Shyama

Celebrating Tagore in Stratford with a screening of Shyama

Shyama, Obhi Chatterjee’s feature film version of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s classic Bengali dance musical, will be part of the Stratford Poetry Festival’s tribute to the Indian poet, philosopher, artist and composer on his birth anniversary. The film will be introduced by a live programme featuring Kaberi, Jayanta and Obhi Chatterjee.

Through poetry, songs and dance, the live programme narrated by Obhi Chatterjee will explore Tagore’s creative journey from poetry to dance. Shyama tells the story of a court dancer who falls in love with a foreign merchant, who is falsely imprisoned and faces execution ... unless Shyama accepts her admirer’s offer to take the merchant’s place. Written in 1939, Shyama was Tagore’s last major work for the stage. Perhaps best described as a cross between opera and ballet, it reflects his artistic and philosophical reaction to both the turbulence of pre-Independence India and Hitler’s persecution of Jews in Germany.

The film features leading dancers, singers and musicians from Tagore’s home town of Santiniketan. Kaberi Chatterjee dances the title role of Shyama, the court dancer, whose songs are performed by Manini Mukhopadhyay Bagchi. TS Vasunni dances the role of Bojroshen, the foreign merchant, whose songs are performed by Jayanta Chatterjee.

Announcing the event, the Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Dr Diana Owen, said: "We are delighted to be able to present this unique work as part of our 2009 Poetry Festival and hope that people will join us on Saturday to celebrate Tagore's Birthday here at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Shyama is a very special tribute of poetry and performance which I hope will introduce more people to the work of Tagore, and also highlight the influence that Shakespeare still holds for artists across the globe."

Kaberi Chatterjee added: “We are very pleased to have been invited to present Shyama at the Stratford Poetry Festival. Shyama and Tagore are held by many of the 230 million Bengali-speakers around the world in the same light as, for example, Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare in the English-speaking world.”

The celebration will be held at 2pm on Saturday, 9 May at the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon. There will be a small ceremony after the film with more of Tagore’s songs at the bust of Tagore in the garden of Shakespeare’s Birthplace.

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English translation of Shyama goes on sale

The English translation of Shyama by Rabindranath Tagore, developed by Jayanta, Obhi and Kaberi Chatterjee for the subtitles of the film version of Shyama is now available as a booklet. The script is introduced by Obhi Chatterjee, who directed the film version of Shyama.

Announcing the publication, Shyama star and producer Kaberi Chatterjee said, "While making Shyama, we realised that there were no published English translations of it. Since several people who have seen the film have commented on the beauty of the English text, we thought we should publish our translation in it's own right." The book (ISBN 1440402043) can be ordered from CreateSpace and will soon be available from amazon.com .

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Shyama producer and director launch video podcast series

Shyama producer/star Kaberi Chatterjee and director Obhi Chatterjee have launched a 10-part video podcast series to promote the film. In the first, 10-minute episode of the Shyama podcast, they give an update on the release of Shyama, provide background about how the Nobel prize-winning poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, came to write dance musicals and explain why they made an authentic film version of Shyama. The episode ends with a 30-second clip from the opening scene of the English version of the film.

Each episode in the weekly series will include a release update, background about Shyama, information about the making of Shyama and a 30-second clip from the film. The episodes are listed under 'Shyama podcast' on the iTunes Store, from which the episodes can be downloaded to an iPhone/iPod. They will also be available on the film website www.shyamathemovie.com, and uploaded using TubeMogul to a variety of video-sharing platforms including YouTube, MySpace and Viddler.

Explaining the reasons behind the podcast series, Kaberi Chatterjee said "After test screenings of the film, audiences were fascinated by the historical background of the dance form they saw in Shyama and asked us to find a way of publicising it. We liked the idea of using a podcast to promote a specialised film developed by Four Eyed Monsters' filmmakers Arin Crumley and Susan Buice. As a result, we've been planning to create the Shyama podcast for some time, which is why their names appear in the acknowledgements at the end of Shyama.'

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Shyama now available on more platforms

Shyama has just gone on sale in the US in a number of different formats. The physical DVD includes the English, French, Spanish, German, Hungarian and Bengali versions of Shyama is suitable for all regions and unlocked for personal copying. It can be ordered online from anywhere in the world, with shipping from the US.

The English version of Shyama is also available to people living in the US for video on demand rental or purchase from Amazon Video on Demand. The different language versions of Shyama have been available as DVD downloads since December 2008. The high definition trailer can be downloaded for free on Jaman.

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Nobel laureate's home plays host to Shyama

Udayana, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's former home in Santiniketan, will be the setting of a special New Year's Day screening of Shyama. The building is part of the Uttarayana complex which also includes the Rabindra Bhavan, the research centre and museum dedicated to the life and works of the creator of Shyama.

Most of the cast and crew of Shyama will be attending the screening. Almost all of them are based in Santiniketan, where Shyama was filmed. A number of renowned Tagore specialists will be among the special guests, who will include a member of the Tagore family.

Commenting on the screening, producer and star Kaberi Chatterjee said: "This will be the first time most of the cast and crew will see the end product of all their hard work. I'm looking forward to the reunion ... and to hearing their reactions! Based on the feedback from our test screenings, though, I'm confident they will be impressed. We're very grateful to the Director of the Rabindra Bhavan for giving us this opportunity to screen the film in Santiniketan."

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Shyama available in six languages worldwide

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Shyama producer and star to receive award from Indian Prime Minister

Kaberi Chatterjee, who has produced and starred in the feature-length film version of Rabindranath Tagore's Shyama, will receive her PhD from Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan in early December. Kaberi's doctoral thesis on the influence of different dance styles on the Tagore dance form led the university to award her its first ever PhD in the field of dance.

It was Kaberi's PhD research which originally led to her interest in producing an authentic record of Shyama, which is regarded as the best example of the Tagore dance form. During the 10 years of research for her thesis, she had interviewed several people who had learned the Tagore dance form directly from Rabindranath Tagore. Sadly, most of the people she had interviewed have since passed away. So, she felt that, without a reference version for future generations, the Tagore dance form could change beyond recognition over time.

The degree ceremony in Santiniketan will take place a few weeks before Shyama's global release.

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Shyama soundtrack album heads for online digital music stores

Shyama's soundtrack album, which includes all the songs by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore from the film, will soon be available from online digital music stores such as iTunes, Napster and eMusic. With a 70-minute running time, the 18-track album features the leading, Bengali female vocalist Manini Mukhopadhyay Bagchi as Shyama, Jayanta Chatterjee as Bojroshen, Prasanta Kumar Ghosh as Uttiyo and Ashok Kumar Ganguly as Kotal, Priyam Mukherjee as Bondhu, as well as Ritapa Bhattacharya, Sikha Chatterjee Chakroborty and Manini Mukhopadhyay Bagchi as the Companions.

Ashok Kumar Ganguly was the music director for the production. The music was arranged by Animesh Chandra (synthesiser and esraj) and Debasis Hazra (Pakhwaj, tabla, khol & dhol). The other musicians in the Shyama orchestra were Sunil Kabiraj (esraj), Dipak Das (sitar), Ch Bocha Singh (Manipuri pung) and Dilip Birbonshi (mandira). Partha Sarathi Chatterjee was the recording engineer. The recording was supervised and mixed by Obhi Chatterjee, who also directed the film.

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