He had a great sense of humour: Buddhadeb Dasgupta

My relationship with Mrinalda went back a few decades. There was a time when both of us used to live near

Deshapriya Park

. We would meet often and catch up for adda at the park in the evenings. He was always full of life and would not be deterred by anything. In fact, I haven’t seen him tense ever; neither could he sustain tension for long. There was a lot to learn from him. I have many favourite films by his. Those include Baishey Shravana — it’s a film very close to my heart. I don’t think the film was evaluated well. Some of my other favourites include Matira Manisha and

Ek Din Pratidin

. Over the past few years, his body was not giving him able support, but his mind was always alert. The filmmaker in him never died. He was married to a great woman, Geeta Sen. She was like my mother and we shared a great bond. I also admired Mrinalda’s great sense of humour. He could mingle with almost everyone. Gopal Bhanr was his favourite character and he would tell me stories revolving around him. I still remember a story he shared. When Raja Krishnachandra asked Gopal Bhar how many children he had, his answer was ‘one’. Raja said he was 75 and the Rani had conceived. To this Gopal Bhar said, ‘Maharaja apnar koto lokbol’. His humour kept him young. We have been to very several foreign festivals together. On long flights, he could fall asleep as soon as he boarded. Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen are pronounced in the same breath, but Mrinalda’s works have not been evaluated well. I hope it happens in due course of time.