Mrinal Sen

Mrinal Sen (Bengali: মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director and a nominated Member of the Indian parliament. Sen directed films primarily in Bengali and Hindi. Along with his contemporaries Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, he pioneered the New Wave cinema in India. He has received multiple awards, including 18 National Film Awards. The Government of India has awarded him the Padma Bhushan, and the Government of France has awarded him the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, while Russian Government awarded him Order of Friendship. Sen was also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He is the only Indian filmmaker along with Satyajit Ray whose films have been awarded at the big three film festivals namely the Cannes film festival, Venice Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival.[2][3] Sen was known to be a leftist all his life.[4]

Mrinal Sen
Born(1923-05-14)14 May 1923
Faridpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
(now in Bangladesh)
Died30 December 2018(2018-12-30) (aged 95)[1]
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Alma materUniversity of Calcutta
OccupationDirector
Years active1955–2002
Works
Filmography
Spouse(s)
Gita Sen
​
(
m. 1952; died 2017)
Awards
Honours
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
(nominated)
In office
27 August 1997 – 26 August 2003

Influence

After making five more films, he made a film with a shoestring budget provided by the Government of India. This film, Bhuvan Shome (Mr. Shome, 1969), finally launched him as a major filmmaker, both nationally and internationally. Bhuvan Shome also initiated the "New Cinema" film movement in India.[5]

Social context and its political influence

The films that he made next were essentially political, and earned him the reputation as a Marxist artist.[6] This was also the time of large-scale political unrest throughout India. Particularly in and around Calcutta, this period underwent what is now known as the Naxalite movement. This phase was immediately followed by a series of films where he shifted his focus, and instead of looking for enemies outside, he looked for the enemy within his own middle class society. This was arguably his most creative phase.

Depiction of Kolkata

In many Mrinal Sen movies from Punascha (1961) to Mahaprithivi (1992), Kolkata features prominently. He has shown Kolkata as a character, and as an inspiration. He has beautifully woven the people, value system, class difference and the roads of the city into his movies and coming of age for Kolkata, his El-Dorado.[7]

Recognition

In 1982 he was a member of the jury at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.[8] In 1983 he was a member of the jury at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival.[9] In 1997 Sen became the member of the jury at the 20th Moscow International Film Festival.[10] On 24 July 2012, Sen was not invited to the function organized by West Bengal government to felicitate film personalities from the State. As per reports, his political views are believed to be the reason for his omission from the function.[11]

Death

Sen had been suffering from age related ailments for many years. He died on 30 December 2018 at the age of 95 at his home in Bhawanipore, Kolkata.[12][13] The cause was a heart attack.[14]

Awards

National awards

National Film Award for Best Feature Film

National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu

National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film)

  • 1978: Parashuram

National Film Award for Best Direction

National Film Award for Best Screenplay

Filmfare Awards
Critics Award for Best Film
1976 Mrigayaa
Best Screenplay
1984 Khandhar
Best Director - Bengali
1982 Akaler Shandhaney
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
2017 Bengali Cinema

International awards
Moscow International Film Festival - Silver Prize
1975 Chorus[15]
1979 Parashuram[16]
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize
1977 Oka Oori Katha
Berlin International Film Festival
Interfilm Award
1979 Parashuram
1981 Akaler Sandhane
Grand Jury Prize[17]
1981 Akaler Sandhane
Cannes Film Festival - Jury Prize
1983 Kharij
Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike
1983 Kharij
Chicago International Film Festival - Gold Hugo
1984 Khandhar
Montreal World Film Festival - Special Prize of the Jury
1984 Khandhar
Venice Film Festival - OCIC Award - Honorable Mention
1989 Ek Din Achanak
Cairo International Film Festival - Silver Pyramid for Best Director
2002 Aamar Bhuban

State and institutional honors

Filmography
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References

Notes
  1. Rakesh Sharma (30 December 2018). "The Dadasaheb Phalke award-winning film director Mrinal Sen Passed away on Sunday at the age of 95". Bollywood Galiyara. BollywoodGaliyara.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. "Memories from Mrinalda". Rediff. Rediff.com. 1 February 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  3. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/artist/mrinal-sen
  4. Tuhina Mondol (31 December 2018). "Mrinal Sen — the 'accidental filmmaker'". The Statesman. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. Vasudev, Aruna (1986). The New Indian Cinema. Macmillan India. ISBN 0-333-90928-3.
  6. Thorval, Yves (2000). Cinemas of India. Macmillan India. pp. 280–282. ISBN 0-333-93410-5.
  7. "Mrinal Sen movies and Kolkata". Archived from the original on 16 January 2010.
  8. "Berlinale 1982: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  9. "13th Moscow International Film Festival (1983)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  10. "20th Moscow International Film Festival (1997)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  11. "Omission of Mrinal Sen from West Bengal film awards triggers controversy". 25 July 2012.
  12. "Bengali filmmaker Mrinal Sen dies at 95". Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  13. Rakesh Sharma (30 December 2018). "The Dadasaheb Phalke award-winning film director Mrinal Sen Passed away on Sunday at the age of 95". Bollywood Galiyara. BollywoodGaliyara.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  14. "Mrinal Sen, legendary filmmaker and Phalke awardee, passes away at 95". Indian Express. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  15. "9th Moscow International Film Festival (1975)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  16. "11th Moscow International Film Festival (1979)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  17. "Berlinale 1981: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  18. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  19. The International Who's Who 2004
  20. Stellar Publishers
  21. "51st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  22. "Annual Convocation". University of Calcutta. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012.
  23. "Academy invites record 774 new members; 39 percent female, 30 percent people color". Hollywood Reporter. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
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