Mrinal Sen believed that working with small budgets encouraged one to be imaginative: Anjan Dutt

Mrinal Sen, aged around sixty, was running up the stairs, two steps at a time. He was an avid smoker who never inhaled smoke. He always borrowed a light and never returned it. He was a teetotaler whose closest cinematographer drank on sets. I saw him joking with Brian De Palma or Sydney Lumet in Venice as if they were childhood friends. In his personal space, he was jovial and witty – far from the intense and complex narrative of his cinema. It is impossible to comprehend the terrible struggle and abject poverty he went through. And he could get along with younger people who didn’t look like him.
When we first met, I was an awkward, very opinionated, struggling 26-year-old stage actor, and Sen was a 58-year-old legend. Despite our differences in age, experience and political beliefs, Mrinal Sen bonded with me so easily that I could never have imagined losing him. He liked my populists Bong Connection and Madly Bengali because he thought they were “innovating.” He encouraged me to work with small budgets. “The restrictions will force you to use your imagination and improvise. Never be afraid to make mistakes. Nothing is perfect. You should never play it safe,” he told me. His words seem relevant today, when most aspirants are looking for cheap brilliance and easy success.

May 14, 2024 marks the 101st birth anniversary of Mrinal Sen

Sen Bhuvan Shome made with just Rs 1 lakh 25,000 introduced us to New Wave cinema. Recently I rewatched it in Chicago during its centennial celebrations and realized that despite all the new technology, it is still one of the most endearing love stories between an elderly man and a woman. girl never made in India. The total simplicity is lovely. I ask anyone who is not familiar with his work to also watch Antareen, featuring just two actors, Dimple Kapadia and myself, to explore what virtual love is, even though it was created way before the virtual age. To truly celebrate Mrinal Sen’s centenary is to learn from six of his unique gems: Akash Kusum, Bhuvan Shome, Calcutta71, Chorus, Ekdin PratidineAnd Kharij.
I had decided to make a documentary about the senator. He said it had to be personal. I couldn’t find a personal story and decided to photograph him randomly, whenever I could earn some money from my gigs. I filmed him directing Amar Bhuvan, editing,
recording, at home, at political rallies. I had about 10 hours of footage including two long interviews. Yet there was no personal story. Once his movements were restricted, I couldn’t bring myself to capture a sick Mrinal Sen. The project was abandoned. The cassettes are moldy. He was angry with me and complained that I never took the documentary seriously. I was hurt and I knew he was
hurt too. He was too close a friend to hold back his feelings.
Last year, a relative asked me why I had ignored Mrinal Sen in my work. It struck me: my theater, my songs, my cinema have always reflected my personal life. Whether it was my attachment to Anglo Indians, to Darjeeling, to my music, to my cosmopolitan city, to my family… Yet the 43-year bond with Mrinal Sen was missing. I was tormented and decided to make a film about our relationship as a tribute to mark his centenary of birth. Neel, my son and I financed it with our personal savings.
It takes a lot of objectivity to tell a truly personal story. You have to look at the relationship from afar. I held Mrinal Sen so close to my heart that I could not be objective. I know it took me a long time. This time had to be truthful, eccentric, funny and concise. I am now 71 years old. I think I must have been mature enough to handle this crazy affair.
Quote: “In his personal space, Mrinal Sen was jovial and witty – far from the intense and complex narrative of his cinema”