Tagore Film Festival - Char Adhyay: Four Chapters (Mon 7 May)

Char Adhyay (1997) English Title: Four Chapters Romance 110 minutes

Director: Kumar Shahani

Writer: Kumar Shahani

Stars: Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Nandini Ghosal and Kauskhik Gopal

Adapted from a novella by Rabindranath Tagore, Char Adhyay captures the ideals of the Bengali Renaissance of the 1930s. A group of young intellectuals and revolutionaries, led by the brilliant young Indranath, is fighting for independence from the colonial system.

Ela, a beautiful spirited young man is a member of a group of armed revolutionaries during the freedom struggle. She is at once the mascot and the spirit of the movement. Within the group she meets Atin and falls in love. The unyielding nature of the movement decrees that they cannot be together. As Ela and Atin start questioning the indoctrination and the ideology of the movement, they come into conflict with the leaders of the group. The film is the story of this conflict between beuty, love and humanism and the harsh ideology and the indoctrination of the revolutionary struggle.

Tagore Film Festival - Teen Kanya: Two Daughters (Sun 6 May)

Teen Kanya (1961)
English Title: Two Daughters

Comedy/ Drama
173 minutes

Director: Satyajit Ray 

Writers: Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore (stories)

Stars: Anil Chatterjee, Chanada Banerjee and Sita Mukherjee

The first story is about Nanda, a young man who leaves Calcutta to work as a postmaster in an isolated malaria-infested village. The postmaster is looked after by a young orphan girl, Ratan. His only solace in the village is in teaching Ratan how to read and write. The second story is about a student, Amulya, who returns to his village after finishing his exams. His widowed mother is very anxious for him to marry, and has already picked out a girl. He rejects his mother's choice and, being forced to choose some girl, marries a lively tomboy who is not ready to give up her freedom. Written by Will Gilbert 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055508/plotsummary  

Tagore Film Festival - Khudito Pashan: Hungry Stones (Sat 5 May)

Khudito Pashan (1960)

English Title: Hungry Stones

117 minutes

Director: Tapan Sinha

Writers: Rabindranath Tagore (story), Tapan Sinha (Scenario)

Stars: Arundhati Devi, Soumitra Chatterjee and Chhabi Biswas

The film is adapted from a story called Hungry Stones by Rabindranath Tagore. A tax collector posted to a small town puts up at a mansion feared by the locals because it is haunted. As time passes he grows more consumed by the mansion and its air of romance, and the spirits that haunt it, especially a beautiful woman. Written by Ravenus, India 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054005/plotsummary  

Tagore Film Festival - Kabuliwala (Thurs 3 May)

Kabuliwala (1961)

95 minutes

Director: Hemen Gupta

Writers: Rabindranath Tagore (story), Vishram Bedekar and S. Khalil (screenplay)

Stars: Balraj Sahni, Sonu and Usha Kiran

Abdur Rehman Khan (Balraj Sahni), a middle-aged dry fruit seller from Afghanistan, comes to Calcutta to hawk his merchandise and befriends a small Bengali girl called Mini (Sonu) who reminds him of his own daughter Amina back in Afghanistan. He puts up at a boarding house along with his countrymen. Since he is short of money he decides to sell his goods on credit for increasing his business. Later, when he goes to collect his money, one of his customers abuses him and in the fight that ensues Rehman warns that he will not tolerate abuse and stabs the man when he does not stop the abuse. In the court Rehman's lawyer tries to obfuscate the facts but in his characteristic and simple fashion Rehman states the truth in a matter of fact way. The judge, pleased with Rehman's honesty, gives him 10 years' rigorous imprisonment instead of the death sentence. On the day of his release, he goes to meet Mini but discovers that she has grown up into a woman and is about to get married. Mini does not recognize Rehman, who realises that his own daughter must have forgotten him too. Mini's father gives Rehman the money for travelling back to Afghanistan out of Mini's wedding budget to which Mini agrees; she also sends a gift for Rehman's daughter. The film ends with Rehman travelling back to his homeland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuliwala_%281961_film%29

Tagore Film Festival - Charulata: The Lonely Wife (Wed 2 May)

Charulata: The Lonely Wife (1964)

Drama/ Romance

117 minutes

Director: Satyajit Ray

Writers: Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore (story)

Stars: Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Shailen Mukherjee

 

Set in British India in the 19th century, the film revolves around Charulata, the beautiful wife of a learned Calcutta intellectual. She sits at home alone while her wealthy husband Bhupati runs his English language newspaper. Upon recognizing her profound loneliness, Bhupati invites his brother-in-law Umapada and wife Mandakini as house guests. Amal, his handsome younger cousin also comes for a visit following his graduation from college. Charu and Amal spend hours reminiscing over literature, poetry and the arts while Bhupati works on his paper. For a short time everyone is content. Then, a tragedy occurs. Umapada absconds with Bhupati's savings, leaving the entrepreneur in terrible debt. But the betrayed man soon realizes that something much more precious than his money is lost. Written by alfiehitchie and Arun K Barua

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057935/ 

Tagore Film Festival

2012 Student Photography Exhibition