Iti Mrinalini (Yours Mrinalini) ~ An Unfinished Letter
By Amrita Paul
“
…. But I feel that by doing my own thing the way I believe, and not abiding every
single rule that is laid down, I am holding myself up as an example. I don’t
presume that I am but I don’t see what else I can do.” – Aparna Sen, Director
Iti Mrinalini.
But Mrinalini was not one of your skinny female
protagonists who can barely remember their lines. She was a young woman of
flesh, blood and most importantly a soul. She loved reading and Yeats was her
favourite poet. For someone who loved the work of Bergman, Truffaut and Godard,
she decided to start her career with mainstream commercial Bengali cinema. That
is Mrinalini for you. Over the years she did prove her merit as a talented
actress, winning several accolades for her numerous performances but what she
lost in return was herself. From a young woman bubbling with energy she quietly
transformed into an older woman, mature by years but making the same mistakes.
Mistakes of trusting people, of falling for the wrong people, for expecting
love to be a long lasting affair rather than a momentary phase in her life. She
was so different yet alike so many successful women for their never ending
quest for love.
The movie begins with an older Mrinalini writing a
letter rather a suicide note about how she intends on ending her life without blaming
anyone for her grievances. The movie is about how she spends that night
contemplating and reminiscing about days long gone by. Letters, calendars,
posters, pictures all come to life as Mrinalini looks back into her past
remembering the good moments and the bad. And then finally dawn arrives whilst
Mrinalini remembers her friend Chintan’s words, -“Sometimes you just have to
let go and take life as it comes.” She
wipes her tears and takes her German shepherd for a walk as an effort to think
afresh and start anew.
And that is the story of Iti Mrinalini. Of love,
youthful, domestic, growing from friendship or resulting from loneliness and
seclusion. It is the story of the random incidents and unbelievable occurrences
which makes life what it is. More than anything else it is realistic shedding
light on the fact that Life can’t be controlled, it is like a river or the
lines of a poem which flow at their own pace into creating something effortlessly
beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and the credit goes to Aparna Sen and
her team for making a movie like this. The last voice over in the movie finally
summarizes on what the movie is all about.
“Lanes
and by-lanes trip my heels,
Fragile
households! Whose are these?
In
a profound comedy of life and death
Lies
the essence of tears and mirth.”
Amrita Paul
I write. I read. I eat. I sleep (a lot ). Oh yes, Chick flicks make me cry and I love dogs. Some say I am a feminist, I say- " Is it necessary to define every ounce of passion arising from an individual?" I think not. Anyway that is me :)
