''Iti Mrinalini'' ( bn, ইতি মৃণালিনী en, Yours, Mrinalini; en, An Unfinished Letter) is a 2011 Indian drama film directed by
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
filmmaker
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five F ...
. Sen collaborated with
Ranjan Ghosh
Ranjan K Ghosh ( bn, রঞ্জন ঘোষ '' ''Rônjôn Ghosh') is a Bengali filmmaker based out of Kolkata, India. He made his directorial debut in 2014 with the critically acclaimed '' Hrid Majharey'', a Bengali feature film starring ...
to write both the story and the screenplay.
The film was produced by
Shrikant Mohta
SVF Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian media and entertainment company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, founded by Shrikant Mohta. Apart from producing and distributing Bengali films, SVF also distributes Bollywood and Hollywood films i ...
and
Mahendra Soni
SVF Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian media and entertainment company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, founded by Shrikant Mohta. Apart from producing and distributing Bengali films, SVF also distributes Bollywood and Hollywood films i ...
of
Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt Ltd.
Some critics consider it to be among her best work, ranking with ''
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
''Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'' is a 2002 Indian English-language drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N. Venkatesan. The film features Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma as Meenakshi Iyer, a Tamil Iyer Brahmin who is a Hindu. Rahu ...
'' and ''
36 Chowringhee Lane''.
This was the first Bengali film Sen directed after a gap of more than a decade. Her previous film was ''
Paromitar Ek Din
''Paromitar Ek Din'' ( bn, পারমিতার একদিন ''Paromitar Êkdin'', lit. "One day of Paromita's", English title: ''House of Memories'') is a 2000 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Aparna Sen.
Plot
The film explores t ...
'', in 2000. ''Iti Mrinalini'' is viewed as the director's first mainstream venture. It focuses on the life of an aging Bengali star actress of yesteryear (Mrinalini), who looks back at her life.
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five F ...
plays the current-day Mrinalini while her daughter
Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...
portrays Mrinalini's earlier self.
The film also stars
Rajat Kapoor
Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...
,
Priyanshu Chatterjee
Priyanshu Chatterjee (born 20 February 1973) is an Indian actor and former model known for his works in Bollywood, and Bengali cinema. He made his Hindi film debut in the box-office big success '' Tum Bin'' in 2001. His other recognized work i ...
,
Kaushik Sen
Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor of film, television and theatre based in Kolkata. He is the director of the well-acclaimed theatre group Swapnasandhani. He has won the BFJA awards for best supporting actor for his perform ...
,
Locket Chatterjee
Locket Chatterjee (born 4 December 1974) is an Indian actress, politician and Member of Parliament for Hooghly (Lok Sabha constituency), West Bengal, India. She is also a classical dancer. She completed her training in Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, ...
and German actor
Suzanne Bernert in supporting roles. The entire cast, except for Konkona, is new to Aparna Sen films.
This was the first time Sen had collaborated with a scriptwriter,
and the first film by Sen to be nationally released in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
simultaneously with the
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
version. It is also the first time Sen and her daughter have played the same character.
Theme
The film examines the randomness of life, suggesting that nothing is under our control no matter how hard we try. The film also explores different forms of love: first love, domestic happiness, an emotion that falls somewhere between friendship and love, and love that results from loneliness and seclusion.
Plot
Mrinalini, an ageing actress, writes a suicide note. As a performer, the first lesson she learned was timing – the perfect moment for making an entrance or an exit on stage. On the stage of life, her entrance was outside her control, but she plans to choose her exit.
Before taking the sleeping pills she has ready, she decides to destroy her memorabilia – letters, photographs, newspaper cuttings, knick-knacks – in case they fall into the hands of the press. She was a focus of media attention all her life and wishes to be spared this, as much as possible, at her death.
As she looks through the relics from her past, she remembers incidents that she had forgotten or had suppressed. Through these memories, she relives her love life, friendships and betrayals, successes and failures, accidents and awards.
