KOLKATA: Legendary filmmaker Padma Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee Mrinal Sen died of cardiac arrest at his Kolkata residence at 10.30 AM on Sunday. He was suffering from age-related health problems and was aged 95.
Mrinal Sen is survived by his son Kunal Sen. His wife Gita Shome passed away last year. Sen's mortal remains will be preserved at Peace Haven mortuary till his son returns from Chicago on January 2. The filmmaker had urged that his mortal remains should not be given any state honours.
Along with contemporaries Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, Sen was considered as one of the greatest ambassadors of Bengali parallel cinema on the global stage. He began his film direction in 1955 with 'Raat Bhore' but shot to international fame with his third film 'Baishey Shrabon'.
Sen's 1969 Hindi movie 'Bhuvan Shome' launched the 'new cinema' movement in the country. Several of his films won national and international awards for merging existentialism, surrealism, German expressionism, postmodernism and Italian neo-realism in his movies. His movies were known for not ending on a happy note or presenting any definitive conclusion.
Born in Faridpur town in present-day Bangladesh on May 14, 1923, Sen left for Kolkata after finishing his high school to study physics at Scottish Church College and then earned a post-graduate degree at University of Calcutta. He was involved in communist student politics.
Though he was lifelong an ardent Marxist, he was never a member of the undivided Communist Party of India but was close to socialist Indian People's Theatre Association. On July 24, 2012, Sen was not invited by the Trinamool Congress regime to a West Bengal government programme to felicitate film personalities due to his political views.
Sen had briefly worked as a medical representative outside Kolkata but returned to the city to work as an audio technician in a film studio which brought him into the film industry and ultimately launched his film career.
The entire Tollywood film industry, President Ram Nath Kovind and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over the loss.
Honours and awards
National film awards for: Punascha (1961), Akash Kusum (1965), Bhuvan Shome (1969), Calcutta 71 (1972), Chorus (1974), Mrigayaa (1976), Oka Oori Katha (Telugu, 1977), Parashuram (1978), Ek Din Pratidin (1979), Akaler Sandhane (1980), Kharij (1980), Khandhar (1984).
International film awards at: Cannes, Moscow, Berlin, Karlovy, Valladolid, Chicago, Montreal, Venice, Cairo International Film Festivals.
State honours:Padma Bhushan (1981), USSR's Nehru Soviet Land Award (1979), highest French civilian award Commander of the Order Arts and Letters (1985), Russia's Order of Friendship (2000), Rajya Sabha honorary member (1998-2003), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (2005), Oscar Academy member (2017).