MRINAL Sen, a legendary Bengali film-maker, passed away on Sunday.

He breathed his last at around 10:30am at his home in Bhawanipore, Kolkata.

He was 95.

Sen is considered to be one of the greatest ambassadors of Indian parallel cinema and gave the audiences masterpieces like Ek Din Achanak, Bhuvan Shome, Padatik, Calcutta 71 and Mrigayaa among others.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences and paid the film-maker a tribute.

“Our country is grateful to Shri Mrinal Sen for giving us some of the most admirable films.

The dexterity and sensitivity with which he made the films is noteworthy. His rich work is admired across generations. Saddened by his demise.

My thoughts are with his family and admirers.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted:

“A great loss to the film industry.”

— By arrangement with The Times of India

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2018