Film festival on Rabindranath Tagore in Tripura

Agartala, July 16 (IANS) A four-day-long festival to screen films based on Rabindranath Tagore's novels began in Tripura Friday.

The film festival along with discussions on Tagore is a part of the year-long celebrations of the Nobel laureate poet's 150th birth anniversary being celebrated in the northeastern state.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, a Tagore fan, inaugurated the festival, jointly organised by the information and cultural affairs department of the Tripura government and Cine Delve, a film society.

Cine Delve advisor Samiran Roy said: 'Films made by internationally famed directors Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Purnendu Patri and several documentaries on Tagore would be screened in the festival.'

Satyajit Ray's preferred actor Madhabi Mukhopadhyay was present in the inaugural function.

'Films on Tagore's masterpiece novels are still the main attraction of film enthusiasts,' Mukhopadhyay said adding that more films on Tagore's sweeping stories should be made for new generations.

'As a tribute to the great poet, who had visited Tripura seven times between 1899 and 1926, we are celebrating his 150th birth anniversary with a year-long programme,' Sarkar said.

According to Sarkar, the state government would set up a museum and research centre at the 93-year-old Pushpavant Palace, currently the governor's house (Raj Bhawan). The Nobel laureate stayed in the palace during his last visit to the state in February 1926.

Tripura has also proposed to the union civil aviation ministry to rename the Agartala airport after Rabindranath Tagore.

The state government is also building a 1,800-seat Rabindra Memorial Centre in the capital city at a cost of Rs.275 million.