The
Storyteller
has
a
lot
to
like
and
admire,
recommends
Mayur
Sanap.
The
opening
frame
of
The
Storyteller,
which
is
Director
Ananth
Narayan
Mahadevan’s
cinematic
adaptation
of
Satyajit
Ray’s
Bengali
short
story
Golpo
Bolo
Tarini
Khuro,
takes
us
to
vintage
Kolkata,
when
it
was
called
Calcutta.
We
see
the
city’s
iconic
Writer’s
Building
and
simultaneously
hear
our
protagonist
Tarini
Bandopadhyay
(played
by
Paresh
Rawal)
bidding
goodbye
to
his
employer
Amrit
Publishers
after
11
months
of
working
there.
Bandopadhyay
says
he
hopped
on
73
different
jobs
in
his
career
but
never
stuck
to
one
place
for
more
than
six
months.
While
announcing
his
retirement,
Bandopadhyay
is
told
that
his
storytelling
would
be
missed
by
everyone
at
the
office.
Just
when
he
is
ready
to
embrace
his
retirement,
Bandopadhyay
comes
across
a
newspaper
advertisement
asking
for
a
storyteller
in
Ahmedabad.
Curious
about
getting
to
experience
something
new,
he
decides
to
give
it
a
try
and
arrives
in
Gujarat.
He
learns
that
the
ad
was
published
by
rich
businessman
Ratan
Gardodia
(Adil
Hussain),
who
wants
a
storyteller
as
a
cure
for
his
chronic
insomnia.
Gardodia
is
a
lonesome
man
who
admittedly
doesn’t
understand
much
beyond
money
and
accounting
books.
At
one
point,
he
even
mocks
Bandopadhyay’s
uprightness
by
saying,
‘Yeh
duniya
sochne
waalon
ki
nahin
karne
waalon
ki
hain
(this
world
is
for
doers
not
thinkers).’
On
the
other
hand,
Bandopadhyay
mildly
rebukes
Garodia
for
his
‘ungrateful
capitalist
mentality’.
Despite
their
cultural
and
moral
contrasts,
Tarini
forms
a
cordial
equation
with
Ratan
who
is
very
much
smitten
by
Bandopadhyay’s
unique
storytelling
talent.
When
Garodia
learns
that
Bandopadhyay
is
against
idea
of
publishing
his
stories,
his
shrewd
business
mind
plays
a
trick
that
changes
the
course
of
their
friendship.
Garodia
decides
to
capitalise
on
Bandopadhyay’s
stories
and
publishes
them
as
his
own.
More
revelations
follow
that
mount
the
gentle
morality
of
this
tale
about
friendship,
betrayal
and
guilt.
From
the
first
frame
itself,
The
Storyteller
invites
us
into
its
vintage
charm
which
feels
refreshing
from
the
current
lot
of
films
and
shows.
The
film
also
benefits
from
its
lovely
cinematography
and
production
design
that
makes
it
come
cinematically
alive.
Director
Ananth
Narayan
Mahadevan,
who
works
on
the
script
by
Kireet
Khurana,
moves
the
drama
at
a
leisure
pace
without
overdoing
the
dramatic
tension
of
the
scenes.
The
film
also
finds
ways
to
deploy
warm
moments
of
humour.
This
is
apparent
in
scenes
when
Bandopadhyay’s
maach-loving
(fish)
Bengali
feels
aversion
towards
the
‘ghaas
phoos‘
Gujarati
food
or
the
way
he
craftily
asks
Garodia’s
cook
(played
by
a
very
charming
Jayesh
More)
to
prepare
a
fish
meal
for
him.
Sure,
the
cultural
stereotypes
could
have
been
done
away
with,
but
you
don’t
mind
it
because
there
is
a
certain
warm-heartedness
in
these
scenes.
You
can’t
fault
the
performances
either,
and
all
the
actors
are
delightful
to
watch.
Paresh
Rawal’s
Tarini
Bandopadhyay
is
a
milder
version
of
Amitabh
Bachchan’s
Bhashkor
Banerjee
from
Piku.
There’s
an
unexpressed
ache
to
his
Bandopadhyay
who
lives
in
his
own
world
and
own
interpretations
of
things
around
him
after
losing
his
loving
wife.
Adil
Hussain
is
suitably
understated
and
leaves
a
mark
as
a
canny
Gujarati
businessman.
Ultimately,
it
is
the
chemistry
and
interplay
between
Rawal
and
Hussain
that
is
particularly
captivating
and
makes
this
film
dramatically
absorbing.
I
just
wish
the
film
had
more
to
offer
to
Tannishtha
Chatterjee
and
Revathy
who
look
at
ease
in
their
respective
roles
but
their
character
arcs
feel
incomplete.
Overall,
The
Storyteller
has
a
lot
to
like
and
admire
about
it.
It’s
the
kind
of
film
that’s
carefully
designed
to
be
savoured
in
leisure.
The
Storyteller
streams
on
Disney+Hotstar.
The
Storyteller
Review
Rediff
Rating:
