Mrinal Sen Biography | Life story

Mrinal Sen Biography | Life story

Mrinal Sen is a very famous Bengali filmmaker who brought a revolution in Indian Film Industry. He is considered as one of the idols in Bengali parallel films along with the Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak who were also creators of many revolutionary films. These three persons took the Bengali films to a global stage. With his films, people explored the political and social realities of India.

Childhood and education

Mrinal Shen was born on 14th May 1923, in the Faridpur town which is now situated in Bangladesh. He started his education at his own town and after he completed his high school, he went to Calcutta to continue his studies. There he studied Physics at the Scotish Church College and then did his post-graduate degree from Calcutta University. At the time of his student life, he joined to the politics and also associated with the socialist Indian People's Theatre Association in 1940, where he met with many likely minded people.

After completing his post graduation he started working as a journalist, then a medicine salesman and after that, he started working as a film sound technician and there he started his film career.

Mrinal sen at his college life

Debut as Director

His first film as a Director was Raat Bhore, in 1955. In this film one of the iconic actor in Bengali film industry, the Uttam Kumar acted. After that, he made more films like Neel Akasher Neechey, Baishey Shravan, and Bhuvan Shome which give his recognition in the international level.

Shooting Bhuvan Shom

His films

He showed his desire of changing the film concept from conventional commercial films to an intellectual format by his film Akash Kusum in 1965. After that, he made his film Bhuvan Shome starred by the iconic actor Utpal Dutta.

Then he started his Calcutta trilogy which includes the films Interview (1971), Calcutta 71 (1972), and Padatik (1973). After that, he made so many films like these where he repeatedly tried to so the normal middle-class societies and the different problems faced by these peoples. He also made a film named Akaler Sandhane, where he showed the famine in  Bengal happened in 1943 and for this film, he won the Silver Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1981.

Contribution to modern cinema

Before his era, the Indian cinema industry only made commercial films, because people thought that everyone watches films only for entertainment. But, Mrinal Sen showed them that people also love to see the reality in the form of a film. Besides the casual entertainment, he always tried to introduce Indian people to the actual world, which normally people try to avoid. He showed that cinema is not just a package of the song, dance, drama, comedy etc. It's more than that. Cinema is actually an art.

After that time, the era of art films had started in India.

Filmographies

Feature films

• Raat Bhore  (1955)
• Neel Akasher Neechey  (1958)
• Baishey Shravana  (1960)
• Punascha  (1961)
• Abasheshe (1963)
• Pratinidhi  (1964)
• Akash Kusum  (1965)
• Matira Manisha (Odia film) (1966)
• Bhuvan Shome  (1969)
• Interview (1971)
• Ek Adhuri Kahani  (1971)
• Calcutta 71 (1972)
• Padatik  (1973)
• Chorus (1974)
• Mrigayaa  (1976)
• Oka Oori Katha  (1977)
• Parasuram  (1978)
• Ek Din Pratidin  (1979)
• Akaler Sandhane  (1980)
• Chalchitra  (1981)
• Kharij  (1982)
• Khandhar  (1983)
• Genesis (1986)
• Ek Din Achanak  (1989)
• Mahaprithivi  (1991)
• Antareen  (1993)
• Aamaar Bhuvan  (2002)

Short Films

• Ichhapuran  (1970)
• Tasveer Apni Apni  (1984)
• Aparajit  (1986–87)
• Kabhi Door Kabhi Paas  (1986–87)
• Swamvar  (1986–87)
• Aina  (1986–87)
• Ravivar  (1986–87)
• Aajkaal  (1986–87)
• Do Bahene  (1986–87)
• Jit  (1986–87)
• Saalgira  (1986–87)
• Shawl (1986–87)
• Ajnabi  (1986–87)
• Das Saal Baad  (1986–87)

Documentaries

• Moving Perspectives (1967)
• Tripura Prasanga (1982)
• City Life — Calcutta My El Dorado (1989)
• And the Show Goes On — Indian Chapter (1999)

Films on Mrinal Sen

• Ten Days in Calcutta — A Portrait of Mrinal Sen (Directed by Reinhard Hauff) (1984)
• With Mrinal Sen (Directed by Sanjay Bhattacharya and Rahul Bose) (1989)
• Portrait of a Filmmaker (Directed by Romesh Sharma) (1999)
• A man behind the curtain (Directed by Supantho Bhattacharya) (1998)
• A Documentary Proposal(Directed by R.V. Ramani) (2014)

Awards and achievements

National awards

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali

• 1961: Punascha
• 1965: Akash Kusum
• 1993: Antareen

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu

• 1977: Oka Oori Katha

National Film Award for Best Direction

• 1969: Bhuvan Shome
• 1979: Ek Din Pratidin
• 1980: Akaler Sandhane
• 1984: Khandhar

National Film Award for Best Feature Film

• 1969: Bhuvan Shome
• 1974: Chorus
• 1976: Mrigayaa
• 1980: Akaler Sandhane

National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film

• 1972: Calcutta 71
• 1980: Kharij

National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film)

• 1978: Parashuram

National Film Award for Best Screenplay

• 1974: Padatik
• 1983: Akaler Sandhane
• 1984: Kharij

Filmfare Awards

Best Director - Bengali 

• 1982 Akaler Shandhaney 

Critics Award for Best Film 

• 1976 Mrigayaa 

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award 

• 2017 Bengali Cinema 

Best Screenplay 

• 1984 Khandhar 

International awards

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize 

• 1977 Oka Oori Katha

Moscow International Film Festival - Silver Prize 

• 1975 Chorus
• 1979 Parashuram

Berlin International Film Festival 

Interfilm Award 

• 1979 Parashuram 
• 1981 Akaler Sandhane 

Grand Jury Prize

• 1981 Akaler Sandhane 

Chicago International Film Festival - Gold Hugo 

• 1984 Khandhar 

Cannes Film Festival - Jury Prize 

• 1983 Kharij 

Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike 

• 1983 Kharij 

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