As Mrinalini relives her past, night gradually turns to dawn. An ''azaan'' (Islamic call to prayer) starts up in the distance. Slowly, early morning light fills the room. The moment has passed and the death she had wished for so intensely no longer seems a priority. Her German Shepherd comes and rubs its head on its mistress's feet and asks to be let out. Mrinalini tears up the suicide note and takes her dog out for a walk. On the street, she meets morning walkers, joggers, and a group of school children.
A young man runs past her. He seems to be escaping from something. Mrinalini thinks that she recognizes him; he resembles her first boyfriend, from her college days. Maybe he's a thief, or a gangster. Then a gunshot is heard. Everyone on the street is startled. Mrinalini stands still, shocked. The young man who resembled her first love checks himself. He is safe, but Mrinalini has been hit in the back. He runs off as she collapses on the ground.
Cast
*
Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...
as the younger Mrinalini Mitra
*
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five F ...
as the older Mrinalini Mitra
*
Priyanshu Chatterjee
Priyanshu Chatterjee (born 20 February 1973) is an Indian actor and former model known for his works in Bollywood, and Bengali cinema. He made his Hindi film debut in the box-office big success '' Tum Bin'' in 2001. His other recognized work i ...
as Imtiaz Chowdhury
*
Rajat Kapoor
Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...
as Siddhartha Sarkar
*
Kaushik Sen
Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor of film, television and theatre based in Kolkata. He is the director of the well-acclaimed theatre group Swapnasandhani. He has won the BFJA awards for best supporting actor for his perform ...
as Chintan Nair
*
Saheb Bhattacharjee as Abhijeet Mukherjee
*
Locket Chatterjee
Locket Chatterjee (born 4 December 1974) is an Indian actress, politician and Member of Parliament for Hooghly (Lok Sabha constituency), West Bengal, India. She is also a classical dancer. She completed her training in Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, ...
as Maithili Sarkar
*
Srijit Mukherji
Srijit Mukherji is an excellent national award winning Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee brought him into the ...
as Ranajoy Mitra
*
Suzanne Bernert as Julia Campbell
*
Gargi Roychowdhury
Gargee Roychowdhury is an Indian actress. She works in Bengali movies in Tollywood and serials in television. Gargi Roychowdhury is one of the popular actresses of the Bengali screen. She began her career as a theatre artist, performing in Utta ...
as Sumitra Debi
*
Ananya Chatterjee
Ananya Chatterjee is an Indian actress who works in Bengali films. Known for her role in '' Abahoman'' which won her a National Award. She started her career as a TV actress. She acted in several TV serials and films, including three directed ...
as Hiya Majumdar
*
Dulal Lahiri
Dulal Lahiri is an Indian actor and director. He has appeared in numerous Bengali films and TV series. He was critically appreciated for his ''Cinemawalla'' (1993) a Bengali TV series starring Rituparna Sengupta. He introduced Sreelekha Mitra
...
as Prasad Sen
*
Tritee Basu as Toddler Shona
*
Rita Koiral
Rita Koiral (or Rita Kayral; c.1959 – 19 November 2017) was an Indian Bengali actress, especially known for her television and film roles. She appeared in several soap opera roles, often as villains and often opposite Monami Ghosh. Direct ...
as Moti
*
Poonam Basak
Poonam or Punam (Hindi: पूनम) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian predominantly feminine given name, which means "full moon". Notable people with the name include:
Poonam
* Poonam Bajwa (born 1989), Indian actress and model
* Poonam Dhillon (born ...
as Mrinalini's Roommate
*Avrajit Chakraborty as Mrinalini's friend
Production
Pre-production
This is Sen's first collaboration with
Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt Ltd, the makers of ''
Chokher Bali'' and ''
Raincoat
A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with ...
''. Pre-production started in the second week of April 2009 with ideation. Scripting started by the end of April.
The screenplay of ''Iti Mrinalini'' was an assignment in the screenwriting syllabus at the Mumbai-based film school
Whistling Woods International
__NOTOC__
Whistling Woods International is a film, communication and creative arts institute located in Mumbai, India. The institute is promoted by the Indian Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts and Film City Mumbai. In July 2014, ''The Holly ...
