An Ode To The Cinematic Brilliance of Mrinal Sen’s ‘Interview’ (1971)
(The reader is advised to watch the movie before reading )
Often the movies with the most simple descriptions are the ones that intrigue movie goers and movie fanatics alike, mainly because the curiosity lies in questioning, what exactly can a simple story that is at par with normal life bring to the table? Interview (1971) Directed by Mrinal Sen, tackles something of a similar kind in the most deft and in an almost flawless manner. The film’s cast includes Ranjith Mallick, Karuna Banerjee and names like Shekhar Chatterjee and Mumta Chatterjee.
I came across ‘Interview’ via a friend online, who like me, a film aficionado, was a great deal impressed by it. He urged me to watch it as soon as possible. The description of the movie got me hooked and it wasn’t a long time before i sat down to watch this Bengali film (my fifth or sixth of the language) which was just over an hour.
‘Interview’ follows the story of a young man named Ranjith, who lives with his mother and sister and works as an editor/proofreader at a newspaper firm. He is assured a new high paying job by his uncle and has everything from an interview, to a job offer readily presented to him, on a silver platter. All he has to do is attend the interview and make a good impression. Although the most important thing he has to remember is to come to the interview in a suit. The story takes place roughly during the 1970s in Calcutta and portrays scraps and memories of the decolonization period. The movie begins in this point of view as we see statues of the colonial period being dragged and decentralized from their original positions. Almost as if Mrinal Sen is instantly reliving the rather uncanny glorification of that time whilst clearly undermining that idea simultaneously. The film is shot in a style that is a mix of part documentary and part fiction. The latter being in a higher volume. There are timely montages of the working class and their commutes, in a rather rhythmic and fitting manner.
This film is what one would call a “Meta film”, meaning a film that has constant fourth-wall breaks and is evidently a ‘self-referential’ or a film that knows it is a movie, in real time. Ranjith is filled with pride, all along the start of the film due to the happiness in the anticipation of the new job. This is seen when he constantly reminds both his mother and his sister about the job, to a point where even they deem it unnecessary. Although they are supportive throughout, Ranjith makes life hard for both of them, as he is void of empathy through constant outbreaks, awaiting what the new job is going to offer. He is seen making plans for a new house with his fiancé, almost like dwelling in a dream, before he has even gone to sleep.
Mrinal Sen draws parallels with beautiful imagery and very well executed jump cuts throughout the movie, in moments of angst and frustration in particular. The movie, observably, focuses on the western glorification spectrum, in this case the dress code, as for major parts of the film, Ranjith focuses on what he is going to wear, rather than the interview itself. When the dry-cleaning shop where his suit lies, shuts close, to make way for a protest, Ranjith hits a major roadblock and is perplexed.
There is a scene whilst he is travelling on a bus, right before the interval where there occurs a fourth-wall break, and it has to be said that it is definitely one of greatest ones of its kind. A girl on the bus is seen to be reading a magazine where there is a photo of Ranjith, when Ranjith nonchalantly walks to the camera and starts conversing, almost like he knows we have been watching the whole time. The timely elegance and flawlessness of the execution of the scene, deserves appreciation every time it is viewed. Ranjith’s journey is the one we follow as we see him, roam the suburbs of Calcutta like a nomad, searching for an answer. Sen’s Artistic merit lies in capturing human interactions in its rawest form in the film and being able to control the mood whether it is through the music or through the visuals. The authenticity of the acting is another factor worthy of being mentioned as the crew is in total control of the atmosphere. The constant idealization of a perfect attire is what lingers in ‘interview’ and makes us question if it is in fact an important factor when it comes to such a situation.
This is brought out very well in a scene where Ranjith and his friend travel to another old friend’s house (whom they don’t really connect to anymore) for a “simple” suit. Ranjith is heard questioning the same, when his friend loudly exclaims that his whole “future” is depending on that “simple” suit. One can only observe and wonder about the reality that is brought out appropriately in this scene.
‘Interview’ bags the bag of gold, with its splendid final act, when we are introduced into a drama-like realm for the last couple of minutes, where our protagonist converses yet again with the viewer on whether, him not getting the job is reasonable. In response to which there are fabulous cuts and moments of acting, that makes this film outstanding. The mannequin at the end is another symbolic reference to the thought of the idealized form of society, for it was not Ranjith who was unskilled or incompetent but the world surrounding him and the circumstances that it put itself in. As loudly as Ranjith, who claims that he is intelligent and qualified, can one equally claim the same about the film as a whole, as appreciation for Mrinal Sen for pushing the boundaries of Conventional filmmaking by opening new doors and providing a new horizon of thinking, that which unlike a suit for an interview, needs no prerequisites.
