Tagore’s muse Kadambari...
Bandana Mukhopadhyay's debut film ‘Chirosakha He’, primarily revolves around how instrumental sister-in-law Kadambari was in influencing Tagore’s formative years.
‘Chirosakha He’ will explore Rabindranath’s relationship with his ill-fated sister-in-law
Not much has been spoken about poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore’s platonic relationship with his sister-in-law Kadambari (his only muse), apart from its fictional depiction in legendary Ray’s ‘Charulata’ based on Tagore’s novel ‘Nastanirh’ (The Broken Nest).
Today yet again reviving those memories and many of Tagore’s very own poetic expressions about Kadambari is film-maker Bandana Mukhopadhyay in her debut film ‘Chirosakha He’, which primarily revolves around how instrumental she was in influencing Tagore’s formative years.
Explains Bandana, “When I started reading Tagore’s writings about her, I realised the intensity of their relationship. Today, nobody really talks about Kadambari because of the stigma of an affair between her and Tagore (despite Kadambari’s very comfortable relationship with her husband). My film looks at it from a woman’s point of view where I see that it was she who probably fell in love with Tagore, while he was more in love with her memories after she committed suicide.”
Tagore in many of his writings tries to explore why she took such an extreme step and Bandana delves into those intricate details about Kadambari’s life. “She could not bear children and was socially segregated in many ways. Many say it was these depressions that led her to suicide,” she adds.
Though she acknowledges that the film which premieres at the New York Film Festival this month might raise many questions about her perception of Tagore’s life, she clarifies that she has dealt the premise with utmost respect, even so because of her personal attachment to the protagonist’s character.
“A while back we had a small screening for those associated with the film and a few of Tagore’s family members managed to see it. There was tension from their end after watching the movie and that has made me even more inquisitive about how the whole of Bengal will react to the film.”
‘Chirosakha He’ is also named ‘Tagore, Dil Se’ in its Hindi version and is the first film to have ever been shot in Tagore’s ancestral home of Jorasanko. The film will release across India in mid-August.
u_divya@dnaindia.net
Not much has been spoken about poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore’s platonic relationship with his sister-in-law Kadambari (his only muse), apart from its fictional depiction in legendary Ray’s ‘Charulata’ based on Tagore’s novel ‘Nastanirh’ (The Broken Nest).
Today yet again reviving those memories and many of Tagore’s very own poetic expressions about Kadambari is film-maker Bandana Mukhopadhyay in her debut film ‘Chirosakha He’, which primarily revolves around how instrumental she was in influencing Tagore’s formative years.
Explains Bandana, “When I started reading Tagore’s writings about her, I realised the intensity of their relationship. Today, nobody really talks about Kadambari because of the stigma of an affair between her and Tagore (despite Kadambari’s very comfortable relationship with her husband). My film looks at it from a woman’s point of view where I see that it was she who probably fell in love with Tagore, while he was more in love with her memories after she committed suicide.”
Tagore in many of his writings tries to explore why she took such an extreme step and Bandana delves into those intricate details about Kadambari’s life. “She could not bear children and was socially segregated in many ways. Many say it was these depressions that led her to suicide,” she adds.
Though she acknowledges that the film which premieres at the New York Film Festival this month might raise many questions about her perception of Tagore’s life, she clarifies that she has dealt the premise with utmost respect, even so because of her personal attachment to the protagonist’s character.
“A while back we had a small screening for those associated with the film and a few of Tagore’s family members managed to see it. There was tension from their end after watching the movie and that has made me even more inquisitive about how the whole of Bengal will react to the film.”
‘Chirosakha He’ is also named ‘Tagore, Dil Se’ in its Hindi version and is the first film to have ever been shot in Tagore’s ancestral home of Jorasanko. The film will release across India in mid-August.
u_divya@dnaindia.net