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Mrinal Sen(1923-2018)

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mrinal Sen
Sen is one of his nation's most politically active filmakers. After having studied physics at university in Calcutta, Sen worked as a freelance journalist, a salesman of patent medicines and a sound technician in a film studio. In the mid-1940s he joined the Indian People's Theatre Association and at that time began to read about and study film. The association had links to the Communist Party of India and this heralded the beginning of Sen's involvement with Marxist politics. In 1956 Sen made his debut with Raat Bhore (1956), the first of his 30 (as of 2002) films. Although his first film was openly political, he achieved national status as the director of a comedy, Bhuvan Shome (1969). Influenced by Italian neorealism and the work of fellow countryman Satyajit Ray, Sen used location shooting and non-professional casts in his early films. By the 1970s he was making wider use of symbolism and allegory. Although he remains politically committed, Sen feels that the "difference between party Marxists and a private Marxist like me is that others think they pocketed truth, whereas I am always in search of truth... " Sen's films have won numerous international awards. The Case Is Closed (1982), a scathing look at the hypocritical reaction of a bourgeois Calcutta family to the death of a servant boy, took home the Jury Prize from the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.
BornMay 14, 1923
DiedDecember 30, 2018(95)
BornMay 14, 1923
DiedDecember 30, 2018(95)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 27 wins & 15 nominations total

Photos2

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Known for

Dhritiman Chatterjee and Smita Patil in In Search of Famine (1981)
In Search of Famine
7.5
  • Director
  • 1981
Chorus (1975)
Chorus
7.5
  • Director
  • 1975
Bhuvan Shome (1969)
Bhuvan Shome
7.2
  • Director
  • 1969
Shabana Azmi in Khandhar (1984)
Khandhar
7.2
  • Director
  • 1984

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director



  • Aamaar Bhuvan (2002)
    Aamaar Bhuvan
    7.6
    • Director
    • 2002
  • Nihon eiga no hyaku nen (1995)
    Century of Cinema
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1996
  • Anjan Dutt and Dimple Kapadia in Antareen (1993)
    Antareen
    7.1
    • Director
    • 1993
  • Mahaprithivi (1992)
    Mahaprithivi
    7.6
    • Director
    • 1992
  • City Life (1990)
    City Life
    6.6
    • Director (segment "Calcutta - Calcutta, My Eldorado")
    • 1990
  • Calcutta My Eldorado - CITY LIFE - Calcutta (1990)
    Calcutta My Eldorado - CITY LIFE - Calcutta
    • Director
    • 1990
  • Shabana Azmi in Ek Din Achanak (1989)
    Ek Din Achanak
    7.1
    • Director
    • 1989
  • Genesis (1986)
    Genesis
    6.9
    • Director
    • 1986
  • Kabhi Door Kabhi Paas
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1986–1987
  • Tasveer Apni Apni
    TV Movie
    • Director
    • 1984
  • Shabana Azmi in Khandhar (1984)
    Khandhar
    7.2
    • Director
    • 1984
  • The Case Is Closed (1982)
    The Case Is Closed
    7.5
    • Director
    • 1982
  • Anjan Dutt in The Kaleidoscope (1981)
    The Kaleidoscope
    7.4
    • Director
    • 1981
  • Dhritiman Chatterjee and Smita Patil in In Search of Famine (1981)
    In Search of Famine
    7.5
    • Director
    • 1981
  • And Quiet Rolls the Dawn (1979)
    And Quiet Rolls the Dawn
    7.7
    • Director
    • 1979

Writer



  • Aamaar Bhuvan (2002)
    Aamaar Bhuvan
    7.6
    • Writer
    • 2002
  • Anjan Dutt and Dimple Kapadia in Antareen (1993)
    Antareen
    7.1
    • Writer
    • 1993
  • Mahaprithivi (1992)
    Mahaprithivi
    7.6
    • screenplay
    • 1992
  • Shabana Azmi in Ek Din Achanak (1989)
    Ek Din Achanak
    7.1
    • writer
    • 1989
  • Genesis (1986)
    Genesis
    6.9
    • Writer
    • 1986
  • Shabana Azmi in Khandhar (1984)
    Khandhar
    7.2
    • screenplay
    • 1984
  • The Case Is Closed (1982)
    The Case Is Closed
    7.5
    • writer
    • 1982
  • Anjan Dutt in The Kaleidoscope (1981)
    The Kaleidoscope
    7.4
    • Writer
    • 1981
  • Dhritiman Chatterjee and Smita Patil in In Search of Famine (1981)
    In Search of Famine
    7.5
    • Writer
    • 1981
  • And Quiet Rolls the Dawn (1979)
    And Quiet Rolls the Dawn
    7.7
    • Writer
    • 1979
  • Parashuram (1979)
    Parashuram
    7.6
    • writer
    • 1979
  • Mithun Chakraborty in Mrigayaa (1977)
    Mrigayaa
    6.8
    • screenplay
    • 1977
  • Chorus (1975)
    Chorus
    7.5
    • screenplay
    • 1975
  • Dhritiman Chatterjee, Simi Garewal, and Mrinal Sen in The Guerilla Fighter (1973)
    The Guerilla Fighter
    7.0
    • dialogue
    • screenplay
    • story
    • 1973
  • Ek Adhuri Kahani (1972)
    Ek Adhuri Kahani
    8.5
    • screenplay
    • 1972

Producer



  • And Quiet Rolls the Dawn (1979)
    And Quiet Rolls the Dawn
    7.7
    • producer
    • 1979
  • Chorus (1975)
    Chorus
    7.5
    • producer
    • 1975
  • Dhritiman Chatterjee, Simi Garewal, and Mrinal Sen in The Guerilla Fighter (1973)
    The Guerilla Fighter
    7.0
    • producer
    • 1973
  • Ranjit Mallick in Interview (1970)
    Interview
    7.9
    • producer
    • 1970
  • Bhuvan Shome (1969)
    Bhuvan Shome
    7.2
    • producer
    • 1969
  • Punasha (1961)
    Punasha
    8.5
    • producer
    • 1961

Personal details

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  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Born
    • May 14, 1923
    • Faridpur, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in Faridpur, Bangladesh]
  • Died
    • December 30, 2018
    • Kolkata, West Bengal, India(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • Gita Sen1952 - January 17, 2017 (her death, 1 child)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Was awarded the Padmabhushan by the Government of India in 1980.

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