Mrinal Sen birth anniversary: 8 classic movies you must watch of the filmmaker

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 filmmakersOn his 100th birth anniversary here are some of his best films which you should definitely watchAkash Kusum 1965A 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 cant tell her the truth and in the end pays the price for lyingBhuvan Shome 1969Bhuvan 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 FilmInterview 1970Mrinal Sens 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 westernstyle 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 DhutiPanjabiCalcutta 71 1972Calcutta 71 portrays corruption and violence across generations and is fashioned from four short stories by wellknown 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 1972Padatik 1973Padatik 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 Its 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 GarewalMrigayaa 1976Mrigaaya 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 Mithuns 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 FilmEk Din Pratidin 1979Mrinal Sens film Ek Din Pratidin made a significant impact on Bengali cinema by examining gender norms The story follows the familys 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 Sens thoughtprovoking 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 welldeserved National AwardKhandahar 1984The 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 daughters 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 DirectorAlso ReadSatish Kaushik Birth Anniversary Anupam Kher to celebrate day with music love and laughter