indian cinema in the second half of the twentieth century. His role in catalysing the Indian New Wave through Bhuvan Shome, his unflinching political cinema of the 1970s, and the introspective family dramas of the 1980s continue to be studied in film schools in India and abroad. Retrospectives of his work have been held at major international film festivals and archives.