The East German Audience Tore at My Throat: Anjan Dutt

RBN Web Desk: The then East German audience had once tore his throat, when he was presenting Mrinal Sen’s Mahaprithibi at Berlinale, said Anjan Dutt while recalling his long association with filmmaker Mrinal Sen. The film was adapted by Sen from a play that Dutt had written on the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall and its impact on a family living in Kolkata. The 1992 film was critically acclaimed.

Speaking to the media recently Dutt recalled that the story had appealed to Sen and he wanted to make a film out of it. The Bong Connection director played a small role in the film and was mostly involved in assisting Sen in direction. The film was sent to Berlinale. Sen, however, fell ill and was unable to attend the festival. He asked Dutt to present the film.

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Sen was a believer in the Leftist movement and Communist ideologies all through his life. Dutt reminiscenced that after the screening was over, the East German audience of the then united Berlin, were at his throat for the lament on socialism in the film. And he, being a staunch opponent to Communism, had to defend his director. It was the first time that Dutt was presenting a film, and that too at a festival of Berlinale’s stature, he recalled.

Mahaprithibi had Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Aparna Sen, and Anashua Majumdar in major roles.

Pic: Times of India