Shyama

Udayana, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's former home in Santiniketan, will be the setting of a special New Year's Day screening of Shyama. The building is part of the Uttarayana complex which also includes the Rabindra Bhavan, the research centre and museum dedicated to the life and works of the creator of Shyama.

Most of the cast and crew of Shyama will be attending the screening. Almost all of them are based in Santiniketan, where Shyama was filmed. A number of renowned Tagore specialists will be among the special guests, who will include a member of the Tagore family.

Commenting on the screening, producer and star Kaberi Chatterjee said: "This will be the first time most of the cast and crew will see the end product of all their hard work. I'm looking forward to the reunion ... and to hearing their reactions! Based on the feedback from our test screenings, though, I'm confident they will be impressed. We're very grateful to the Director of the Rabindra Bhavan for giving us this opportunity to screen the film in Santiniketan."

Kaberi Chatterjee, who has produced and starred in the feature-length film version of Rabindranath Tagore's Shyama, will receive her PhD from Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan in early December. Kaberi's doctoral thesis on the influence of different dance styles on the Tagore dance form led the university to award her its first ever PhD in the field of dance.

It was Kaberi's PhD research which originally led to her interest in producing an authentic record of Shyama, which is regarded as the best example of the Tagore dance form. During the 10 years of research for her thesis, she had interviewed several people who had learned the Tagore dance form directly from Rabindranath Tagore. Sadly, most of the people she had interviewed have since passed away. So, she felt that, without a reference version for future generations, the Tagore dance form could change beyond recognition over time.

The degree ceremony in Santiniketan will take place a few weeks before Shyama's global release.

Shyama, Inner Eye’s widescreen film of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s classic Bengali dance musical, will have its multiplatform, multilingual launch in late November. The film, which will be open to personal copying, will include two logo slots after Inner Eye’s own logo, allowing their sponsors to reach everyone who is interested in Indian culture and dance.

The film tells the story of Shyama, a court dancer, who falls in love with a foreign merchant, who is falsely imprisoned and faces execution ... unless Shyama accepts her admirer’s offer to take the merchant’s place. Shyama features the authentic performances of leading dancers, singers and musicians from Tagore’s home town of Santiniketan. Its subtitles represent the first translations of Shyama from the original Bengali.

Announcing Inner Eye’s plans for the release, Kaberi Chatterjee, who stars as Shyama, said “If someone likes Shyama enough to make a personal copy of it for a friend or relative, their recommendation will help the film, including the sponsors’ logos, to reach our intended audience.”

For the 230 million Bengali speakers around the world, the Bengali version of the film will be available free online. Subtitled versions of the film will be available as paid downloads in formats ranging from iPhone to 2K digital cinema. Shyama’s soundtrack album will be released through online digital music stores such as iTunes, Napster and eMusic.

Bidding for the two logo slots is open until 06:00 GMT on 1 October 2008. With a minimum bid of £10,000 + VAT, the winning sponsors will also be able to use material from Shyama indefinitely in their own promotional material and activities. Potential sponsors should write to sponsorship@innereye.eu to express their interest and receive more details.