ITV

Tag: Kabuliwala

  • Anurag Basu to helm ‘Stories by Rabindranath Tagore’ for Epic

    Anurag Basu to helm ‘Stories by Rabindranath Tagore’ for Epic

    MUMBAI: In order to connect better with the audiences, segmented Hindi entertainment channel Epic is gearing up to launch a series that masterfully recreates the magic of old Bengal through some of Rabindranath Tagore’s short stories and novels.

     

    ‘Stories by Rabindranath Tagore’ showcasing ‘epic’ tales like Choker Bali, Charulata, Atithi and Kabuliwala amongst others will bring intricately etched characters created by Tagore to the small screen. The series will be directed by filmmaker Anurag Basu, who has to his credit movies like Barfi and Life in a Metro. 

     

    Through this series, the characters of Tagore’s stories will spring into life through Basu’s imagination and vision.

     

    Set in a politically volatile period, the stories are constantly shifting in the social world of the early 20th century in undivided Bengal. The hub of new India, Calcutta is the melting pot where the protagonists are pouring in from their rural, social and cultural spaces to encourage this upcoming new world.

     

    Talking about the show, Epic founder and managing director Mahesh Samat says that he has always been a big admirer of Tagore and his work. “Many of Tagore’s stories are perfect for television and after discussing the thought with Basu, I felt that it would be a great fit for Epic. With Basu, we found the perfect synergy in vision and passion for recreating Tagore’s stories for television. In fact, he wanted to do this for the past 10 years. The show looks great. Let’s hope the viewers enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it for them,” said Samat.

     

    Basu retains Tagore’s style of narrative even in the visual medium and enhances words of his pages by bringing in talent that truly captures the essence of each his beloved characters. Unlike ordinary characters, these personalities pack a rebellious punch.

     

    The filmmaker delves deeper into this society in transition, with songs, music, cultural references and its newfound political and social manifestations, a little more than the actual described world within Tagore’s narratives.

     

    Keeping in line with the channel strategy, Stories by Rabindranath Tagore is a finite series with 26 episodes and is slated to hit the television screens in July this year.

     

    The channel has been in active conversation with its viewers since its launch in November last year. “A feedback we received was to recreate stories of iconic authors and this lead us to develop Stories by Rabindranath Tagore. As we go forward, we are going to explore many other authors.”

     

    Epic is leaving no stones unturned to market the big-budget property. The channel released the show’s first look recently on Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday (9 May). The first look has already grabbed eyeballs of close to 78,000 views on YouTube at the time of writing the article.

     

    “Since 9 May was the Bengali birthday of Tagore and Basu, it was the ideal day to release the first look of the show. We’ve got people talking about the show and it’s going strong. We will maintain the momentum till the show launches. There’s a lot more coming up but I wouldn’t want to kill the surprise so early. Needless to say, this show is an important part of our overall plans,” informs Samat.

     

    Stories by Rabindranath Tagore has talented actors like Amrita Puri and Radhika Apte on board, who have played key roles in the self-titled stories, Charulata and Chokher Bali respectively. Epic will be working closely with the actors to keep the buzz going.

     

    Media planners are gung-ho about the show. Maxus managing partner Navin Khemka believes that it is a great concept and Tagore’s stories are popular. “If produced well, the show could drive eyeballs to the channel. It will click with the mature audiences. The buzz on the channel is positive. A lot of sampling is happening. If this program drives stickiness for them it will be good,” Khemka opines.

  • Amitabh Bachchan to reprise the role of Kabuliwala

    Amitabh Bachchan to reprise the role of Kabuliwala

    MUMBAI: French-Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi is in plans to cast Amitabh Bachchan in a film based on Rabindranath Tagore‘s story of an Afghan dry-fruit seller and his love for a little girl whom he takes as his daughter.

    Though the story has been adapted a number of times for the big screen in the past, at least two versions of the tale have been made famous in films with Rahimi‘s being the third. It has been reported that Bachchan will reprise the role of the Kabuliwala made famous by Balraj Sahni in one of the earlier cinematic adaptations of the story. The film will be shot predominantly in Kolkata while parts of it will be shot in Afghanistan next year.

    Though Bachchan is a veteran in the field of acting, people in the trade feel that it wouldn‘t be easy for him to fit into the shoes of actors who earlier played the iconic role of Rehmat Khan – Sahni and also that of Bengal‘s veteran actor Chhabi Biswas‘ interpretation of the same.

    Bachchan has played an Afghan in Khuda Gawah. Meanwhile, he has been honoured by the Australian government for his remarkable contribution to the Indian cinema, which is celebrating its centenary year.

    Said the veteran actor on his blog, "Another recognition by the Australian Government and its Commission here in Mumbai, in celebration for the 100 years of Indian Cinema, and my contribution towards fructifying the relations between the two countries… I am most humbled."

    Last year, Bachchan was felicitated with an honorary doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

  • Manna Dey sings for Prasar Bharati’s archival collections

    Manna Dey sings for Prasar Bharati’s archival collections

    NEW DELHI: Age has not withered his voice or affected his sense of humour. And though the grey lines are beginning to show, legendary playback singer Manna Dey still shows the same enthusiasm while performing that he had been popular for two decades ago.

    Expectedly, he left the audience entranced as he sang some his most popular numbers here last night at a concert organised by Doordarshan. The entire performance was recorded by Doordarshan for telecast and for being converted with CDs and VCDs as part of the archival collection of Prasar Bharati.

    Apart from the singer, the evening also saw the recitation of poetry by well-known lyricist Gopal Das Neeraj who in fact has also written some of the songs that the 86-year old Manna Dey sang.

    The singer obliged by singing some of Neeraj’s lyrics, including ‘aye bhai, zaraa Dekh ke chalo’ from the film ‘Mera Naam Joker’ made by probably the best showman of Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor, and ‘Aie mere pyaare watan, aie mere bichchde chaman’ from ‘Kabuliwala’ based on the story by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and ‘Poochho na kaise maine ran bitaayi’. Both Manna Dey and Neeraj received the National Awards for this song from ‘Mera Naam Joker’.

    The maestro chose to pick his own songs, and though he had a book in front of him with the lyrics written in them, he seldom had need to look down as he got carried away and the words came on their own from the corners of memory.

    Other songs rendered by Manna Dey included ‘Umarya Katti Jaye’, ‘Phul Gendwa Na maaro’, ‘Jeevan se lambe hain jeevan ke raste’, ‘Ai meri Zohra Zabeen tujhe maloom nahin’, and so many others including a Bengali song inspired by a famous coffee house in Kolkata which used to be frequented by artistes and filmmakers like Satyajit Ray.

    He also sang a composition of his favourite music director S D Burman– ‘Piya Maine Kya kiya, hame chhodh ke jayyo na’ and a few verses from ‘Madhushala’ composed by Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

    He was accompanied on the tabla by Indranath Mukherji, Richard Mitra on electric guitar and Mahendra Gokhale on keyboard.

    Manna Dey ‘s soulmate and ”inspiration” of his art Sulochana was also among the audience.Earlier, CEO Prasar Bharati BS Lalli welcomed Manna Dey with a bouquet of flowers and presented him a shawl. Senior officials of Doordarshan and All India Radio were also present.

    Born in 1920 in Kolkata, Manna day learnt the basic nuances of singing from his uncle Krishna Chandra Day and Ustad Dabir Khan. Later, when he came to Mumbai in 1942, he perfected his art under the tutelage of Sachin Dev Burman and under two stalwarts, Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.