Mrinal Sen

Mrinal Sen (also spelled "Mrinal Shen"; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director and a nominated Member of the Indian parliament. Sen directed films primarily in Bengali and Hindi. Along with his contemporaries Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha and Satyajit Ray he pioneered the New Wave cinema in India. He has received multiple awards, including 18 National Film Awards. The Government of India has awarded him the Padma Bhushan, and the Government of France has awarded him the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, while Russian Government awarded him Order of Friendship. Sen was also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He was the only Indian filmmaker along with Satyajit Ray whose films have been awarded at the big three film festivals namely the Cannes film festival, Venice Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival. Sen was a self described "private Marxist".
Influence.
After making five more films, he made a film with a shoestring budget provided by the Government of India. This film, "Bhuvan Shome" ("Mr. Shome", 1969), finally launched him as a major filmmaker, both nationally and internationally. "Bhuvan Shome" also initiated the "New Cinema" film movement in India.
Social context and its political influence.
The films that he made next were essentially political, and earned him the reputation as a Marxist artist. This was also the time of large-scale political unrest throughout India. Particularly in and around Calcutta, this period underwent what is now known as the Naxalite movement. This phase was immediately followed by a series of films where he shifted his focus, and instead of looking for enemies outside, he looked for the enemy within his own middle class society. This was arguably his most creative phase.
Depiction of Kolkata.
In many Mrinal Sen movies from "Punascha" (1961) to "Mahaprithivi" (1992), Kolkata features prominently. He has shown Kolkata as a character, and as an inspiration. He has beautifully woven the people, value system, class difference and the roads of the city into his movies and coming of age for Kolkata, his El-Dorado.
Recognition.
In 1982 he was a member of the jury at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival. In 1983 he was a member of the jury at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1997 Sen became the member of the jury at the 20th Moscow International Film Festival.
On 24 July 2012, Sen was not invited to the function organised by West Bengal government to felicitate film personalities from the State. As per reports, his political views are believed to be the reason for his omission from the function.
Death.
Sen had been suffering from age related ailments for many years. He died on 30 December 2018 at the age of 95 at his home in Bhawanipore, Kolkata. The cause was a heart attack.
Awards.
National awards.
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu
National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film)
National Film Award for Best Direction
National Film Award for Best Screenplay