Interview

Mrinal Sen's 1971 Bengali film follows Ranjit on his way to a job interview. He has been told that turning up in a Western suit will get him the post. That morning no suit can be found. The film enlarges that simple obstacle across the day; the narrative questions what dress means in a postcolonial society and sits between joke and anger. Sen breaks the fiction deliberately: the character turns to camera at intervals and scenes were shot in the street with real people. It is the first film of the Calcutta trilogy. Who it's for: viewers of Indian art cinema and formal experiment. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a straight narrative; the film moves between fiction and documentary.