The very best of Mrinal Sen
iView Author:
Medha Dutt
(Kolkata, India)
E-mail:
primidutt [at] gmail [dot] com
The very best of Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen, without doubt the last of the Legends, needs no introduction. Countless times have I watched Bhuvan Shome, Khandhar, Ek Din Pratidin, Baishey Sravan, Ek Din Achanak, Mrigaya. All have moved me no doubt. But there is one film that never fails to impress me every time I watch it – Genesis.
It is indeed surprising, that this globally loved and much appreciated film maker could not impress the audience with Genesis. In fact, he too was equally surprised with its cold reception at various International Film Festivals. I had the rare honor of meeting this stalwart director (I’m bragging a bit out here, because the meeting was actually a sort of discourse that Mrinal Sen had agreed to give after much persuasion at my Film appreciation class), and he shared with us his experience on film making.
Mrinal Sen when talking about Genesis said that it was one of his most cherished projects, and he had believed that it would be well received. Well, it was far from the case. Genesis failed not only on Indian shores but also abroad.
Sen said, that a long time ago, one of his nieces’, a very young girl, had told him that he would be widely acclaimed for the next 14 years. Sen did not think much of it, at the time, but when Genesis failed miserably at International Film Festivals, and on the flight back home (if I remember correctly, it was probably while returning from Cannes), when Sen was trying to figure out what exactly went wrong, he remembered his nieces’ words. And he realized at that moment that 14 years had indeed come to an end some days before Genesis was released.
Whatever be the case, the fact remains that a great film somehow failed. I don’t know how many of you have watched this movie, of have liked it, but I for one think it is an absolute masterpiece.
The film is not a moving tale, but it is an impressive movie. The story revolves around two men (Om Puri and Naseer, who are mindblowingly awesome), a weaver and a farmer by profession. They have been driven from their village as they do not have the money to pay the debt and the taxes. They come to a ruined village, where there are only skeletons buried in the barren land. Naseer tries his hand at farming, mule-headedly working on the barren land. While Om weaves and with the help of a trader (M.K. Raina), both of them manage to exist on noman’s land.
Enter a woman (Shabana Azmi), and the harmony is shattered. Shabana not only ignites the long forgotten need of physical satisfaction between both the men, but also it is through her that the men realize what a poverty ridden life they are leading, and how the trader is maybe swindling them, by offering little compensation for Om’s products, which the trader sells for a higher price in the neighboring town.
One fine day, Shabana declares that she is pregnant. She does not say who the father is. The enmity between Om and Naseer that had been present ever since the arrival of Shabana, but was kept under wraps, suddenly bursts into the open. Shabana, disgusted with it all silently leaves in the cover of the night. Om and Naseer go for each other’s blood, but the trader arrives with the police and enslaves them, as well as captures all the land that Naseer had nurtured with his life – the barren land, that is now fertile.
These two men are once again at the mercy of rich traders, and once gain homeless. Everything they had is lost forever.
The film was brilliant; it actually took mankind back to the basics. The three main characters – Om, Naseer, and Shabana – have no name. When they do need to call each other, they simply shout out the sound – E…….h. Om and Naseer after being driven from their village seem to have gone back to a primitive age. They live like the primitives, slog like them, and lust like them.
This movie is one of my top favorites. And moreover, Sen’s amazing eye for ruins makes the movie a visual treat too (which people who have watched Khandhar or Bhuvan Shome, will readily agree).
The naivety with which Om and Naseer go about wooing Shabana, their apparent shyness which slowly gives way to an aggressive lust, Shabana’s reluctance to give in to that lust, and finally the breaking down of the system. All brilliantly captured and put across. The film uses very little dialogue, it conveys strongly through the camera.
An absolute gem to watch. If you haven’t watched it yet then do watch it, and do not judge it unless you’ve finished the entire movie. Undoubtedly Sen at his best.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
@Medha,
Thanks for describing such an interesting film. never came across this film.
Find that have seen only Bhuvan Shome, Khandhar, Ek Din Pratidin, Ek Din Achanak and Mrigaya.
:(
honestly i havent heard of this movie at all !! but sounds like a great movie ..is it available on dvd/cd?
I wanna watch Mrinal Sen films in pristine conditions. The VCD transfers are terrible. :((
I usually find Mrinal Sen’s films depressing (not a comment on the quality of films, but the choice of subjects). I never saw this one because I expected it to be a bleak film again. From what you describe, it has some interesting layers to it. Would definitely want to check this one out!
Thanks for this review. In my (possibly misguided) quest to see every film of Shabana Azmi’s that I can get my hands on, I have seen Mrinal Sen’s *Ek din achanak*, which despite its quiet placidity – nothing even really happens in it – I enjoyed quite a bit. (Though I agree with Mithun above – the quality of the DVD is atrocious, as if the master was left lying out in the sun for 10 years and then soaked in something abrasive before it was transfered.)
I’ve wanted to see *Genesis* for a long time but I haven’t managed to get my hands on it. :(
I’m glad I’ve managed to generate enough interest in this great movie to make all of you want to watch it. Trust me, you won’t be dissapointed, you might end up thinking that my write up was lacking in depth and failed to do justice to the movie.
hi all,
are the movies available on vcd/dvd? which company has brought them out?
I very urgently need Mrigaya for my research. If anybody can please help, I shall be very grateful.
I am willing to purchase a DVD/VCD/VHS of the film.
Kindly email me at bioscopewallah@gmail.com
Thank you,
Prashant