Mrinal Sen was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1983.
Highlights
- Mrinal Sen made his debut as a filmmaker with "Raat Bhore" in 1955
- He is known for films like "Neel Akasher Neechey", "Baishey Sravan"
- He was awarded Padma Bhushan - the third highest civilian award - in 1983
Legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen, known for his contribution to Bengali parallel cinema, died today at his home in Kolkata. He was 95. He died at around 10:30 am due to age-related ailments.
He, along with his contemporaries Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, was considered a doyen of regional parallel cinema internationally.
Mrinal Sen was born on May 14, 1923, in Faridpur, now in Bangladesh. He moved to Kolkata to study physics, but was drawn to film-making after reading a book on film aesthetics.
He made his debut as a filmmaker with a feature film, "Raat Bhore" in 1955, which starred Uttam Kumar. He is known for his acclaimed films like "Neel Akasher Neechey", "Baishey Sravan", "Bhuvan Shome" and "Akaler Sandhane".
Apart from winning National Awards, in 2005, he received the country's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan - India's third highest civilian award - in 1983.
Tributes for the icon have started pouring in on social media. President Ram Nath Kovind called his death a loss to world cinema.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled his death.
CPI secretary general Sitaram Yechury also remembered the filmmaker for his humanistic narrative.
Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore also expressed grief at his death.
The Bengali film industry also mourned the loss of the illustrious director. Popular actor Parambrata Chatterjee tweeted, "End of an era... an epoch... legends never die... bhalo thakben (stay well)."
Prosenjit Chatterjee said, "At the end of the year receiving news like demise of the legend Mrinal Sen saddens and shocks us. Mrinal jethu gave a new perspective to Indian cinema. It's a huge loss for all of us. May his soul rest in peace."