NYIFF-G5A Film Festival Reviews, Kadambari: Platonic tonic and poetic injustice

Literally, ‘of/from the Kadamba tree’, the word kadambari (kaadambari in Hindi and kaadambori in Bengali) lends itself to many meanings. The most ancient reference to this work is as an intricate romantic novel, in Sanskrit. Several films have been made with this title, including some in Hindi. This one is about a real-life character called Kadambari, who was the sister-in-law of India’s literary giant and composer of the national anthem, Rabindranath Tagore. In Hindi, the name is written as Ravindranath Thakur, with the long first name often abbreviated to Ravi (Robi Thakur in Bengali).

Made by an Indian film-maker living in Florida, Suman Ghosh, Kadambari was screened at the Black Box, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai, on 7 July, as part of the NYIFF-G5A Film Festival. G5A is a not-for-profit organisation that ‘supports contemporary art and culture, good governance and sustainability’. Screenings began in June and are held twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, late evenings. This is the last week of the hand-picked bouquet, with screenings on the 19^th and 21^st of July marking the finalé.

Called “My Queen” by Tagore, Kadambari Devi was the wife of out-going Jyotirindranath Tagore, one of his older brothers, and daughter-in-law of Debendranath Tagore, his stern father. She was nine years younger than her husband, whom she married in 1868, when she was nine or 10 years old. Quite the norm, those days, and in those parts. Rabindranath was about seven or eight. Fifteen years later, Robi married Mrinalini Devi, and within four months of this marriage, Kadambari was dead. That is the point at which the film begins, in a semi thriller style, as a door is broken down, and her body is found sprawling on the bed. Murder? No! Suicide? Yes. Heart-break? Yes, but not why you thought.

She inspired the poet in young Rabindranath, with her creative and candid feedback and comments. Quite naturally, he dedicated his poems, composed between the ages of 13 and 18, to Kadambari. She was also a good friend, and playmate. They often played chess and had poetry sessions, with renowned invitees. It all began when he saw her the first time, as the stepped out of the palanquin and came into their house, as the the ‘notun bou’ (new bride), a girl with "thin gold bangles on her tender dark wrists," whom he "circled from afar, afraid to come close". This is very well recreated in the film.

Yet, her relationship with the man who was to become the bard of Bengal, was controversial, and had tragic elements. After Kadambari Devi's death, Rabindranath was completely broken. For long, he wrote many songs and poems, in her memory. The Tagore family always remained silent about the circumstances of her death. Suman Ghosh gives an explicit reason: her husband’s affair with a theatre starlet, and the news of the woman carrying his child. Is this closure, as far as the secret of the Tagore family scandal is concerned? Even if t is, it comes some 125 years after the reasons of her death were hushed-up by the Tagore patriarch, or so avers Ghosh.

Any film of this nature, about a titan like Tagore, cannot but be an amalgam of information culled from various sources, distilled by the director. Ghosh takes credit for the script, but there are substantial elements from Prothom Alo (first flame/light), by Sunil Gangopadhyay, and, as was earlier reported, a novella on Kadambari, by Ranjan Bandopadhyay. Tagore’s own writings provide the most authentic source of his feelings and inspiration. It is impossible to segregate the ingredients, and apportion credit, but the resulting dish is poetic, palatable and picturesque.

Suman Ghosh received his film training at the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, at Cornell University. Podokkhep (Footsteps) was his debut feature film. He also directed Dwando,  Nobel Chor (Nobel Thief) and Shyamal Uncle Turns Off the Lights. An Associate Professor of Economics at the Florida Atlantic University, who made his first film on a present-day Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen, Ghosh is treading down the path much travelled, by legendary directors like Tapan Sinha and Satyajit Ray. They all adapted Nobel awardee Tagore’s works into screenplays, usually with remarkable success. (Inescapably, there is something about ‘Nobel’ that fascinates Ghosh). "Like every film-maker, I ,too, have always been interested in making a film on his works. However, I decided that I would adapt a Tagore story on celluloid only if I am able to make a significant change in the genre, and in the presentation of the story. I don't want to make a mockery of one of his stories."

Mockery it is certainly not. Classicism, it almost is. Romanticism it certainly is. Consciously or sub-consciously, Ghosh navigates his horse-carriage down the path paved by ‘literature in cinema’ specialists Ismail Merchant-James Ivory, and a bunch of British makers, while adapting several English period novels. In his favour, he manages to steer clear of the ennui that such forays inadvertently end-up generating, often lulling viewers into forty-winks..

