Iti Mrinalinin

I watched this flick on google play over the weekend. The movie has been directed by Aparna Sen and she has written it along with Ranjan Ghosh. 
I am Aparna's fan and have watched 36 Chowringhee Lane (one of my favourite movies), Mr and Mrs Iyer, 15 Park Avenue and The Japanese Wife. 

Iti Mrinalini is a Hindi movie also but I watched the orginal one in Bengali with English subtitles. 


The story is nothing new- it is about a movie actress and her life. It starts with Mrinalini (Aparna Sen) writing her suicide note. She has decided to end her life and spends the night remembering all the major events of her life. Does she kill herself in the morning? You have to watch it to find out. 

I could not help but compare this movie to the all out commercial flick "Heroine". Kareena's character in the same comes across as cheap and insane. Madhur Bhandarkar has filled the movie with cliches. 

Iti Mrinalini presents the unorthodox life of an actress in the most beautiful manner possible and without judgement. The younger Mrinalini is played by Konkona Sen Sharma. She has affairs, has a daughter out of wedlock, loses people closest to her to betrayal and death and after Satyajit Ray's death quits acting. Till Imitiaz (Priyanshu Chatterjee), a much younger director, tempts her with a great role and she decides to take up acting again.

I loved the movie. Konkona Sen is a talent powerhouse, Priyanshu was a surprise. I had no idea he was so good looking. Rajat Kapoor as Konkona's lover is superb, Kaushik Sen as Chintan- Mrinalini's best friend is brilliant. 
The weakest link though was Aparna as the older Mrinalini. I found the reason for her suicide quite flimsy and felt like she could have acted better. I didn't know what she was feeling and why. What did she think of her life at the end? Good? Bad? Ugly? Any regrets? 

But overall, it is a must watch.