MRINALSEN TURNS 90
Legendary
filmmaker Mrinal Sen, on his 90th birthday on Monday, said that he might just
come up with another new film. “Every day I feel like making a new film. Ideas
pop up in my head. Let's see when I can act on them,” said Sen, who, along with
Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, changed the profile of Indian cinema in the
global realm. Starring actress Nandita Das, his last film Aamaar Bhuvan
(This, My Land) was released in 2002. “I haven't so far made any more films.
But, to assure you, I don't think that I have retired,” he told PTI in an
interview here. With his films full of direct political statement, social
analysis, and psychological drama, the Left-leaning director is regarded as a
pioneer of the alternative cinema movement in India, and is often compared with
his contemporary, Satyajit Ray.
Besides bagging
four National Film Awards as the best director for works like Khandhar
(1984) and Bhuvan Shome (1969), he was also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award, India's highest award in filmmaking, in 2005. Recently, he got a call
from a leading private bank, offering him money to make films. “Money isn't a
problem for me. The bank said we can fund projects worth upwards of Rs. 5
crore. I told them I can make six films with Rs. 5 crore,” Sen said. Asked
about his birthday party plans, the nonagenarian said he doesn't celebrate
birthdays. “Birth or death, it isn't my business to celebrate. My friends,
relatives and people who think of me are there to celebrate if they will. But not
me,” he said. Starting his career as a director with Raat Bhor in 1951,
he has made 28 feature films and four documentaries.
Prof. John Kurakar
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