Konkona Sen Sharma as Kadambari is a bit of a let-down. Blame it on high expectations. Attribute it to unvarying dialogue delivery over a succession of films, with a half surprised, half bored look that she seems to be stuck with. Co-incidentally, Shesher Kobita (The Last Poem), among Tagore’s most acclaimed stories, was released around the same time as Kadambari, in which Konkona was again a lead player, along with her (much-lauded Hindi film) Mr. and Mrs. Iyer co-star, Rahul Bose. Both Konkona and Rahul are half-Bengalis! Shesher Kobita was directed by another Suman (Mukhopadhyay), and found wide acceptance.

Parambrata Chatterjee as Rabindranath Tagore is in control and smooth. It is the much more challenging role, when you think of the viewers who know little or nothing about kadambari, but a fair bit about the poet/musician/playwright, whose memory is perpetuated in the shape of a University in Bengal, among all the other, innumerable, revered relics. Chatterjee has acted in a number of Hindi films, including Kahaani, Gang of Ghosts and Yara Sillly Silly.

In native Bengali, he was seen in Bombaiyer Bombete, The Bong Connection, Dosar, Baishe Srabon, Hemlock Society and Apur Panchali. He has also directed Jiyo Kaka, Hawa Bodol and Lorai: Play to Live. Although his beard needed more attention from the make-up department, he makes-up by giving adequate attention to characterisation and building of the persona. Support comes in good quality, from Kaushik Sen as Jyotirindranath, Titash Bhowmik as Gnanadanandini and Sanjoy Nag as Debendranath Tagore.

Music by Bickram Ghosh, Cinematography   by Barun Mukherjee and Editing by Sujay Datta –Ray, are of a high order. Proceedings do tend to drag a bit, especially since the tale sets off at a frenetic pace, and then unfolds languorously. And yet, the makers must have had to either cut out or exclude so much that could easily find place in any Tagore story, especially if it is a biographical (or auto-biographical) one, as Kadambari is.

Rating: *** ½

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLcUlgf5ZAg

Some of the G5A team (The top of  top brass have been mentioned in an earlier piece, and something is being planned with them.

These are the hands on brass)

*Anupama Bose

Group Head, New Initiatives

(Also Curator of the festival, regular in-house compère and presenter. Feels that I should have covered the festival “better” and “differently”; is delighted with my analytical review of Agli Baar and goes on to ask its director, Devashish Makhija, to “take a bow”).

*Rajashree Menon

Group Head, Communications and Business Development

(Ever so keen to get maximum exposure and coverage of this ‘start-up event, which had low turnout and not much media mileage. Kadambari was the exception).

*Priyanka

Senior Manager, Projects and Programs

(Radiant one)

*Suruchi Pawar

Manager, Communications and Development

(Radiant too)

*Ashok Shinde

Assistant Manager, Projects

*Sunita Chauhan

Project Coordinator

(Radiant 3. No, I cannot put a face to the name. Just guessing).

*Vishaal Mistry

Manager, Events + Facility

(You need a big fixer at such events)

*Vivek Belwate

Assistant Manager, Events + Facility

(You need to apply wisdom to facilitate such events)

*Carol Misquitta

Assistant Co-ordinator, Facility

(Offers a ready smile, almost ready reviving cup of hot tea and a beautiful umbrella completely ready for the foreseeable eventuality, which she does not offer)

*Rakesh Wagh

Security Supervisor, Facility

(Who better than a Wagh at this position?)

*Mujeeb Dadarkar

Technical Consultant

(Very familiar name. Was he in theatre?)

*Vijay Benegal

Technical Consultant

(It’s a technical knock-out victory when you have him)

*David Pinto

Assistant Sound Engineer

(He might have to throw a pin to the floor to hear silent it is)

*Sopan Borkar

Assistant Tech, Facility

(Connections? Lights? Camera? What’s  working now counts. If something is going the other way, so pan it back!

*Gaus Sheikh

Assistant Electrician, Faciltiy

(Largely good work. Sometimes, takes the heat on screen too seriously and brings the A/C down to 16°)

*Kurumayya Kari

Assistant Electrician, Faciltiy

(Largely, fine job. Sometimes, confuses the name of the film on screen, as Ice Age, and atsrts getting realistic.  

***And at least three un-named café staff, who perform their duties affably.

If I jumbled some names or some names escaped me, blame the G5A website.

I missed Monument Man, got immersed in The Threshold but had to catch a Hindi film review, more so because they are not, as a routine, open to inviting me to Hindi films. Had to sacrifice Monument Man, on my favourite director Kannada, director, Girish Kasaravalli.

With a  strategic U turn, I’ll bet back to the venue.