PADATIK(THE FOOT SOLDIER): This biopic based on the life of Mrinal Sen, the proponent of art cinema in Bengal chooses Anik Dutta’s “Aparajito” as a canvas and weaves together different experiences of Sen, part in black and white, part in color, and traverses through the different historical events in Bengal from the 1940’s to 2003.The first scene that touches a chord with the audience is that of the funeral procession of Rabindranath Tagore in 1941 who protested against division of Bengal in 1905 and was the first Indian to bring Calcutta in the world map by winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.Sen was much moved by the poverty of the people in Bengal and the Bengal Famine in 1942 became the topic of his movie “Akaler Sh andhane”. The movie depicts the healthy competition between Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray. There are glimpses of Sen attending the meets of the Film Society founded by Ray after Independence to enable the culturally inclined populace of Kolkata to view critically acclaimed World Cinema and be inspired by them. Sen was impressed by Uttam Kumar and directed “Raat Bhor” with him. He just like Ray shied away from casting Suchitra Sen because of her overpowering personality and glamour that was a misfit for his grounded, realistic movies. Sen often cast insignificant actors so that his storytelling reigned supreme and there was no predefined notion in the audience about the star cast. The new wave of cinema with dripping neorealism in Bengal was in sharp contrast to the song-and-dance routines being delivered from Bombay. Although Sen was a Marxist, his communist ideals are not prominent in this movie. Sen’s body of work was recognized by Pandit Nehru and later by Indira Gandhi who helped Sen obtain sponsorship from NFDC. Barun Chanda shines as Nehru. Most of the Bengalis in those times spoke English with a clipped accent which was neither British nor Indian. Monami Ghosh ably supports as the petite and frail better half of Sen. Prevalent with the times, she sports a non-made up face and long hair ala Jaya Bhaduri in the seventies and her character is in keeping with the Bengali women of the 40’s who were undernourished and sacrificed their meals in order to feed the joint families and were attracted by a man’s intellect rather than wealth. The movie makes flitting references to Amitabh Bachchan and Ritwick Ghatak. The movie depicts the golden era of art cinema where Berlin,Venice and Cannes festivals supported human stories from the whole wide world made in regional languages, and were not fashion parades as they are now. Just like Ray, Sen made a trilogy with Interview, Calcutta 71 and Padatik(The Guerilla Fighters). While Ray was polished and came from a rich Brahmo family and was a multifaceted genius blessed with excellent painting, music, writing and dramatization skills, Sen was more close to reality and painted monochromatic frames dipped in actuality. The bare bottom scene was unnecessary and could have been more subtle-it is possible to have a soliloquy while fully dressed. It was nice to see Debraj Roy, yesteryear’s newsreader as Sen’s foreign bred son. The scene where Sen is shown as protecting his new-born son from an earthquake in Calcutta is very touching. The overall mood of the movie is grim and dark with no comic relief and this can put off part of the audience. After Ray’s demise in 1992, Sen was elevated to a higher plane by the audience and critics all over the world and that’s how the movie ends. If you have ever liked the iconoclast that Mrinal Sen was, you will surely love this movie.
AninditaRoyMusings 