Mere mentioning the
name of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore swells the heart of all Indians with
pride. His poems and songs (in the form of Rabindra Sangeet) continue to
resonate not only in India but also in neighbouring Bangladesh. In fact,
Bangladesh’s national anthem too is written by Tagore.
However, it is ironical that some sections of the society
have tried to create doubts on his achievements by questioning his philosophy
and works by stirring up controversies, like Tagore did not fully support
India’s freedom movement and that the song Jana Gana Mana (later adopted as
India’s national anthem) was composed for a durbar in Delhi in praise of
British King George V for welcoming him during his visit to India in 1911.
In this backdrop, Bengali thriller film ‘Rabindra Kabya
Rahasya’ attempts to bust the misinformation surrounding Tagore’s life and
works. The film is being screened at the Indian Panorama section (Feature Film
category) of ongoing 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2023 and
has also been nominated for the prestigious ICFT UNESCO Gandhi medal Award.
Directed by Sayantan Ghosal, the film revolves around a
series of murders from almost a hundred years ago when Rabindranath Tagore was
in London. A century ago, the poet Ekalavya Sen fell victim to deception by his
peers, who plagiarised his poetic works. Seeking retribution, Ekalavya
orchestrated their demise. In a race against time, poet and sleuth Abhik Bose
teams up with Rabindra Sangeet singer Hiya Sen to decode a century-old mystery,
triggered by a vengeful poet’s message. As they delve into a web of murders echoing
Rabindranath Tagore’s life, they unearth hidden artefacts, a nefarious plot to
undermine India’s cultural heritage, and a truth that could reshape history.
The film stars Ritwick Chakraborty, Srabanti Chatterjee and Priyangshu
Chatterjee in lead roles.
Speaking about the reason for making this film, producer
Himanshu Dhanuka says, “We have our studios in Kolkata and London. I was
looking for a script which I could use for shooting a film in London. In course
of time, I met a socialist friend, who introduced me to the grave of
Rabindranath Tagore’s grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore. I was fascinated by
Rabindranath Tagore’s family legacy and then I got his connection with his
London visits.”
“With recent resurgence of controversies surrounding Tagore,
I did some research online. Then I met the writer, Sougata Basu, who built up a
story on unspoken aspects of his life and the controversies surrounding his
legacy, especially the wordings of our national anthem. I felt that these
controversies were being raked up to malign our culture and literature. So, we
created this whole film,” Dhanuka says.
Sougata went a step further by adding a treasure hunt angle
to create suspense, so that the current generation gets hooked on to the story.
“Unless we make a film more mainstream, it won’t click with today’s audience
and won’t do business,” he says.
The film just not talks about Tagore, it also touches upon
other issues like giving budding artists their due. An upcoming talent tends to
get lost under the burden of an illustrious figure in the same field. “We did
our research regarding these issues and we realized that in the early 20th
century, when Tagore was prevalent in the society, these kinds of controversies
were present. But, these were answered by Tagore explicitly. People have
deliberately stirred these issues to malign our culture,” he says.
Jana Gana Mana was sung publicly at the 26th annual
National Convention of Indian National Congress, held in Calcutta between
December 26 and 28, 1911. The song became mired in controversy thereafter and
there was a section who alleged the song was composed for a durbar in Delhi in
praise of British King George V. “This controversy keeps on resurfacing.
Through this film, we tried to put an end to these controversies by putting
across Tagore’s views. He always said that the song was about the nation and
not in appreciation of King George V. In fact, the words Bhagya Vidhata in
particular, were meant for God of Destiny, who held steadfast the reins of
India’s chariot through rise and fall. These are Tagore’s words,” he says.