. This marked the first time that a screenplay emerging from an Indian film institute had actually been filmed. In a Master Class on Cinema held on
Fox History and Entertainment Channel, Sen commented that she had never collaborated with any film writer before the screenplay for ''Iti Mrinalini''. First-time screenwriter
Ranjan Ghosh
Ranjan K Ghosh ( bn, রঞ্জন ঘোষ '' ''Rônjôn Ghosh') is a Bengali filmmaker based out of Kolkata, India. He made his directorial debut in 2014 with the critically acclaimed '' Hrid Majharey'', a Bengali feature film starring ...
, an alumnus of
Whistling Woods International
__NOTOC__
Whistling Woods International is a film, communication and creative arts institute located in Mumbai, India. The institute is promoted by the Indian Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts and Film City Mumbai. In July 2014, ''The Holly ...
, wrote the story and the screenplay along with Sen, based on an original story idea Sen gave him. Ghosh was Sen's first co-author since she began her prolific directing career with
36 Chowringhee Lane in 1981.
The first draft of the screenplay of ''Iti Mrinalini'' was ready by the end of July 2009. The second and third drafts were completed by August and September, respectively
Somak Mukherjee acted as cinematographer, in place of
Shirsha Roy who was unable to participate due to scheduling problems. Location scouting was carried out in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
and
Konark
Konark is a medium town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the capital of the state, Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as t ...
in the month of August.
As she did for her earlier films, Sen arranged a grueling acting workshop for the cast, conducted by
Sohag Sen
Sohag Sen (Bengali: সোহাগ সেন) is a Bengali theater actress, director and casting director.
Career
Sohag Sen is on the visiting faculty of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and Rabindra Bharati University, and is the H ...
. The Calcutta chapter of the workshop lasted for three weeks, with
Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...
. The Mumbai chapter ran for another ten days, with
Rajat Kapoor
Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...
and
Priyanshu Chatterjee
Priyanshu Chatterjee (born 20 February 1973) is an Indian actor and former model known for his works in Bollywood, and Bengali cinema. He made his Hindi film debut in the box-office big success '' Tum Bin'' in 2001. His other recognized work i ...
.
Extensive pre-production meets were held regularly at Sen's home throughout the months of August and September. Production design of this film was by Sen and her directorial assistants. Scriptwriter
Ranjan Ghosh
Ranjan K Ghosh ( bn, রঞ্জন ঘোষ '' ''Rônjôn Ghosh') is a Bengali filmmaker based out of Kolkata, India. He made his directorial debut in 2014 with the critically acclaimed '' Hrid Majharey'', a Bengali feature film starring ...
acted as Assistant Director and took on the task of creating Mrinalini's memorabilia with help from the art department.
Sabarni Das, Sen's longtime junior colleague at the Bengali-language women's magazine ''
Sananda'', designed the costumes. Das also helped in the art direction.
Production/Principal photography
The production of the film started on 6 October 2009.
One of the cult poems by Bengali writer
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...
, ''
Smritir Shohor'', was turned into a song for the film. This is the first time a poem by Gangopadhyay's poems has been in a film. Music director Debojyoti Mishra wrote the score.
''Iti Mrinalini'' was shot in 38 locations in just 33 days. The shoot covered areas around Calcutta including the
Vidyasagar Setu
Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is a toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah.
Opened in 1992, with a total length of , Vidyasagar Setu is the first and longes ...
, the
Howrah Bridge
The Howrah Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the cities ...
,
Baghbazar
Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, the citad ...
Ghat,
College Street, Favourite Cabin, Calcutta Greens,
Science City,
Alipore Zoo
The Zoological Garden, Alipore (also informally called the Alipore Zoo or Kolkata Zoo) is India's oldest formally stated zoological park (as opposed to royal and British menageries) and a big tourist attraction in Kolkata, West Bengal. It has b ...
,
New Market New Market may refer to:
Bangladesh
*New Market, Dhaka
*New Market, Khulna, in Sonadanga Model Thana
*New Market, Chittagong, near Government City College, Chittagong
India
* New Market, Bhopal
*New Market, Kolkata
Jamaica
*New Market, Jama ...
