The Storyteller

Over the last few years, Satyajit Ray’s short stories have found a renewed audience on over-the-top platforms. Ananth Mahadevan’s feature film, The Storyteller, produced in 2022, is yet another attempt at filming one of Ray’s stories and is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

The Storyteller is set in a bygone India when rotary telephones were the primary means of communication and people took pride in driving Ambassador cars or owning the E-Class Mercedes. Tarini Bandopadhyay (Paresh Rawal), a widower, has just retired and lives alone in Calcutta, now Kolkata. His son, Arindam, and his family live in the US. Tarini’s only companions are his friend, Bankim, and his wife, Joyoti, who cooks delectable fish dishes for him. One day, Joyoti tells Tarini about a newspaper advertisement from an affluent businessman in Ahmedabad who is looking for a storyteller for a paid position. Though initially reluctant, Tarini agrees to take the job and travel to Ahmedabad. Upon reaching the house of Ratan Garodia (Adil Hussain), Tarini discovers the cotton merchant suffers from chronic insomnia and needs a storyteller to help him fall asleep every night. Tarini accepts the offer, and, in due course of time, the two men form a bond. But is it all that simple or does Garodia have a deeper ulterior motive that Tarini is unaware of?

First off, on the adaptation. Kireet Khurana, the screenplay writer, tries to craft a plausible two-hour film from Ray’s short story, Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro. He has refined the narrative, enriching it with thoughtful character studies and choosing mostly to explore the more subtle aspects of its story. This gels especially well with Mahadevan, who belongs to a niche group of directors concentrating on the finer, intimate moments of life, effectively creating a series of stirring vignettes. On a broader level, the film examines how we often struggle to express ourselves, much like Bandopadhyay, who, despite being a fluent storyteller, has never written a story due to his fear of rejection and criticism. Conversely, Garodia is trapped by the belief that his wealth and manipulative nature can help him achieve the impossible. The constant tension between pursuing material wealth (Lakshmi) and knowledge (Saraswati) forms a recurring theme throughout the film. Bandopadhyay, a stern critic of capitalism, nonetheless accepts the job as a private storyteller for a man who has prioritized wealth over education. Moreover, Garodia’s unrequited love is for a woman named Saraswati (Revathy), which further underscores the irony of his life.

The film’s deliberate languid pace allows the characters and their interactions to breathe, lending the film significant weight. A quiet melancholy underlies Bandopadhyay’s character; the loss of his wife has driven him into a self-created world, whereas Garodia suffers from the complex that his lack of education prevented him from attaining the women he desired in his youth. This absence of women – for one, the lingering grief of widowhood; for the other, the gnawing pain of unrequited love – leaves a void in both their lives: The film also incorporates gentle humour, notably through Bandopadhyay’s aversion to Gujarati vegetarian cuisine and his clever ploys to convince Garodia’s affable cook to prepare fish, creating a lighthearted comedic thread. The subtle wit, coupled with the presence of a pampered house cat, maintains intrigue in this narrative about outwardly refined individuals capable of surprising acts of both malice and unexpected tenderness.

That said, if the plot works on the subtleties, the depiction of the cultural differences between the two communities relies on simplistic and broad stereotypical markers. Bandopadhyay, being Bengali, cannot forgo his craving for fish items. Garodia, on the other hand, is portrayed as someone who subsists on dhokla, thepla, and fafda. Bengalis are perceived as being good at the three R’s, while Gujaratis are known for their business acumen. In the original story, Ray used characters from different communities to create dramatic tension stemming from Bandopadhyay’s inability to read Gujarati. It was never intended to rely on such broad cultural stereotypes.

The climax, where justice is served, is compelling both on paper and screen, but the film lacks the build-up to justify its length. As a result, after only an hour or so, The Storyteller starts to lose its way. Too many scenes between Bandopadhyay and the librarian Suzy (Tannishtha Chatterjee), or those with Garodia expressing his moral dilemma with his house help, or Bandopadhyay’s return to Kolkata, and the use of a song, all contribute to the film’s rambling direction.

Paresh Rawal brings a strong sense of vulnerability to his portrayal of Bandopadhyay. However, the filmmakers’ attempt to emphasize his Bengali identity by having him speak the language sporadically diminishes some of the natural charm of the role, as the accent comes across as much too clichéd. Adil Hussain delivers an accomplished performance as Garodia, displaying restraint and subtly shifting his behaviour as the character’s unforeseen trajectory unfolds. It is a treat to watch the relationship between the two principal characters blossom into something truly visceral. Tannishtha Chatterjee as Suzy and Revathy, in a brief appearance as Saraswati play their roles efficiently.

Alphonse Roy’s work behind the camera helps us delve deep into the characters’ psyches, as he frames them with a keen eye for detail and emotional depth. As most of the dramatic moments occur within the confines of the house, he skillfully uses the interior space to amplify the characters’ feelings, often employing pertinent close-ups and carefully composed shots that heighten the sense of intimacy and claustrophobia. Although the editing by Gourav Gopal Jha facilitates smooth transitions between scenes, it is ultimately unable to mitigate the narrative drag present in the writing. Sanjay Chaturvedi’s sound design subtly captures the quiet intimacy of the interiors, reflecting the characters’ inner lives.

Though there’s a distinct, personal stamp on The Storyteller, which is, no doubt, aided by strong performances and some solid moments, the narrative ultimately falls short of where it could have been, leaving one at the end with a frustrating sense of unrealized potential.

Hindi, Drama, Color