Ek Din Pratidin was my favourite: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

He stays in Trivandrum but his heart is in Kolkata where, on Sunday morning, his “elder brother” Mrinal Sen breathed his last. It takes some time for legendary director Adoor Gopalakrishnan to collect his thoughts about his mentor. The demise of Sen’s wife — actor Geeta Sen — had come as a shock for him. The last Sunday of 2018 was the day when he said Indian cinema lost the last of the “formidable trinity”.Excerpts from an interview with the director.
You have shared a long association with Mrinal Sen…
Mrinal Sen was one of the greatest of Indian filmmakers. In his demise, we have lost the last of the formidable trinity of our cinema. He was a humanist to the core and a film-maker par excellence. He was never shy of experimenting with the medium. He, of course, had to fight a long battle to be noticed as opposed to the early recognition that came to Ray in abundance from the beginning. But he never gave up. His films were greatly inspired by the hapless and the downtrodden. His concerns for the have nots and the uprooted in several films of his served as a leitmotif. For me, he was a guide and an elder brother who always took a keen interest in my work. Every time, I made a film, I was particular to show it to him and get his response. Fortunately, he had been indulgently generous with his comments. Cinema was his passion. He dreamed cinema, breathed cinema and lived cinema.
It’s difficult to choose. But can you select one film of Sen that has left a lasting impression on you?
That would be Ek Din Pratidin.
Why do you say that?
This film deals with the middle-class morale, mentality of life, how it is outdated and needs to be challenged. When somebody who earns the livelihood of a family returns home late, all kinds of questions are raised. Their anger, their bitterness — everything comes up. It is a remarkable film. Probably, this establishes him as a real master. The other film I really like is Kharij. That comes second in my list of favourites. Calcutta 71 comes third.
Even today the subject of Kharij is so contemporary…
Yes. In the film when the father comes, both the audience and the head of the family are so afraid that he might ask so many questions. But, he doesn’t ask anything. He is so poor and innocent. The film is such a great treatment of human situation.
Do you think the subjects that he was dealing with and the reaction of society that he saw in his films are still very contemporary? Even today if a working woman returns late at night, she might be asked all sorts of questions...
Yes, of course. These reactions are true for all times. It even holds true in case of a film like Interview.
How did you get introduced to his cinema?
I saw his films at the Film and Television Institute of India. He never visited the institute when I was there. After I left the institute, he used to come there. Before him, Ritwik Ghatak was there at the institute.
Were you a student of Ghatak?
Yes. He had a different kind of an aura. I have never studied under Sen directly. I still remember our good relations started when we saw Swayamvaram. Since then, he liked my work. He and his wife, Geetadi, were family. It is difficult to have lost both in such close proximity.
When was the last time you met him?
After Geetadi left, I saw him once. When Geetadi was alive, I had gone to their house. They would lie in two adjacent beds. The next time I saw him, he was up and seated at the dining table. We were all there talking to us. I used to always tell him, ‘Mrinalda, you can’t grow old. We won’t let you do that. You are young. Always young.’
Do you find anyone who can truly carry forward his legacy?
There are one or two directors. Mrinalda had a thirst for life. We are all inspired by him and the spirit he had. He never gave up.