How does one measure her life when she has had great professional success but they are all shadowed by personal regrets and losses?
For this essay, I will be providing my analysis of "Iti Mrinalini" (2011), directed by Aparna Sen. It's a movie which is more than just a biographical reflection of an aging Bengali actress. It explores memory, identity, and the silent cost of a living under the spotlight. The idea for the film was initially conceived by Aparna Sen and then developed and co-written with Ranjan Ghosh during a scriptwriting exercise. Aparna Sen and her daughter, Konkona Sen Sharma, portray Mrinalini across two timelines, and together, they guide the viewers through a journey of love, loss, triumphs, and lingering regrets. In this essay, I delve into how Mrinalini captures the interplay between public success and private sorrow.
Aparna Sen is celebrated for her portrayal of female protagonists. Her movies often show women characters navigating through the weight of societal expectations. With Iti Mrinalini, she offers a narrative which is deeply personal to her and the industry she is a part of. In the context of Indian cinema, actresses often face loss of acting opportunities as they age. This reality is showcased in the film, where the older Mrinalini is replaced by the younger actress Hiyaa for Imtiaz's upcoming project. However, even in her youth, Mrinalini faces rejection when she is removed from a film shortly after the success of her debut, Rajani.
Aparna Sen, who has worked both in front of and behind the camera, brings her insider’s knowledge to this film. While she has clarified in several interviews that this movie is not entirely autobiographical, the narrative and nuances captured feel real and resonate with the struggles of actresses in the film industry. The decision to portray the older Mrinalini herself, while casting her daughter, Konkona, as the younger version, adds a meta-narrative perspective, providing us, the viewers, with the emotional authenticity of Mrinalini's journey.
The narrative structure of Iti Mrinalini uses the suicide note as a storytelling device. The story is framed through the perspective of an aging Bengali actress (Mrinalini) reflecting on her life. The plot follows a non-linear narrative structure. It begins with older Mrinalini as she writes her final letter. Each object around her, like the poem book gifted by Abhi (her college romantic interest), box of photographs of Shona (her daughter), old movie posters, and Shona's childhood drawings are used as points of reflection, allowing the story of younger Mrinalini to unfold. This back and forth movement between the present and the past allows us, the viewers, to understand and empathize with Mrinalini's struggles. Through this reflective structure, the writers provide a deeper understanding of Mrinalini's internal struggles hidden behind her professional public achievements.
The Illusion of Control | There is a subtle theme of control in the film and Mrinalini's inability to let go. This is woven into scenes that are not explicitly addressed but can be observed throughout her actions. Throughout the film, Mrinalini is portrayed as someone who seeks to control every aspect of her life. This could be her response to unpredictability (of her profession and finding the love of her life). This trait is reflected in small instances such as her insistence on packing Shona's bags in an organized way or repeatedly aligning the frames on the walls. Her desire to control is also implied when she reflects on how her entry into the film industry was accidental, but insists that her exit should be on her own terms. This is evident by her decision to carefully plan her suicide. In one of the pivotal conversations, Chintan reminds Mrinalini that nothing in life is truly within our control. This notion is tragically reinforced in the film’s final scene, where despite all her attempts to control her fate, Mrinalini is accidentally and fatally shot during a walk. Through this ending, the writers underscore a tragic irony that despite her desire to control her exit, Mrinalini's fate is determined by randomness, something that is beyond her control.
Loss | The film also explores the theme of loss, which repeatedly shapes Mrinalini's life. Throughout the film, she experiences a series of personal losses that gradually shapes her emotional resilience. In chronological order, she first loses Abhi, her college romantic interest, followed by Siddhartha Sarkar, her long-term partner, to whom she is married to in accordance of a Hindu ceremony. Her biggest loss comes with the death of her daughter, Shona. Mrinalini also suffers a great deal of loss with the passing of Satyajit Ray, who left a lasting impression on her, artistically. As mentioned in the film, she had been waiting for a call from Ray to act in one of his films, and his death leaves her career without purpose or direction. She loses Kamala (her caretaker) to a fire accident, who has been a constant silent companion (like an elder sister) throughout her life. While the public image shows success, the film shows the personal tragedies are often hidden. This is especially depicted when Mrinalini wants to return back to India immediately after giving birth to Shona because she does not want the film shoot to get delayed any longer. The film highlights quiet and unseen burdens carried by artists in the public eye.
Memory | One of the themes explored in Iti Mrinalini is the role of memory and how Mrinalini's past shapes her present despair. The film is structured around Mrinalini's reflections before her suicide, where the memories surface not as sources of comfort and nostalgia, but as painful reminders of loss and regret. The film uses objects like old photographs, letters, paintings, and posters as points of reflection to show these objects not only as connections to the past but also as reminders of Mrinalini's personal losses. Through this, the writers show how individuals in the public eye, like film actors, often carry a heavy personal burden that remains concealed behind their public face. In Mrinalini's case, these memories carry heavy personal weight that the fame could never erase.
Radha: Mrinalini's unspoken reflection | In a pivotal scene where Mrinalini and Siddhartha are discussing adapting Chintan's story, Red Earth, a love story between a Muslim girl and a Baul singer, she immediately suggests renaming it "Radha". While on the surface this appears to be a creative choice, I believe it subtly reveals Mrinalini’s personal projection onto the narrative. In Hindu mythology, Radha’s eternal love for Krishna remains unfulfilled, as Krishna marries Rukmini. By choosing this title, Mrinalini may be reflecting her own reality, seeing herself as Radha in her relationship with Siddhartha, a married man she can never truly have. This scene highlights how Mrinalini’s personal experience seeps into her professional decisions.