Set in Bengal of the 1920s, the show is a representation of the classic short stories by the Bengali writer and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In his literary work, Tagore focused on relationships which were colored by human shortcomings and idiosyncrasies. More often than other fiction of Tagore's era, confident women were the protagonists of his stories, strong in their stead while cocooned in a conservative Indian society. In a culture where adultery, rebellion, sorrow, and death were a taboo, Tagore’s stories were progressive and brought a shift in the mindset of traditional Indian values.
The show launched on 6 July 2015 on The EPIC Channel. In ‘Stories By Rabindranath Tagore’, Anurag Basu chose to translate the stories in his own way. He handpicked different stories like Chokher Bali, Charulata, Kabuliwala, Detective, Samapti, Chutti, etc. and created a unique background score for them. The show devoted two or three episodes to each novel, while short stories were narrated in a single episode. The director chose a unique way for these stories to unfold — each story was linked with the next in an intrinsic manner and the narration was blended with translations of Tagore's songs. The show covered over 14 stories in 26 episodes, each episode duration being 60 minutes. Bringing Tagore’s stories to life is the acclaimed Indian film director, Anurag Basu who is renowned for his distinctive stories and visual story-telling in films. Basu began his career as an assistant director in television serials. He directed television shows belonging to various genres and went on to make films that received immense audience and critical appreciation, establishing himself as a successful Indian film director. After a long hiatus from television, Basu made a comeback to television with Stories by Rabindranath Tagore. The show is set in old Kolkata. Basu produced a colossal set, and also filmed on location and used authentic costumes. Basu’s wife, Tani Basu, led the creative development of the show to delve deeper into cultural references and political and social manifestations. Original music score and Tagore’s Bengali songs were re-created to further enhance the appeal of the show. Indian singers like Arijit Singh, Shaan and Shalmali Kholgade lent their voices for these melodious soundtracks. The EPIC Channel developed a marketing campaign ‘Epic at 10’ to fortify the show’s time-slot. A mnemonic was established to signify the show’s airing slot of 10 pm. Innovative marketing initiatives were taken to create awareness such as Twitter Alarm, Epic at 10 contest on social media, Live Twitter chats with Anurag Basu, special screenings for the media, and so on.
Reception
- "Basu’s direction of Stories from Rabindranath Tagore is especially charming in its portrayal of the Bengali milieu of those times. From the clothes worn by the protagonists to the period furniture and the locales, everything is picture-perfect, as is the casual dropping of Bengali words." DNA- "What makes the serial is the lighting, so canny that it becomes both narrator and character. In an amberchiaroscuro of a bygone era it details a range of moods from the stark to the tender. Basu has achieved a fine balance between the populist and the elite." Business Standard - "While most of us have read Tagore, to see iconic stories such as Kabuliwala come to life is a different pleasure altogether. Moreover, the women in Tagore's stories are not scheming vessels of family politics. There is diversity of representation and each story is nuanced with many shades of grey. Basu has said in an interview that he was so tired of watching women on Indian TV that he jumped at the chance of adapting Tagore." The Indian Express praised the show in the article, "Tagore’s stories have a strange sense of gender equality: Anurag Basu" and spoke about Anurag Basu’s brilliance and the genre-defying format of the show.
