Shyama

Shyama, the definitive, feature film version of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's classic Bengali dance musical, will soon be available worldwide via the internet. DVD downloads of the different language versions are available for GBP4.89 from the online store of Shyama's UK production company Inner Eye, with a 30% discount for early buyers. The physical DVD, which will be available from CreateSpace in the US in January 2009, contains the English, French, Spanish, German, Hungarian and Bengali versions of the film which have been prepared so far.

Other language versions will be released in the coming months. All versions retain Tagore's songs in their original Bengali. The Bengali version of the complete film will be available for free online from January 2009.

Commenting on the imminent release of Shyama, its producer and lead dancer Kaberi Chatterjee said: "One of the main reasons for Tagore's interest in creating the Tagore dance form was the ability of certain types of dance and body movements to overcome linguistic barriers. Nonetheless, Shyama has remained an undiscovered gem outside the Bengali-speaking world. Through the medium of film, the global reach of the internet and the use of subtitling, I'm very pleased to be able to bring Shyama to the worldwide audience Tagore had intended for it almost 70 years ago."

Anyone who would like to do so is welcome to host a public or private screening of Shyama . The automated system at shyama.bravenewtheaters.com allows people all over the world to set up screenings of Shyama, sending out e-mail invitations and keeping track of reservation requests and the number of places left. Screening hosts are encouraged to use a screening of the film as the centre-piece of an Indian-themed evening.

The Shyama soundtrack album is already available on a number of online digital music stores, including iTunes and eMusic. A series of episodes of the Shyama video podcast will provide an update on Shyama's release, details of the making of Shyama and the background to the original work by Tagore. Each episode will also include a 30-second clip from the English version of the film.