How Long Is “Jeevan Smriti”?

The acclaimed Bengali Director Rituparno Ghosh’s films have been regularly screened at the LFF for over 15 years. Sadly, we offer the last film to be entirely completed before his passing in May at the age of 47. It’s all too fitting that this is a sumptuous, very personal docu-drama about his own inspiration – the legendary poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore. Flamboyant Rituparno, with his camera team, set off from Kolkata in the monsoons to Tagore’s country birthplace, on a journey of love and poetic admiration. On the way they uncover the lesser-known personal life of this Bengali hero. A stunningly photographed dramatic story, backed by great actors like Raima Sen, depicts the inner struggles of the young, introvert Tagore who, in spite of his comfortable background, was constantly tortured but also inspired by love and terrible loss.