Iti Mrinalini and the Uncertainties of Life

Iti Mrinalini gives us an insight into the life of an aging actress and into the world of bengali cinema just like Sunset Boulevard did in an era past. The aging actress is no longer wanted and after a life which has had so many shadows, you do not see any light at the end of the tunnel, even though you want to.

As the film encapsulates an actresses life, you get a feel of a bygone era of Kolkata where troublesome elements are shot to be shut off by the authorities. You have many performances worth cherishing like by Aparna Sen (who also directs the film), Konkona Sen, Rajat Kapoor, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Koushik Sen.
 

The film is more about the concept Aparna Sen tries to bring forth though than the any thing else. Life is uncertain and one should accept that. It is a simple theory at heard which we all know. However, in our mind, we some how make safety nets. One should realize that no matter how strong the safety net, it can all fall apart and we can do nothing really to prevent things beyond our control to occur.

This is not to say we should not try to do what we can to enrich our lives. However, believing it will ensure every thing will be great, or even to expect every thing to be great always is a major folly at the core which will lead to nothing except depression and anxiety.

The film is very sad but it is so to put across a point and it is important to realize this. This is a great film and I recommend you watch it.

Jukti, Takko Aar Gappo

Jukti, Takko Aar Gappo is a 1974 Bengali film by the acclaimed director Ritwik Ghatak. It is an excellent movie on the political situation in Bangladesh, Bengal and India on a whole to an extent at the time. Bangladesh had just become independent in 1971 and the movie was screened for the first time in 1974 - it has a female character who is called 'Bangladesh's soul'. Ghatak (named Nilakantha) plays the central character in the movie of a drunkard intellectual whose wife has no option but to leave him. Nilakantha goes in a journey to reach his wife.

During the journey, Nilakantha has experiences meeting new people and expressing his ideologies and thoughts on the world at large. He meets naxalites, Bengal's youth itself, with whom he has an intriguing conversation. Nilakantha disapproves of the youth's ideology, says that it is dying every where in the world and that it has no future. The youth doesn't take to Nilakantha's argument and terms him a decadent old drunkard.

The whole movie is a joyful tapestry of images. We see brilliant cultural dances and a cultural dancer muse on the decaying form of the art for instance. Ghatak, as the protagonist, is brilliant in his acting of an alcoholic man who has no one to listen to his ideologies any more and no one to turn to as his wife has left his side. He says every thing is burning, the universe is burning several times in the movie press on his view in short.

Jukti, Takko Aar Gappo gets a solid 8/10.