Editor’s Note: Mrinal Sen shattered our illusions about life and cinema

Published : Aug 10, 2023 11:00 IST - 3 MINS READ I recently watched a Punjabi mini-series called Kohrra, an astonishingly well-made crime thriller set in a fictional small town. Don’t get me wrong; one doesn’t expect gritty reality from, say, Karan Johar, whose candyfloss movies set in la-la lands inhabited by very rich and very silly people are top box-office grossers. But even so, it is striking that when our brilliant young columnist Prathyush Parasuraman sets out to capture the cinematic tension created by the juxtaposing of reality and fantasy, the only “reality” he can find in Johar’s latest film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, are the real designer garments the protagonists wear! Sen’s films break the wall between film and audience, a voice-over or placard often speaks directly to the viewer, real documentary footage is wedged into the fictional story, actors are cast in roles that hark back self-reflexively to their earlier films. Mrinal Sen’s cinema might not be an easy outing: you don’t exactly get a tale on a plate with all the ends neatly tied up.