DVD Review
Tagore Stories on film Shemaroo, Rs 399
Dream collection
Commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of India’s iconic poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright Rabindranath Tagore is the DVD titled Tagore Stories On Film, brought out by the National Film Development Corporation.
This collection features Tagore’s classic stories and novella in film format and is directed by India’s equally eclectic auteurs who leave their own professional mark in the rendition of stories.
Providing a perspective peek into Tagore’s profound concerns as also evocatively bringing onto the screen each of his literary works are Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Kumar Shahani and Hemen Gupta. Each one is a master of the celluloid. With their inimitable individualistic styles, vision, acumen and adeptness, they bring a rare quality to the immortal stories.
If Tapan Sinha’s rendition of Khudito Pashan (Hungry Stones) is hypnotic in its portrayal of a tax collector falling in love with a ghost and sprite’s tragic past, Hemen Gupta’s poignant picturisation of the immortal Kabuliwala is heart-rending.
Satyajit Ray’s masterly Teen Kanya and Ghaire Bhaire, and Kumar Sahani’s elliptical and enchanting exposition of Char Adhyay are sheer joi-de-vivre. The DVD also contains a 20 minute dance drama by Tagore himself, besides a documentary on the Nobel laureate by Satyajit Ray. Attractively priced, it is a collector’s delight.
