Amartya
Sen: A Life Re-examined
by Suman
Ghose, Director and Producer
First Run/Icarus Films, NYC, NY, 2003
Running time, 56 minutes
Reviewed by Aparna Sharma
aparna31S@netscape.net
Amartya Sen: A life re-examined, is
a documentary about the life and work
of Nobel Prize winning economist, Dr.
Amartya Sen. Rich and moving, the nearly
hour-long film focuses on his contributions
in the field of Welfare Economics. The
film provides an overview of a vast span
of his engagements and achieves in contextualising
his thoughts and propositions. The discussions
within the film invite the viewer into
understanding better the dynamics of economic
development, wherein Sens arguments
have identified the complexities and intricacies
of social choice/s. As the film proceeds,
it indicates Sens thought as emulating
dialogue between varied and distinct systems
of reason and thinking. From such a position,
one begins to appreciate some of the inadequacies
of Western Liberalism, and the case for
expanding and resituating economic development
beyond macroeconomic measures only.
The film combines interviews with a galaxy
of scholars, politicians, and associates
who comment upon Sens work, particularly
within the ambit of the Social Choice
Theory, and discuss some of his independent
research efforts in rural Bengal. Central
in lending structure to the film is a
conversation between Sen and Economics
Professor, Kaushik Basu, from Cornell
University. In this conversation, Basu
inquires deeply into the evolution of
Sens thinking, traversing both intellectual
and personal trajectories. Rather than
interpretation or explanation, the conversation
is deconstructive, which besides documentation,
facilitates in situating Sens ideas
within a larger historical and socio-political
context. Through editing, this dialogue
has been carefully combined with other
interviews in the film such that it serves
as a delicate framework for the film,
fully evoking the import of Sens
contributions, and introducing the viewer
to wider philosophical and cultural implications
thereof. Acutely interesting is Harvard
historian, Sugata Boses succinct
and lucid commentary in which he places
Amartya Sen in the tradition of thinking
shared by two prominent 20th
century Bengalis: Nobel Laureate and literaturer
Rabindranath Tagore and filmmaker, Satyajit
Ray. Bose holds that in following this
tradition including Sen, the intellectual
and cultural history of our times could
be reinterpreted as being,
characterised by competing and multiple
universalisms, for the three thinkers
attest lines of communication that
connect different cultures. This
observation is extremely useful in challenging
notions of cultural distinction, innocence,
and orientalist sympathies, besides drawing
the historical significance of Sens
contributions outside of his discipline.
The insightfulness of the film is complimented
by its structure. Patiently culled facts
and sustained arguments including suitable
criticisms have been combined with a recollection
of Sens background, interesting
and humorous anecdotes, memories, and
minutiae. All these elements wedded together
lend an air of ease and rescue the film
from the trappings of a dense exchange
that might have limited its possibilities.
The films editing, which has been
noted by critics elsewhere, reflects an
eye for fine and considered construction.
The style and pace of the film are smooth,
transitions between sequences gentle,
imagery flavoursome and economical, and
music poignantthe manner of the
film is subtle yet emphatic and parallels
the grace and poise characterising the
Trinity Masters own arguments and
style.
Through such a refined approach, the film
transcends the gross level and dives deeper
into unpacking Senthe individualin
terms of his philosophical leanings, motivations,
and convictions. Especially interesting
is a brief sequence from a lecture at
the Cornell University (2002), where Sen
states the need for a secular right-wing
political party in India. While he promptly
qualifies he may not necessarily vote
for it, his remark is intriguing given
that he is commonly associated with the
Political Economy approach. What makes
it more noticeable is timing, in light
of the recent landmark mandate marked
by an anti-incumbency sentiment against
the Hindu nationalist, Bharatiya Janata
Party led coalition, which had some of
the ingredients Sen spells in the lecture:
pro-business and right-wing. This sequence
is one of the many in the film that indicate
the cruciality of Sens thought,
which consistently favours and injects
complexity in social choice, rather than
aligning with any kind of fundamentalist
resolution, liberal or otherwise.
Amartya Sens research into the subjects
of poverty, welfare measurement, and social
choice has been widely celebrated. It
was only fitting for an in-depth film
of this kind to dwell upon his education
at some of the most notable institutions
in the world (Vishwa Bharati, founded
by Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan
[West Bengal], the Presidency College,
Calcutta, where Sen first encountered
the writings of Kenneth Arrow; and later
at the Cambridge University, UK) to foreground
the instilling and development of an inquiring,
concerned, and appreciative attitude that
is at the heart of Sens pursuits.
Not only does the film present the dialogics
embodied in Sens thinking, but a
step further it filters impulses he has
interacted with, without compromising
on his occupations and philosophical dispositions.
This coinciding of the personal and intimate
with the intellectual and philosophical
is evidenced throughout the film and feeds
into making it a profound and outstanding
text of historical and interdisciplinary
merit. Amartya Sen: A Life Re-examined,
is a remarkable documentary that provides
a comprehensive account of one of the
greatest thinkers of our times. The film
is not merely informative; it is an impetus
for thought and reflection embellished
with valuable views and concerns for the
human condition. Touchingly, the film
closes with Tagores celebrated prayer
for liberation: Where the mind is without
fear . . . from his most cherished
text, Gitanjali.