The Royal Hunt

Mrigaya (Royal Hunt)

Mithun’s master act in Mrinal’s masterpiece

Writer and Director: Mrinal Sen

Cast: Mithun Chakraborty and Mamta Shanker

Language: English, Hindi and Urdu [fascinating]

 Duration: Perfect

 Rating: A genuine masterpiece

 Awards: All the national awards plus a lot of international awards

 Review By: Dr Usman Latif Khawaja

 Review:

This is a testament to the great talent of Mrinal Sen and Mithun, who is the only actor in the history of Indian cinema to win the laurels (national and international awards) in his debut act.

It is indeed a sheer pleasure to see him play a fearless young tribal man, proud and noble, exuding raw energy in every frame in a simple langooti (loincloth).

He is the son of the local village headman, somewhere in the mountains of north-eastern India . In the last days of British Raaj, who loves a local young woman (Mamta Shankar), she happens to be abducted by a local money lender, in lieu for the debt of ten rupees owed by her father to the Mahajan, who is the local equivalent of shylock, except this man holds nothing sacred, whether a human  life or a woman’s virtue, he violates every code of ethics, in one scene where a child is eaten by a tiger he consoles the bereaving family by telling them at least they have one less mouth to feed.

 So begins the Royal Hunt (Mrigaya), a proud warrior on a quest alone against a corrupt system, a solo young man in search of justice even if it has to be self acquired and a landmark in world cinema. I say so because the remarkable similarities between this movie and Apocalypto are too many to be coincidental, only Mel Gibson has not given any comments on his inspiration.

 The character of the hunter who is also the quarry is a unique portrayal by Mithun, his eyes glowing like fireballs set against his darkly handsome countenance with his superb physique, and he looks more like a jaguar on the hunt which is indeed royal by any comparison.

 The subp...