Nandita Das’s Shocking Revelation On Mrinal Sen’s Last Film

Mrinal Sen who passed away  on  Sunday was  not only a brilliant  auteur  he was also very prolific until his health began  to fail and his pace  of filmmaking slackened.

 Mrinalda’s last film as  a director was Aamar Bhuvan  in 2002, which  according to its leading lady is a film that  is nowhere  to be  found.

 Says Nandita,  “I had known Mrinalda for over 20 years, but it was in 2002, when I finally got to work with him in his last film, Aamar Bhuvan. After premiering at the festival inKolkata and then we both went to the Cairo Film Festival,  and won awards, the film vanished without a trace. Ever since I have been trying to find it, but to no avail. This is how we respect our great masters!”

Recalling her last meeting with Mrinalda  when she took her son Vivaan along for the Maestro’s blessing Nandita says, “I met him last on Nov 11th, when I was in Kolkata for theKolkata Film Festival. No trip to the city was ever complete without meeting him. And I made sure my trips complete. I cherish every meeting with him. He would not leave my hand, even when he was too frail to talk. It was heartbreaking to leave him and even more to see him fade away into silence.”

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  Mrinalda, says Nandita was  voluble  vibrant  filmmaker. “A man of many words, and even more actions. Today there is a vacuum that no one can fill… not in Indian Cinema, not in the world of artists.Mrinalda’s conscience made sure there was no dissonance between his life and work. Not in the lives that he had touched.”

   Nandita reveals  that Marinalda was  a dear friend to many, though not to all. “Bondhu(friend), which is what his son Kunal Sen called him, was a bondhu to many. Though not all. He had little patience for the bigoted and hypocrites. He was my friend, philosopher and guide, in the true sense of the word. Mrinalda, the world, and for sure my world won’t be the same without you.You meant a lot to me.”

Though in his  later years  Mrinalda was known not to recognize friends , he was at his lucid  best when Nnadita met  him last.  “We spoke. He held my hand and refused to leave it! He blessed Vihaan. Even his son and doctor were surprised that he responded so much. They said he on occasions gets animated when close ones come to visit. I was very close to him. Feels strange that one has to mourne in public today with hashtags!!”