In his quest for meaning in life, Sachish fleets from radical positivism to religious mysticism. His search yields nothing but crushing disillusionment, because he cannot square his abstract ideals with the powerful presence of two women in his life. One of them is Damini, a young Hindu widow; the other is Nanibala, the abandoned mistress of his own brother.

Sachish convinces himself that Nanibala is a helpless woman who needs to be 'rescued.' Similarly, during his later religious phase, he pretends that Damini is an enticement of Nature that must be avoided at every cost for spiritual salvation.

Chaturanga thus becomes a psychodrama of unbelievable cruelty. Nanibala becomes a victim because, as a 'fallen woman' she can only be 'saved' but her humanity cannot be recognized.

Damini is first given away by her dying husband, along with all her property, to a religious guru. She then falls in love with Sachish who can accept her only without her sexuality.

Set in Colonial Bengal at the turn of the 20th century, Chaturanga weaves a rich tapestry of crisscrossing desires and moralities.
SUMAN MUKHOPADHYAY
Chaturanga, based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel, is Suman Mukhopadhyay's second feature. His debut film, Herbert (2005), based on Nabarun Bhattacharya’s novel, won the National Award for Best Bengali Film, besides those for the Most Promising Director (BFJA), Best Debut Director (Lankesh Award) and the Audience Award at Dhaka International Film Festival. Herbert was screened in several international festivals including Cannes, Florence, Bangkok, Osian Cinefan, Zanzibar and Kerala.

Trained in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy, Suman is currently scripting The Hungry Tide, based on the Amitava Ghosh novel. He also ranks among the best young theater directors in India, with productions ranging from European drama to adaptations of Bengali classics.
Director's statement
Since my university days I have been provoked and disturbed by Chaturanga. The questions it deals with are contemporary and timeless, for they interrogate our perception of the human evolution.

Chaturanga does not provide a single reference to its contemporary political situation. I believe that Rabindranath was trying to address deeper concerns regarding human ethos and codes of existence.

Sachish metamorphoses from a staunch rationalist to a devout spiritualist. Nonetheless, his viewpoint undergoes a major reversal by the end.

We, as social beings, have tried to solve all our moral, social and political dilemmas in accordance with the model of diametric opposites: East-West, Left-Right, Normal-Abnormal, Discipline-Punishment...

Tagore himself was, at one point of time, a victim of similar ideological closures. However, his many journeys in life allowed him to transcend his previous position.

Experimentations with human beings have had disastrous consequences. We have seen the quest of human mind to attain an order through religion or benevolence, coercion or collectivism. We have yet to reach a durable 'resolution.'

However, any attempt to harness the human spirit, or to negate the undefined areas of our inner world, only reveals the holes in our ideological models.

Chaturanga therefore proposes an unending journey, a timeless quest.
Cast & Credits
Producer : Campfire Films
Director, Screenplay : Suman Mukhopadhyay
Camera : Indranil Mukherjee
Editing : Arghyakamal Mitra
Music : Debojyoti Mishra
Cast : Subrata Dutta, Joy Sengupta, Dhritiman Chaterji,
Rituparna Sengupta