Part II

The early films of Mrinal Sen - II Posted by Subhajit Ghosh on Saturday September 16, @02:39AM The part deux in the series. You might want to read the first part, too Since then, in his next three films viz PUNASCHA, PRATINIDHI and ABASESEY he was groping for experiments with new form and techniques, and at last found some success in AKASH KUSUM(1965), one of his most simplistic films. His later films have all been marked with some mind-blowing adventurous stylization. PUNASCHA, PRATINIDHI and ABASESEY revealed his flair for handling narratives and actors that was to be seen much later when EK DIN PRATIDIN, KHARIJ and KHANDAHAAR held the mirror upto the conscience of the urban middle class and discovered prejudice, selfishness and hypocrisy in its worst form. Sen did not find favour with the ordinary filmgoer and even low-budget films he made in the early Sixties depicting man-woman relationship in everyday milieu in middle class house failed to click. Sen made ABASESEY (And at Last) in 1962, a nice film where in a cameo, Durgadas Banerji excelled. The film featured Asit Baran, Sabitri Chaterji, Utpal Dutta, Anup Kumar, Sulata Choudhury and others. The film was based on a story by Achinta Sen Gupta. Camerawork by Sailaja Chaterjee & music was provided by Robin Chaterjee. The film was made in Bengali. Successively, Sen also made PUNOSCHO and PRATINIDHI, casting Soumitra Chaterji in the central character. PUNOSCHO (Over Again) was a film on widow remarriage. It dealt with the problem a woman encounters when she steps out of her household, and goes to work outside. This theme was utilised much later by Satyajit Ray in his film MAHANAGAR. Camerawork by Sailaja Chaterjee, music by Samaresh Roy and the film also featured Kanika Mazumdar, N. Vishwanathan and others. Sen's PRATINIDHI (The Representative) featured Soumitra Chaterji and Sabitri Chaterji. The film was based on a novel by Achinta Sengupta. Sabitri Chaterji gave one of the most powerful perfomance of her career in this film. Robi Ghosh did a cameo, and Satya Bannerjee also had a supporting role in this film with camerawork by Sailaja Chaterjee & music by Hemanta Mukherjee. The popularity of these films were restricted to West Bengal mostly. AKASH KUSUM (Up in the Clouds) was the study of the longings of a middle class executive to rise in stature and greater social acceptability. Soumitro Chaterji played the central role in this movie. Aparna Sen, Subhendu Chaterji, Jnanesh Mukherji, Sova Sen, Haradhan Banerji were the other performers. It is unlike the films one associates with Mrinal Sen. A rather straight-forward story with no novelty. It spawned a Hindi remake made by Basu Chaterji called MANZIL featuring Amitabh Bachchan with slight alterations. Soumitro, a middle class executive, falls in love with Aparna Sen. Soumitro's friend, Subhendu Chaterji, owns a good flat in Calcutta and Soumitro makes use of most of his friend's possesions viz, telephones & the flat, cars etc. Soumitro introduces himself as the owner of the flat of Subhendu to Aparna, and also makes the mistake of inviting Aparna Sen's parents (Haradhan Banerji and Sova Sen) to the house. Certain scenes remains etched in memory. AKASH KUSUM was a comedy in an urban setup. When Soumitro Chaterji goes to a saree shop with Aparna Sen, and saying he has forgotten his wallet back in the office, rings back and starts blabbering something with no one at the other end of the phone, was a hilarious sequence. Soon Subhendu Chaterji's mother comes to Calcutta to stay with her son. Another hilarious sequence was when a phone comes to Soumitro from Aparna Sen in front of Subhendu Chaterji and his mother, Soumitro tries to evade Aparna on the phone putting some excuses (like he has come to attend the phone while he was shaving, and which i.e shaving is now half done). Soon Soumitro's lies gets exposed. One day Haradhan Banerji comes to Subhendu Chaterji's house (which Soumitro has claimed as his own) and meets Subhendu's mother. She tells Haradhan that Soumitro is the bosom friend of her son(Subhendu) and comes there everyday, and that Soumitro actually stays in another place. Haradhan returns home and tells Aparna that Soumitro is an imposter -- a cheat. When Soumitro comes to meet Aparna at her residence, Haradhan commands Soumitro to leave the house and never try to meet Aparna again. The last scene was quite memorable. When Soumitro is leaving the house as Haradhan commanded, while at the gate he looks back and sees Aparna on the window, and soon both starts waving goodbye at each other, knowing that their relationship is closing forever. In AKASH KUSUM, Mrinal Sen used jump cuts and freeze shots a la Truffaut, and he was promptly accused of gimmickry. Mrinal Sen has always been critical of Indian film critics. It started from AKASH KUSUM. Mrinal Sen has always made economical usages of still photographs in his films. In AKASH KUSUM in a situation where Soumitro realises that all his efforts are in vain, at that moment Sen makes use of a still photograph. When darkness slowly fades in Gyanesh Mukhopadhay says " He he he he ... aaro kichu taka chai je sir." To depict such a cruel situation, Mrinal Sen was able to arrive with minimal cost and this he considers an achievment. He couldn't have arrived there in any other way. Reviewing this sequence and the film as a whole, the Bengali daily ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA wrote "This is not a moving film. This is a still film." Proves that a little deviation from set norms in Indian filmmaking is bound to bring criticism to the maker. Mrinal Sen gave Subhendu Chaterji his first break in movies in this film. Subhendu Chaterji had acquired a degree of medicine and was caught between his medical profession and an intense desire for acting. During his final years in college, Subhendu became associated with Indian People Theatre Association. Says he, "It was because of this connection that I was spotted by Mrinal Sen. But I must give credit to late Robi Ghosh and Gyanesh Mukherjee who suggested my name to him." When Mrinal Sen asked him to play the role of the hero's friend in AKASH KUSUM, he decided to take the plunge. Subhendu's father was apprenhensive about his son joining films because of the uncertainties that are inextricably linked with the world of showbiz. But he was soon convinced of his son's intense desire to act and gave his consent. The first day on the sets taught Subhendu to cultivate a virtue : Patience. He recalls,"I was asked to report at 9.30 in the morning on the sets of AKASH KUSUM. I reached on time. But when I was asked to shoot, it was 7.30 in the evening. Soumitro Chaterji, the hero of the film, was known to me and that helped. Mrinalbabu too put me at ease without ever being imposing. Right from the very first day, I felt I belonged." To be continued ..... --