Subhash Ghai, Rituparno Ghosh recreate Rabindranath Tagore magic

Panaji : Showman Subhash Ghai has teamed up with filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh to recreate the magical imagery of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore with his latest production ?Naukadubi?.

The World Premiere of the movie with its screening as the opening film of the India Premiere Section was held at IFFI.

The cast and crew were present at its screening. The star cast includes reputed names like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta and sisters Raima Sen and Riya Sen who came together for the first time in a film.

Speaking to the media here on Thursday, producer of the film Subhash Ghai said that the classics should be interpreted to communicate effectively to younger generation.

Ghai said, being an ardent admirer of Tagore, he was extremely delighted to work with Rituparno Ghosh to convert one of Tagore?s story in a feature film.

Accepting the great influence of his teacher Ritwik Ghatak on his style of working, he said, ?I do whatever touches me whether it is independent, art, regional or commercial cinema?.

He advised the film students to accept and respect all kinds of cinema.

He also lamented that the critics are not giving their due to film makers, and that they should try to see the film from the maker?s point of view also.

Naukadubi is a period film set in the 1920s, based on a short story by Rabindranath Tagore. A tender romance blossoming in Kolkata between law student Ramesh and his friend?s sister Hemnalini is nipped suddenly when his father sends an urgent and mysterious summon from his village home.

There, the dutiful son is peremptorily ordered to marry Susheela, daughter of a helpless widow. Initially Ramesh refuses but soon succumbs to the widow?s pleas.

This leads to a train of events that throws all involved in different directions. While returning to Kolkata, there is a storm in which the boat capsizes however Ramesh survives and finds a bride who he assumes is his bride but soon discovers the mistaken identity as well as the name of the person she, Kamala, was actually married to.

He puts her in a boarding school but the news that he is married reaches Hemnalini who is heartbroken. She soon leaves for Kashi to heal herself along with her father while Ramesh leaves for Gorukhpur to avoid the scandal.

In Kashi, Hemnalini meets Nalinaksha, who, unknown to anyone, was the person Kamala was married to. Kamala discovers that Ramesh is not her real husband through an old advertisement and tries to down herself in the river.

She is saved and brought to Kashi where she lands up at the house of Nalinaksha.

The whole sorry mess raises many questions of head and heart and the validity or otherwise of social conventions.