This Article is From Apr 20, 2015

The Life of Tagore's Wife Mrinalini Devi Coming to TV Screens

The Life of Tagore's Wife Mrinalini Devi Coming to TV Screens

A file photo of Rabindranath Tagore.

Kolkata: With a month to go for late Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary, a TV serial on the life of his wife, Mrinalini Devi, and other women who played a role in the poet's life, is in the making.

The serial is based on the book Aami Rabi Thakurer Bou (I am Tagore's wife) written by well-known Tagore-researcher Ranjan Bandyopadhyay.

The serial will highlight the lesser-known sides of the Bard's creative life, said the director of the serial Manish Ghosh on the sets of the TV show at Baruipur Rajbari, near Kolkata.

"It would capture the phase when the poet was in his early 20s and Mrinalini Devi came into his life," Manish said.

"In her 28 years of life, Mrinalini Devi spent 19 years as the wife of Rabindranath Tagore and had no other identity. The poet wrote fewer letters to her than to people in his outer circle. But she never complained," Mr Bandyopadhyay said. "This was because she had always known, deep within, that Tagore could not be bound by the mundane formalities of family ties," he explained.

"But wasn't there a loneliness and void deep within?" the writer-researcher wondered.

Indrakshi Nag, who plays Mrinalini Devi, said, "My period era costumes like wearing sari in 'atpoure' (Bengali homely) style help transport us to that era. To add authenticity to her looks, we stuck to the costumes as depicted in the works of that time."

Scriptwriter-actor Padmanabha Dasgupta, who will also be seen in the role of Jyotirindranath Tagore, described the book as a reappraisal of the role of Tagorean women.

"I play the role of Tagore's brother, Jyotirindranathda. And the serial also touches on my relation with my wife Kadombori," Mr Dasgupta said.

Priyam, an upcoming actor, will be seen in the role of Rabindranath Tagore in his early 20s in the serial, which will be aired from early next month.

"We have sought to capture the phase when Tagore spent most of his time at Selaidaha, now in Bangladesh, amid sylvan surroundings. The shooting was done in 57 locations - in the city, Santiniketan and Bangladesh," said Manish.

He said that the Baruipur Rajbari had been repainted in red to recreate the Jorasanko Thakurbari ambience.

Incidentally, a film on Tagore's sister-in-law Kadambori Devi, by well-known director Suman Ghosh, is waiting to be released.
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