Interview (1971 film)
Interview (1971)[1] was a Bengali film directed by noted Indian art film director Mrinal Sen. A path-breaking film in terms of the narrative innovation and cinematic technique, it was a commercial success and went to run for six weeks amidst gushing admiration and accolades, when it was screened first. It also happened to be the debut film of Ranjit Mallick. Though according to the director, it was a film on the colonial hangover, it touched upon the diverse issue of anti-establishment, middle class cowardice, unemployment.
| Interview | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mrinal Sen |
| Produced by | Mrinal Sen Productions |
| Written by | Ashis Barman |
| Starring | Ranjit Mallick, Karuna Banerjee |
| Narrated by | Ranjit Mallick |
| Music by | Vijay Raghav Rao |
| Cinematography | K. K. Mahajan |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 min. |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
Plot
Ranjit Mallick is a smart personable young man. A friend of the family, who works in a foreign firm, has assured him of a lucrative job in his firm. All Ranjit has to do is to appear in an interview, dressed in a western style suit.
It seems a simple task, but fate wills otherwise. A strike by a labour Union means that he can't get his suit back from the laundry. His father's old suit won't fit him. He borrows a suit but loses it in a fracas. Ultimately he has to go to the interview dressed in the traditional Bengali Dhoti and Kurta (Dhuti-Panjabi).
This film is considered to be the first film of Mrinal Sen's Calcutta trilogy, the others being Calcutta 71, and Padatik.
References
- Gyan Prakash (26 March 2019). Emergency Chronicles: Indira Gandhi and Democracy's Turning Point. Princeton University Press. pp. 91–. ISBN 978-0-691-18672-6.