A master of exploring mundaneness in filmmaking and making slice-of-life films, Kaushik Ganguly is ready to drop his next in the theatres tomorrow, Palan, a tribute to Mrinal Sen. Taking the characters of Sen’s 1982 film Kharij, Ganguly, in Palan, will bring their lives back on celluloid through his lenses almost four decades later, and with it will recall the horrific incident of an ordinary couple’s everyday life that changed their life forever. Before the release, Ganguly talks to t2 about his tribute film:
Palan is your tribute to Mrinal Sen. In what ways has his works inspired the filmmaker in you?
The first Mrinal Sen film that I saw and understood is Kharij. I was young and watched it on Doordarshan at home. It had no meaning for me. It was just a story, but I got very hassled because a boy of my age had died. In our neighbourhood in those days, the sons of our household staff used to play with us, and they were better players because of their physical strength. It reminded me of them. So, that death shook me. I felt very angry with Anjan and Mamata (the protagonists of Kharij). I always thought they could have easily given that drawing room for the kid to sleep. Today, after 40 years have passed and my hair has started to grey, more than Palan, I feel I have begun to understand Anjan and Mamata. I now know, like Palan, Anjan and Mamata are also victims. They are victims of some set social norms. Even in today’s time, if our domestic helps are asked to sit on the bed or sofa, they sit on the floor. It is, as if genetically, inside them. The unfairness that Palan had to face was the system’s fault and not Anjan and Mamata’s.
It is not like it is Mrinal Sen’s centenary so let me make a film about him. Anjanda (Dutt), Mamatadi (Shankar), Sreeladi (Majumder) and Debapratim (Dasgupta) are all here. So, I thought let’s do a recall. That family is here, but in what state are they living? Time has changed, but has the problem changed? The story addresses this. Filmmakers like Mrinal Sen, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak can’t be celebrated in one film. We have borrowed from them for various scenes and moments in our films. I did.
In your films, you take one aspect of everyday life, almost arbitrarily, and meditate on it. What interests you about mundaneness as a storyteller?
All these define Mrinal Sen’s body of work as well, but our craft is different. Mrinalda used to express it in different ways with placards and hoardings, but music was never very strong in his films. Mrinalda was not very aware of music, but for us, it is completely different. Music is a very important part of my films. Without that slice-of-life aspect, I don’t like to make films. In the kind of stories I do, I present the small moments or problems of people’s lives in the most simple ways. Mrinal Sen has taught us that to become a Vesuvius a huge volcano is not required. A small incident can erupt one day. For people watching such films, the small things in life become very significant. This is my style. To celebrate Mrinal Sen, his life’s philosophy needs to be celebrated, and Palan is just a slice of his philosophy.
Kharij has a very interesting ending where at every moment one feels revenge will be sought for justice, but ultimately, almost quite abruptly, the issue gets dismissed. At what point did you feel the story was not over?
I would like you to go for the film exactly with this question in mind then you will know where we paid the tribute. But the most interesting thing is that for people who have not watched Kharij, it will not be difficult for them to watch. We have narrated the incidents of Kharij throughout this film. Palan is a different story, but the characters are the same. Time changes, but the problems don’t change. We never get a social solution.
Kaushik Ganguly
The trailer gives a hint of time taking revenge that people did not. Is the film all about the play of time?
In a big way. Our life also becomes like an old house... it is all about repairing, renovating and staying on.
With so many Mrinal Sen fans on the set of this sequel, how was the legendary filmmaker celebrated on set?
This film is not a sequel. It is like an extension. It was rediscovering the characters. A sequel demands the immediate next part of it, but if 42 years have passed, it cannot be a sequel any longer. It is an extension in search of the same family to see how they are. Anjanda, Mamtadi, Sreela Majumder and Debapratim… it is one director who is the creator of four actors in my film. So their memories are numerous. I was not very close to him. I went to his house for the first time after he passed away. I met him at different places, and he has called me several times after watching my films. So, we used to talk about Mrinalda at different times during the day. They called Debapratim ‘Hanuman’ on set, and Sreela and Mamatadi used to talk about films they were supposed to do with him and the food on his sets.
What made you think of Jisshu Sengupta and Paoli Dam?
Firstly, when I was watching younger Pupai and imagining him as a grown-up, it reminded me of Jisshu. For Paoli, I thought, who are Mrinal Sen’s beauties? It stars Mamata Shankar and Sreela Majumder. So, from our contemporary actresses, Paoli came to my mind. Since Mrinalda had not decided whom Pupai would marry, I only had to do the matchmaking!
Ujaan has composed a wonderful song. It is a new role for him. How did this happen?
That’s what he does in the house all day. Be it 1.30 or 3 in the morning, he sings and plays his guitar, though not in an organised manner. I heard him humming a tune and got attracted to it, and then I wrote a song based on that tune. It is difficult to promote a film like Palan. I did not want to do any cheap publicity for Mrinalda’s film. I am not at all interested in knowing about its success at the box office also. When we go to offer our prayers in the temple, we don’t think if God is happy with our prayers, what boons can we get. This is a tribute. People will watch Palan forever. They may watch it today, tomorrow or years later, but those who like Mrinal Sen’s works or my works will watch it anyway. In Ujaan’s tune, I adjusted the words and saw that it was looking fine. I sent it to Indraadip (Dasgupta) with the meter and tune, and he said that this tune will remain. Then Ujaan and his friend Debayan composed the track and sent it to Indraadip, and Indraadip polished it like a guardian for them.
Did you rediscover Sen while making Palan?
No. Whatever I have discovered about Mrinalda, it is there in various films that I have made. For Palan, there was nothing extra. If Mrinalda would have still been amongst us, I would not have made the film. I would have never wanted him to watch this film. He has a different attachment to that family, he has a different language of filmmaking. It is not a good feeling to see a family one created get transferred to another hand. If someone takes a film of mine and does this, I would not like it. Also, I felt Mrinalda could scold me after watching the film!
For some, it will be a nostalgia trip, and for a much younger audience, it will be almost like reintroducing Sen. Were you nervous?
It is my 30th film. After making 30 films, there should not be any nervousness, but the nervousness was in a different place. I am doing a film related to a powerhouse, and to do that takes different courage. Since it is Mrinal Sen, I can’t make it the way I want to. For me, it was important to maintain a certain dignity for such a film so that he is not disrespected. That’s what I tried and probably succeeded, too. Kharij was a super flop film. Anjanda said, ‘Hope this film will run better than that’. (Laughs) But Mrinal Sen never bothered about it, and if we have to pay a tribute, then we should also not bother. Those who want to watch it will watch it.
Ardhangini completed 100 days recently. Was this an expected outcome?
Hundred days can’t be an expected outcome. In my life, it happened only eight or nine times. But Ardhangini’s credit is somewhere else. There was no so-called big star. Secondly, it survived amidst big films. There are no equations for these. Success is accidental. No one can predict it. I have said this before, and I will say this again.
