'I always treat my earlier films as a kind of dress rehearsal'

At 90, acclaimed filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Mrinal Sen is far from retiring. Speaking with Romain Maitra, Sen discussed what keeps cinema fresh over the decades, his enduring fascination with Charlie Chaplin, his experiences of judging some of the world's best cinema at international festivals - and how he might embark on a new project himself:
You've just written a book on Chaplin - what is the relevance of Charlie Chaplin in today's cinema?
To me, Chaplin is a glorious concept, never dated.Chaplin was valid whenever he made his films and from time to time. His styles were determined by the subjects he chose. To me, the contemporary quality of film hardly depends on periods per se but on the attitudes employed in a film. Remember that realism in itself is not art - it is the harmony between the genuineness of feelings and the genuineness of things or issues dealt with, which Chaplin, like all masters in diverse arts, emphasised in his works. This is why he was as valid in the past as his work is today. This is how i look at him.
But characters like Chaplin's impoverished tramp have largely vanished from cinema today, replaced by portrayals of an urban gentry - your thoughts on this?
Whichever characters you take up - whether the man of the road or the urban or rural gentry - your characters and situations must respond to emotions and attitudes all the time. Otherwise, you fail to achieve. The simplest of examples are Fellini's La Dolce Vita and Ray's Pather Panchali or Aparajito - aren't they all-time classics of world cinema?
Speaking of world cinema, please share some of your memories of judging prominent film festivals like Cannes?
I can pick one experience from my memory of the 1980s in Cannes which to me is the most prestigious of all film fests. That was the decade when i used to look at Cannes as my second home. I had a few of my films in competitions and other sections and i was also invited to attend seminars and symposia.
In 1982, i was a member of the international jury. There were luminaries on board - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Sydney Lumet, Georgio Stryler, Geraldine Chaplin and other unquestionable experts with their very personal likes and dislikes...we had no choice but to argue, agree, even violently disagree. Never could we come to unanimous verdicts! We usually had no option but to put the final selection up to votes. So finally, the show was a 'numbers game' - the so-called democratic decision. I served as juror also in Venice and Berlin and faced the same problem - at the end, there was always the same all-important 'numbers game'.
Will we see you stepping past another numbers game - age - and making a new film soon?
I only wish i could make another and yet another film, correcting, to be honest, my own conclusions. It is an unending process for me to always treat my earlier films as a kind of dress rehearsal for sharpening my knowledge. To correct one's own conclusions is a fascinating exercise in all disciplines...
However, i confess i have not yet decided how and when i get into another production, although i have been approached by many quarters with finances...i actu-ally look upon cinema as a conti-nuously growing phenomenon, like walking up a steep hill where, with every onward step, the horizon's line is found changing.