Iti Mrinalini Dvd

Iti Mrinalini (Bengali: ইতি মৃণালিনী English: Yours, Mrinalini; English: An Unfinished Letter) is a 2011 Indian drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sen collaborated with Ranjan Ghosh to write both the story and the screenplay. The film was produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt Ltd. Some critics consider it to be among her best work, ranking with Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and 36 Chowringhee Lane.

This was the first Bengali film Sen directed after a gap of more than a decade. Her previous film was Paromitar Ek Din, in 2000. Iti Mrinalini is viewed as the director’s first mainstream venture. It focuses on the life of an aging Bengali star actress of yesteryear (Mrinalini), who looks back at her life. Aparna Sen plays the current-day Mrinalini while her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma portrays Mrinalini’s earlier self.The film also stars Rajat Kapoor, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Kaushik Sen, Locket Chatterjee and German actor Suzanne Bernert in supporting roles. The entire cast, except for Konkona, is new to Aparna Sen films.

This was the first time Sen had collaborated with a scriptwriter, and the first film by Sen to be nationally released in Hindi simultaneously with the Bengali version. It is also the first time Sen and her daughter have played the same character.

Plot

Mrinalini, an ageing actress, writes a suicide note. As a performer, the first lesson she learned was timing – the perfect moment for making an entrance or an exit on stage. On the stage of life, her entrance was outside her control, but she plans to choose her exit.

Before taking the sleeping pills she has ready, she decides to destroy her memorabilia – letters, photographs, newspaper cuttings, knick-knacks – in case they fall into the hands of the press. She was a focus of media attention all her life and wishes to be spared this, as much as possible, at her death.

As she looks through the relics from her past, she remembers incidents that she had forgotten or had suppressed. Through these memories, she relives her love life, friendships and betrayals, successes and failures, accidents and awards.

As Mrinalini relives her past, night gradually turns to dawn. An azaan (Islamic call to prayer) starts up in the distance. Slowly, early morning light fills the room. The moment has passed and the death she had wished for so intensely no longer seems a priority. Her German Shepherd comes and rubs its head on its mistress’s feet and asks to be let out. Mrinalini tears up the suicide note and takes her dog out for a walk. On the street, she meets morning walkers, joggers, and a group of school children.

A young man runs past her. He seems to be escaping from something. Mrinalini thinks that she recognizes him; he resembles her first boyfriend, from her college days. Maybe he’s a thief, or a gangster. Then a gunshot is heard. Everyone on the street is startled. Mrinalini stands still, shocked. The young man who resembled her first love checks himself. He is safe, but Mrinalini has been hit in the back. He runs off as she collapses on the ground.

Cast

Konkona Sen Sharma as the younger Mrinalini Mitra
Aparna Sen as the older Mrinalini Mitra
Priyanshu Chatterjee as Imtiaz Chowdhury
Rajat Kapoor as Siddhartha Sarkar
Kaushik Sen as Chintan Nair
Shaheb Bhattacharjee as Abhijeet Mukherjee
Locket Chatterjee as Maithili Sarkar
Srijit Mukherji as Ranajoy Mitra
Suzanne Bernert as Julia Campbell
Gargi Roychowdhury as Sumitra Debi
Ananya Chatterjee as Hiya Majumdar
Dulal Lahiri as Prasad Sen
Tritee Basu as Toddler Shona
Rita Koiral as Moti