The Storyteller Review: Paresh Rawal and Adil Hussain excel in the film based on Satyajit Ray's classic short story, Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro.
Paresh Rawal and Adil Hussain in The Storyteller
Last Updated: 01.33 PM, Jan 28, 2025
The Storyteller Story: Disney+ Hotstar has released a new film, The Storyteller. Based on the legendary Satyajit Ray's short story Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro, the film stars Paresh Rawal and Adil Hussain in the lead roles and explores the themes of friendship, betrayal, personal growth, and ultimate self-realization. Paresh plays the role of a storyteller, Tarini Bandyopadhyay, while Adil is a rich businessman, Ratan Garodia. The latter wants a storyteller because he suffers from chronic insomnia and is unable to sleep. Tarini mesmerizes Ratan with his impressive storytelling talent. When Rata learns that Tarini has no interest in contributing his stories to papers or magazines, he thinks of an idea. What he will do? Will Ratan and Tarini's friendship end before it starts? Read on...
The Storyteller, directed by Ananth Mahadevan, brought Satyajit Ray's iconic character, Tarini Khuro into the OTT platform. It is based on the legendary Ray's short story, Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro.
Tarini Bandyopadhyay (Paresh Rawal) is 62 years old and has done 73 jobs. His last job was at Amrit Publishers in Kolkata. While retiring, he received immense love and was told that his storytelling would be missed a lot. Tarini always has been a mesmerizing storyteller since his young age. He can make stories on anything and they are so captivating that you get hooked on them. His wife, Anuradha (Anindita Bose) always used to tell him to start writing stories and publish them but he was adamant. Even in his old age, his friend (Rohit Mukherjee) and his wife (Senjuti Roy Mukherji) kept pushing him to contribute his stories to magazines. One day, Tarini was shown an advertisement wanting a storyteller in Ahmedabad. He decided to give it a try and reached Ratan Garodia's house.
Paresh Rawal excels as Tarini. His expression was so on point that you can feel the scenes are taking place at your house. The detailing of the plot truly highlights Ray's timeless work.
Ratan Garodia is a rich businessman of cotton exports. Even though he has everything - money, success, and fame, he lacks sleep and the love of his life, Saraswati (Revathi). So he gave an advertisement of wanting a storyteller who could help him fall asleep by telling 'unique' short stories. He meets Tarini and gives him accommodation in his own house as promised.
The film heartwarmingly shows a Bengali struggling to cope with Gujarati food and secretly asking Garodia's maid to make fish dishes for him. Apart from this, the narrative also captures Kolkata's famous places and their essence - be it Durga Puja, Kolkata's famous street food, trams, or Howrah Bridge, the film shows it all.
Background music deserves a special mention. It has songs by Rabindranath Tagore such as Purano Shei Diner Kotha, Tumi Robe Nirobe, various folk songs, and other Bengali classics that elevate the plot.
Amid these feel-good scenes, the plot of The Storyteller takes a serious turn when Garodia learns that Tarini does not want to contribute his stories to magazines. Having a business mind, Garodia uses Tarini's stories and sells them by his pen name, Gorkhe, and earns huge success. However, Tarini discovers the truth while returning to his home in Kolkata to enjoy Durga Puja. The sad expression of Paresh as Tarini rightfully fits the situation. You do not feel bored even for a second. Yes, the film is captivating from all angles and captures the essence of Ray's work. Even though some scenes are indeed different from Ray's original work, the film captures hearts with its own terms.
Even though Tarini knows Garodia is using his stories for his benefit without informing him, he decides to return to Ahmedabad and continues his storytelling work for Garodia. After nearly 3 months, Tarini informs that he is leaving the job and going to America to meet his family. This makes Garodia nervous as he realizes he will not be able to publish stories again.
A few days later, Garodia attends his story release event and faces a copyright issue from The Rabindranath Tagore Foundation for copying Tagore's work as his own and selling it. His world becomes upside down and realizes that Tarini betrayed him.
Adil Hussain once again proves why he is one of a kind with his acting brilliance. His genuine expression when he realized he was betrayed, was top level.
However, the ending ends on a sweet note as Garodia asks his maid, Manik, "Who is more important? The storyteller or the one who writes the story.?" In this story about originality vs plagiarism, Ray raised a thought-provoking question: “What is more important – the story or the storyteller?" and it is rightfully shown in the movie. The end of the movie shows both Tarini and Garodia writing their own stories after discovering their true selves.
One of the most heartwarming scenes of the film was when Tarini brought the little cat from Garodia's house to his Kolkata home. Tarini prepares Hilsa fish for the cat and serves her with utmost care. The cat scene was used as a metaphor for when someone goes to the wrong place and realizes he does not belong there. Just like, Tarini, who is a good person, goes to Garodia's house.
The remix of Aha Ki Ananda (a song from Hirak Rajar Deshe, directed by Ray), along with folk music, makes you stay till the end of the credit scene of the film. It leads you to repeat it as many times as possible. Thus, it deserves a special mention. Notably, the music is composed by Hriju Roy. At the end, we can proudly say that Ananth Mahadevan's direction did justice to Satyajit Ray's acclaimed short story.
Based on Satyajit Ray's classic short story, Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro, The Storyteller, starring Paresh Rawal and Adil Hussain, proves why Ray's work is still relevant today. Apart from the extraordinary performances, the film richly explores the themes of friendship, personal growth, self-realization, and the impact of storytelling. The Storyteller is a spellbinding and heartwarming ode to Ray's timeless tale that will remain in our hearts forever. The film, directed by Ananth Mahadevan, is a must-watch for every cinema lover, especially Satyajit Ray fans.