Suhasini Moole: Anero experience of two noble filmmakers in filmmaking

- Suhasini has been known as a documentary filmmaker for more than three decades. Some of his best known documentaries include 'An Indian Story' and 'Chithi'

National award winning actress and director Suhasini Mool has got the opportunity to work with two famous Indian filmmakers - Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Here he talks candidly and intuitively about the experience he got from working with these two great filmmakers, what he learned, which is really enjoyable.

Life can be, for many, an excellent teacher. For some lucky ones, creators like Satyadit Ray and Mrinal Sen can be a guide. Some such people include actress Suhasini Moole. Actress Suhasini has gained experience working with these two filmmakers in her career. After working as an actress in Mrinal Sen's film 'Bhuvan Shome' (19), Suhasini got a chance to work as a fifth assistant director in Satyajit Ray's film 'Janaranya' (19) and later assisted Mrinal Sen in 'Mrigaya' (19).

Suhasini has acted in films like 'Hu Tu Tu' (19), 'Lagan' (2001), 'Hamraj' (2002), 'Page-2' (2007) and 'Jodha Akbar' (2007). Apart from Hindi, he has acted in Marathi and Assamese films and TV shows. She has won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film 'Hu Tu Tu'.

Talking about his first meeting with Satyajit Ray, Suhasini says, "After finishing the film 'Bhuvan Shome', I went to study agriculture at McGill University in Canada and then when I came to India, I was assigned as a jury assistant at the International Film Festival in New Delhi." Manikada (Satyajit Ray) presided over the jury.

He saw my work in 'Bhuvan Shome' and offered me a job as an assistant director. I became the fifth assistant director in his crew and my salary was Rs.500. However I had already told them that I could not speak Bengali properly. They proceeded with their decision and appointed me.

First of all I had to learn and it was only when I landed in Kolkata that I made that decision. 'I have already told you that this is Manekada and he gave me a copy of Ishwar Sagar Vidyasagar's book' Bornoporichoy '. However, I felt that this was an ancient version of the Bengali language, which was difficult to learn. After a few months I learned the language a little bit, but over time I realized that 'Bornoporichoy' is one of the most reliable books for those who want to learn the language. Now, 40 years later, during the current lockdown, I picked up the book and started learning Bengali again, ”he said.

Suhasini described Satyadit Ren as a highly organized and efficient person in terms of work. 'I remember he wrote a 3 page summary for me and that too bye bye because I didn't know Bengali.

They were very precise and incredibly tidy. I remember reading a note he wrote for ‘Charulata’ in which he built a set on a four-foot silt, which could give a sense of height.

He sketched everything, explained the whole look and setting of the scene. He was a good painter with a sharp vision. He knew that drawing was the fastest way to explain his vision to anyone else. They used this red book, which looked like the one used by the Marwaris in Burbazar in Kolkata to burn accounts. Many were not allowed to look at this red notebook. But the book contained all the information on how the core of an actress 'sari should be, how to shed light on it,' said Suhasini.

He also said that this is one of his prominent features that he (Surasini) took from him and used during the shooting of his documentaries. Suhasini has been known as a documentary filmmaker for more than three decades.

Some of his best known documentaries include 'An Indian Story', 'Bhopal-Beyond Genocide', 'Chithi' and other national award winning documentaries. 'I definitely use Manekdani's method when shooting my film. I make a sketch of my whole scene and put it in a notebook. It really makes your thoughts clear and you know for yourself what you are going to shoot. This system has been with me for so many years, 'said Suhasini.

"Every morning, before the shooting starts, Manikada would sit with all the actors and read the eye scenes in front of them and tell them how you want to perform it. Every artist had to follow his every instruction.

If an artist could not work according to the instruction he gave, Manikada would ask him a question as to why he did not follow the instruction. He was very specific about them and had all the plans in his mind. At that time there was no scope for discussion. He did not like accidentally prepared things. They were systematic. This made a big difference in the budget of the film, 'he said.

Suhasini swims a little differently from other actors as she worked closely with both Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray-M. Both of these creators were noble thinkers. However, the two creators had very different personalities. Their method was also different from each other.

Mrinalda was more open-minded for suggestions and corrections. I was very young when I did his film 'Bhuvan Shome'. It was also relatively raw at work. I recently implemented the instructions he gave me. When I was in Kolkata, the post-production of 'Mrigaya' was going on. An assistant fell ill so Mrinalda assigned me the job of editing the film.

When I asked Mrinalda for the input of the scenes, he said, 'Improvement is required for a particular scene.' After the shooting they would go to the hotel and at night they would discuss with the artist and decide what to do the next day. He was accompanied by artists like Utpal Dutt and Shekhar Chatterjee. In addition the cameraman k. That. There were guilds who suggested something, his creative knowledge was also helpful.

So when we got to the set in the morning, we knew what to do. Often the whole scene passed through his mind as he sat quietly in a corner of the room discussing Mrinalda at night. Thus, there was a difference in the work of Satyadit Ray and Mrinalda, 'he said.

Suhasini says, ‘OTT has created a lot of space for documentaries. YouTube has huge support. Someone can make a film if you have a camera and editing software. So I think the Internet is the greatest teacher in today's age. Which offers a wide range of software for your creation. If you are willing to learn, you can do whatever you want. '