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Filmmakers in Bengal love Tagore: not just Sharmila but also the Grand Old Man of letters Rabindranath Tagore whose novels and short stories have been ternally adapted by Bengali filmmakers from Satyajit Ray to Rituparno Ghosh (Chokher Bali). In Hindi too, Tagore was dominant force until the close of the last century. Here are the 10 notable films in Hindi that were based on Tagore’s fiction.

1. Ghunghat (1960):

Based on Tagore’s celebrated novel Nouka Dubi this is the story of marital misalliances told against the backdrop of a ferocious storm and a boat capsize. Though a bit too melodramatic and cluttered with convenient coincidences, the story has a powerful message on giving women the right to decide which way their heart goes. Ghunghat had a stellar performance by Bina Rai. In a Anthony Hopkins-Chadwick Boseman situation, Ms Rai took the Filmfare award from Madhubala for a...

Versatile singer Arijit Singh’s soulful rendition of the track ‘Bhaabo Jodi’ from the movie ‘Kabuliwala’ is not only a melodious, but also an emotionally resonant song, making it a must-listen for the music enthusiasts.

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty helmed the role of ‘Rahmat’ in ‘Kabuliwala’, a cinematic marvel from the depths of history, penned by the legendary Rabindranath Tagore.

Mithun’s character Rahmat from Tagore’s masterpiece, deeply connects with audiences of all ages. ‘Kabuliwala’ is the timeless tale of Rahmat, a story of a middle-aged Afghan man, whose heart overflows with fatherly love for a little girl, Mini, in the bustling city of Kolkata set in the year of 1965.

The end credit song ‘Bhaabo Jodi’ composed by Indraadip Das Gupta, ‘features actors Mithun, Anumegha Kahali, Abir Chatterjee, and Sohini Sarkar. It beautifully encapsulates the heartwarming tale of Rahmat and the endearing idiosyncrasies shared between Mini and him.

For the unversed,...

by Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri

(The article was published initially in Projectorhead.in)

The Golden Era: The 1950s and 1960s

The next two decades witnessed Bengali cinema at its best, with a never before coming together of exceptional directors, actors and technicians, a willingness to experiment with forms, techniques and content, and nuanced understanding and application of film techniques. Fittingly enough, the era began with Nemai Ghosh’s Chinnamul (The Uprooted, made in 1951), which despite certain aesthetic glitches, is a telling document of partition and a landmark in the growth of socially conscious cinema in India. Hemen Gupta’s Bhuli Nai (We Shall not Forget) and ’42 (1942), both made in the late 1940s but releasing only in the 1950s, were entirely original subject matters that owed themselves to the director’s experiences as a freedom fighter and were remarkable for the director’s uncompromising sincerity. The First International Film Festival held...

Prabhat Chitra Mandal will showcase some critically acclaimed films produced in Bangladesh in its programme for September. G.R. Biplob’s film Swapnodaya will also be presented. Biplob, a renowned film maker in Bangladesh is also a film society activist.

The other films include Murad Parvez’s Chandrograhan and Tanvir Mokammel’s Chitra Nadir Pare.

To conclude the celebration of 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Thakur, a special programme will be organized in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi, Mumbai. This programme comprises screening of films based on Rabindranath Thakur’s stories and appreciative lectures by speakers.

Programme For The Month Of September 2011

Y.B.Chavan Centre (Rangswar)

14th September, 2011 Chandrograhan

6.30pm Wednesday Dir: Murad Parvez

(Bangladesh/2007/125min/Color)

16th September, 2011 Chitra Nadir Pare

6.30pm Friday Dir: Tanvir Mokammel

(Bangladesh/1998/114min/Color)

21st September, 2011 Pinjara-ek Anawat Naad

6.30pmWednesday Dir: Akshay Indikar

(Marathi/2011/35min/Color)

Swapnodaya 7.15pm

Dir: G.R. Biplob

(Bangladesh/2007/88min...

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Enlighten film society will organize Tagore Film Festival in four cities of India in August. These cities are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.

The films that will be screened as part of this festival are Kabuliwala (Hemen Gupta,1961), Kshudishta Pashan (Tapan Sinha,1961), Teen Kanya (Satyajit Ray,1961), Charulata (Satyajit Ray, 1964), Ghaire Baire (Satyajit Ray, 1984, ), Char Adhyay (Kumar Shahani, 1997), Choker Bali (Rituparno Ghosh,2003), Chaturanga (Suman Mukhopadhyay, 2008) and Naukadubi (Rituparno Ghosh,2010).

Rabindranath Tagore, a documentary made by Satyajit Ray in 1960 will also be presented as part of this film festival.

In addition to the screenings, a recital in Rabindra sangeet as well as a commemorative lecture by Kumar Shahani will also be held in Delhi. Shahani’s lecture will focus on Tagore, his literature, to eventually signify Tagore as a modernist through a screening of Shahani’s masterwork Char Adhyay.

The screenings in other...

In order to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore, Enlighten Film Society will organise a film festival based on his text in Mumbai in August . but before that two films will be screened in May as a beginning..We will celebrate Tagore.s birth anniversary by curating two films based on his texts in May, followed by a full-fledged festival in August,. Enlighten Film Society founder chairman Pranav Ashar told Ians..The films playing in May are Bimal Roy.s .Kabuliwala. (1958) directed by Hemen Gupta, and Kumar Shahani.s .Char Adhyay. (1997). In August, we will provide a more detailed look at Tagore by including works by masters like Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha and contemporary artists like Rituparno Ghosh and Suman Mukhopadhyay,. he added..Kabuliwala. will be screened May 20 at the Godrej Theatre in Ncpa here and .Char Adhyay. May 27 at the Little Theatre, also at Ncpa.

Rabindranath Tagore

The Ministry of I & B in association with Nfdc will release a DVD pack called “Tagore Stories on Film”. The DVD will be launched on May 7, 2011 to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

There are 6 DVDs in the pack which comprise five films based on Tagore’s stories filmed by different directors. The 6th DVD includes 2 documentaries on Tagore’s life as a bonus feature.

The films are: Tapan Sinha’s national award winning film on Tagore’s classic story ‘Khudito Pashan’ (Hungry Stones), 1960 in Bengali; Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) directed by Satyajit Ray, 1961 in Bengali, based on three of Tagore’s stories – The Post Master, Monihara and Samapti; Kabuliwala directed by Hemen Gupta in Hindi, 1961; Ghare Bhaire (Home and the World) by Satyajit Ray, 1984 which was screened in competition at Cannes the same year. The fifth DVD features Char Adhyay (Four Chapters), directed by Kumar Shahani,...