My friend Debasish Jana was just back from the US, where he had got to know Kunal Sen, who is Mrinal Sen’s son. Kunal had given Debasish a package to hand over to the film-maker in Kolkata. Since this was in the early 90s, long before the mobile-phone era, Kunal had also given Debasish the Sens’ landline number for coordinating our visit.
When Debasish called the number, a lady answered. The voice suggested that it belonged to a famous theatre personality but before we could confirm our hunch, the phone had been passed on to the filmmaker’s wife, Gita. Shortly, a date was finalised for a visit to their home.
A few days later, with racing hearts, we found ourselves ringing the bell outside their flat. A woman opened the door. Through the open door, beyond a corridor, we could see the film-maker sitting, probably at the dining table. The woman told us that Sen had just returned after a hectic day and would not be able to meet us then. Debasish being too polite to persist, I decided I had to do something. I told the woman that Kunal Sen had asked us to meet his father.
Sen probably heard my voice. He came to the door, welcomed us and took us to the drawing room. We were awestruck. We were in our 20s and that was the first time we were entering the home of anyone famous, let alone someone of Sen’s stature. We could hardly speak a word, but within minutes, Sen had made us comfortable enough to participate in an uninhibited adda, which Gita Sen joined later.
Kunal had sent a stain remover for his father, who wore white clothes only. Being a tea addict, the film-maker often spilt his cuppa on his all-white attire, leaving stains. So the stain remover made him very happy. But he expressed a bit of disappointment as his son had not managed to send him Amphora, a well-known tobacco brand. “I was telling Soumitra (Chatterjee) yesterday that this time he will send Amphora,” complained Sen in a good-natured way. Debasish, who had brought Amphora from the US for a common friend and had handed it over a day before, exchanged a glance with me.
Sen was filming Mahaprithibi (World Within, World Without) then and the exchange about Amphora must have happened on the sets. We started asking him about the film, which also stars Aparna Sen, Victor Banerjee and Anjan Dutt, apart from Gita Sen. As far as I remember, the film had a different working title, most probably Antyeshti. Looking back, I wonder how indulgent he was to discuss an ongoing film with callow youths like us.
A still from 'Mahaprithibi'
The adda went on, moving to topics beyond films. As Debasish had just returned from the US, both Mrinal and Gita spoke to him about life in the US and about Indians there. Sen spoke about his own experience in the US. He narrated how a few Indian-origin people had once requested Sen to make a film on them and the generation gap with their children who were growing up there. He had told them: “What sort of a film will I make with your problems? I might end up making a comedy (hasir chhobi) with your issues!”
And this is how our adda flowed that evening. The world will remember Sen for his creations on celluloid, but I will always also remember him for these candid moments; for an evening when a legend chatted with us without any inhibition.
