Today marks the birth anniversary of the legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen. Born on May 14, 1923, the pioneer filmmaker started experimental filmmaking in India and received global acclaim for his work.


On his birth anniversary, Mrinal Sen’s son Kunal Sen took to Facebook and listed three upcoming films celebrating his life and his work.


Kunal wrote, “Today my father would have been 99. As a filmmaker and a human being he lived a very full life. As we get closer to his centenary, he is getting the best appreciation that a filmmaker can hope to receive. There are three films that are under production, celebrating his life and his work.


Kaushik Ganguly is making a feature film, ‘Palan’, where he is taking the characters of Kharij and placing them 40 years ahead in current times. Many of the actors who were in Kharij are playing the same roles, but 40 years older.


Srijit Mukherji is directing a fictionalized biography as a multipart Web series. He is calling it ‘Padatik’ (The Foot Soldier).


Anjan Dutt is making a very personal feature film based on the interaction between the two of them as he started working with my father during the making of ‘Chalchitra’.



Mrinal Sen received 18 National Awards, many international accolades, and India's highest award in the field of cinema the Dadasaheb Phalke award. He also won awards at Cannes and also served as a jury member in the prestigious film festival. He was the only Indian filmmaker along with Satyajit Ray whose films have been awarded at the big three film festivals namely the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin Film Festival.


His first film was the 1955 release 'Raat Bhor' that also marked the debut of Uttam Kumar. The filmmaker went on to helm classics like 'Punascha', 'Bhuvan Shome', 'Mrigayaa', 'Khandhar', and many more.