Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary: His works that inspired Hindi films

Polymath Rabindranath Tagore has left behind an inimitable legacy that will probably not be surpassed by anyone ever. In addition to being a poet, he was also a short story writer, playwright, composer, painter, philosopher, and social reformer. Moreover, his work has infused life into several Hindi films, thus enriching their plots exponentially. On the Nobel laureate's birth anniversary, we look at some examples.

Do Bigha Zamin was headlined by Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Ratan Kumar, Murad, and Meena Kumari, among others. It was directed by Bimal Roy, known for his contribution to the Indian neo-realist movement, and was based on Tagore's Bangla poem Dui Bigha Jomi. Considered a benchmark film, this 1953 release made waves not just in India but also in China and the USSR.

Kabuliwala is a heartrending story of the close association between a girl and a fruit seller. It has inspired several adaptations across artistic forms over the years, all with the common theme: people are divided by borders but are always united by humanity. Based on Tagore's namesake story, it starred Sahni and Usha Kiran, among others. The 1961 film was directed by Hemen Gupta.

Uphaar was released in 1971 and featured actors like Jaya Bachchan, Swarup Dutta, Suresh Chatwal, and Leela Mishra. It drew its core plot from Tagore's 1893 short story Samapti and was selected as India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 45th Academy Awards. Directed by Sudhendu Roy and backed by Rajshri Productions, the drama is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Hiren Nag's Geet Gaata Chal was a remake of the 1965 Bengali film Atithi, which was based on a story by Tagore where a teenage boy prefers the life of a wanderer and does not want to be restricted to ordinary, domestic life. Sachin and Sarika played the protagonists in Geeta Gaata Chal. The 1975 film is available on Apple TV or Prime Video.