Mrinal Kanti Das

Mrinal Kanti Das was an Indian cinematographer who predominantly worked in Assamese-language films. For his work on the Assamese films Adajya and Rag Birag, he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Cinematography in 1996. He was the first cinematographer from Assam to receive the national award for cinematography.

Mrinal was on the film jury that evaluated feature films for awards at the 50th National Film Awards in 2002.

Early life After completing his schooling in Guwahati in the early 1980s, Mrinal was selected for civil engineering at the government-run Jorhat Engineering College, Assam. However, he quit midway to join the State Forest Service at a young age. He had a passion for photography, shuttlecock, rock climbing, trekking, and mountaineering. In 1986, Mrinal became the first Indian to reach the summit of Menthosa, a peak in the Western Himalayas standing at an elevation of about 6,443 meters. To fulfill his friend's filmmaking dream, he enrolled at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, in 1988, initially on leave from the Forest Service. Baibhob (1999) Koihatir Dhuliya (1999) Anurag (2004) Sneha Bandhan (2006) Sapon Nishiddha Nodi Noi Poriya Collage

As director Rudaali (1994) - 13-episode TV series Spandan (documentary on Assam's Jaipore Rain Forest) Aranyanat Borukhun (2004) - 10% complete