Rabindranath Tagore (1961) Xvid 1cd_500mb_55mins_Satyajit Ray Classic [DDR]

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June 22nd, 2011

Rabindranath Tagore (1961) Xvid 1cd_500mb_55mins_Satyajit Ray Classic [DDR]

Rabindranath Tagore by Satyajit Ray 1961 English 54 min B&W
Satyajit Ray was a lifetime admirer of the man Tagore, his works and vision. He not only made films from five of Tagore's stories, but also took upon the task to make this dramatized documentary on the life of the poet-laureate. Made in 1961, the same year in which Ray made Teen Kanya from three of Tagore's stories, this was made to celebrate Tagore's birth centenary. Conscious that he was making an official portrait of India's celebrated poet, Ray refrains from touching upon the controversies in Tagore's life. However lovers of cinema will see the deft cinematic touches of a master filmmaker that sets it apart from most biographical documentaries in the world. The dramatized sequences in the film of the young Tagore are moving and lyrical, befitting the biography of one the most progressive man ever.

Tagore's work found cinematic depiction even before the advent of the 'talkies'. These include Manbhanjan (1923), Bisarjan (1929), Bicharak (1929), Giribala (1930), Dalia (1930) and Noukadubi (1932) on different stories by Tagore. This adaptation in the silent era speaks volumes about the visual quality that Tagore's 'written' stories evoked. Sadly all of them are lost to posterity.

The beginning of the talkie era continued the tradition with notable adaptations being Chirakumar Sabha (1932), Sodh Bodh (1942), Gora (1938), Chokher Bali (1938) and Noukadubi (1947). Again, none of these films are available today, thus making a telling statement for the need of restoration in a country that prides itself for making the world's largest number of films annually.

Tagore's Biggest Fans
There were those that took and adapted Tagore's work religiously. But there were others who gave his work a new and different interpretation, even while maintaining the essence of the works. Two of the most important people to do this were Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha.

Not only did Ray use Rabindra Sangeet to convey the essence of many of his films, he adapted quite a few of Tagore's stories into four films and also made a documentary on the Nobel Laureate. In 1961, Ray made Teen Kanya (Three Daughters), on three Tagore short stories - Postmaster, Monihara and Samapti. Interestingly all these three stories have been made into individual films, before and since this film. Charulata (1964) based on Tagore's short story Noshtonir won Ray his second Silver Bear for Best Director in the Berlin International Film Festival while Ghare Baire made in 1984 won him a Golden Palm nomination at Cannes International Film Festival.

Cinema is a medium where other arts come together to make a unique blend of visuals, music and spoken words. Tagore, a master of literature, music, and painting, not only finds ready adaptation of his stories in cinema, but also his music has both inspired filmmakers and become an integral part of scores of films.

Tapan Sinha, in his film Bicharak, based on a novel by Tarasankar Bandopadhyay, used a Tagore song as leitmotif to express the protagonist's guilt. Ritwik Ghatak used Tagore's songs metaphorically in both Meghe Dhaka Tara and Komal Gandhar.

MOVIEW REVIEW Natir Puja (1932)
n 1932, on the occasion of Tagore's 70th birth anniversary, New Theatres, one of the prominent filmmaking studios, arranged the filming of Natir Puja - an adaptation of Tagore's poem Pujarini, which the poet had staged in 1927. This was the only time that Tagore was so closely associated with cinema with the screenplay being written under his guidance by nephew Dinendranath 'Dinu' Tagore and the master composing the background music, with students of Santiniketan acting in the film. Tagore not only directed this dance-drama shot over four days, but also played an important role in the film. Though the film in its entirety has been lost, a portion has been found and restored.

Over the years, close to a 100 films, more than half in Bengali, have been made on Tagore's works, making him one of the most adapted writers of all times. This number would have been bigger if many films had not been lost forever. Also many don't even mention Tagore. Adaptations of Tagore's work just don't seem to stop with many more projects being announced in the last few years, ever since Tagore's work came into public domain.

Rabindranath Tagore's contribution to cinema thus screams for a more serious attention from scholars of cinema, literature and history itself.

The Pioneer of Indian Cinema
Nearly nine decades ago, in a small town about one hundred kilometres from Pune, a devout young man, brought up in a traditional orthodox Hindu household, got interested in the Arts and Photography, threw away his family profession of priesthood, sold his wife's ornaments, pledged his life insurance policies and made history by producing what has been commonly acknowledged as the first Indian film. The man - DUNDIRAJ GOVIND PHALKE, popularly known as Dadasaheb PHALKE, the year - 1913, the place - Nasik and the film - Raja Harischandra - a silent four reeler with inter-titles in English and Hindi - the story of a benevolent king, who sacrificed his kingdom, family and material wealth for upholding the ideals, he cherished most, viz - "truth and integrity" - the two rare qualities lacking in our present day rulers. The dream of a true visionary to see Indian images move on the screen, in what he called - "The SWADISHI FILM" (inspired by the term popularised by the great patriotic leader Bal Bangadhar TILAK) - thus became a reality.

And so began the long and arduous journey of INDIAN CINEMA. The Phalke phenomenon was, by no means an isolated venture. It was the culmination of several years of persistent struggle and untiring devotion and determination on the part of a great genius and his illustrious predecessors. Pre-Cinema Attempts Narrating stories form the Puranas (mythology), using hand-drawn images in a tableaux form in pat, scroll paintings, with accompanying live sounds, mostly emanating from human vocal chords with simple musical instruments, for popular entertainment and enlightenment has been an age-old Indian tradition. The narrative depicts a scene or a situation brought alive by a verse sung, by a singer-performer as portions of the scroll painting are selectively lit, through the flames of the oil lamp and unravelled by the Shaman - the familiar stories of Hindu gods and goddesses and episodes from mythology and folklore, revealed slowly through choreographic movements. Later the idea was carried over by the successive projection of hand painted images on glass slides and with the help of two magic lanterns creating the illusion of movement. The magic lantern shows were getting popular, when the 'Lumiere Bros' representatives held the first public showing of their Cinematograph at Bombay's Watson's Hotel on 7th July, 1896 nearly six months after their Paris demonstration. The new phenomenon did not create much of a stir among Indian viewers and none in the audience ran out, as the train entered the station and moved towards them, as it is reported to have happened elsewhere. The Indian viewer took the cinematic experience in stride, as something he was quite familiar with.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:-
Video Codec: XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate: 609 kbps
Video Resolution: 640x480
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1
Frames Per Second: 29.970
Audio Codec: 0x0055 MPEG-1 Layer 3
Audio Bitrate: 112kb/s VBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: Bengali
RunTime: 55 mins 500mb
Subtitles: English
Ripped by: Trinidad [DDR]
Duration: 55 mins 500mb