, Priya Cinema, Ganga Kutir, and a Silver Spring apartment. The outdoor scenes were shot in Konark in a week, in the latter half of October.
The Calcutta Movieton studio at
Tollygunge
Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South Indi ...
’s 28A Chandi Ghosh Road reopened after 25 years for ''Iti Mrinalini''. The studio was once owned by ex-star
Kanan Devi
Kanan Devi (22 April 1916 – 17 July 1992) was an Indian actress and singer. She was among the early singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star of Bengali cinema. Her singing style, usually in rapid tempo, was ...
, who sold it to businessman Jagdish Bagri in 1985. Bagri commented "I had no intention to run a studio back then but now Tollywood is big". Producer Shree Venkatesh Films hired two floors for the shoot.
Post-production
The first two cuts of the film were completed by the end of November 2009 and by mid-December 2009 respectively. The final cut, with a duration of 128 minutes, was completed in January 2010.
Dubbing was held in Calcutta in December and in Mumbai from January to March 2010. Sound design and the final mix-down was completed in 'Maximum City' in September.
Release
''Iti Mrinalini''
's domestic premiere was in the 'Indian Frame' section at the 12th
MAMI International Film Festival 2010, held in Mumbai on 27 October 2010. Its world premiere was at the
Cairo International Film Festival
The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...
on 30 November 2010. The film opened the
River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival on 3 December 2010, which was also its European premiere. It played to sold-out audiences at the
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ar, مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي) is the leading film festival in the Arab region. The 12th edition of DIFF took place from December 9 – 16, 2015. In 2018, the DIFF announc ...
, and was given a standing ovation at the 8th Edition of the
Chennai International Film Festival
The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) is a festival organised in the city of Chennai, India, by a film society, the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), with the support of The Government of Tamil Nadu, the South Indian Film Cha ...
on 23 December 2010.
The prestigious
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
presented ''Iti Mrinalini'' at the 9th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, on 14 April 2011, the film's USA premiere. It was selected as the Centerpiece Film at the 11th Annual edition of the
IAAC's
New York Indian Film Festival in May 2011 in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, and was shown at the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival in May 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the 14th Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2011.
The film's commercial release in India was on 29 July 2011, followed by a worldwide release on 31 July 2011.
Reception
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
called ''Iti Mrinalini'' "
addicting shot of melodrama" with "anxious beautiful women" and "a sense that society, an entirely alien force outside those nighttime windows, is conspiring to ruin lives and despoil love".
The Telegraph (Calcutta)
''The Telegraph'' is an Indian English daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 7 July 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper competes with ''The Times of India''. The newspaper is the eighth most-wid ...
commented that "
e film transcends its regional mould and presents Bengalis as part of a bigger global existence... This is a new-generation film which doesn’t need a hip youngster to make it contemporary".
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
wrote that "The film ends abruptly on a tragic, pessimistic, almost melodramatic note that is unlike Aparna Sen. Sen's minute eye for detail is scattered through the film, as are myriad characters of different colours who dot her life from her youth in the 1970s to the present time".
Anandabazar Patrika
''Anandabazar Patrika'' (Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million cop ...
rated the film 8.5 / 10 , calling it "Aparna's most mature outing till date, and a marked departure from her usual style of film-making".
Soundtrack
The soundtrack has music composed by
Debojyoti Mishra
Debojyoti Mishra (born 30 April 1963 at Kolkata) is an Indian music director and film composer. He became popular with his minimalist classical compositions for the Hindi film ''Raincoat'', directed by Rituparno Ghosh. He also worked on Bengali ...
, with lyrics by
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...
,
Srijit Mukherjee and
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
. The music was released on 28 March 2011.
Awards
* New York Indian Film Festival (Best Director) -
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five F ...
* New York Indian Film Festival (Best Actress) -
Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...
References
External links
*
{{Srikanto Acharya
2010 films
Bengali-language Indian films
2010s Bengali-language films
Films directed by Aparna Sen
Films scored by Debojyoti Mishra
Films set in Kolkata
Indian drama films
2010 drama films