DHAKA: A documentary titled ‘Timeless Gitanjali’ is set to be released on Friday next (May 16).

The movie, directed by an eminent Tagore exponent and researcher Dr Chanchal Khan, will be screened at 6:30 pm on the day at the National Museum.

The documentary is sponsored by the India-Bangladesh Foundation, Bangladesh Secretariat.

Bangladesh foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali will be present as chief guest while Indian high commissioner Pankaj Saran as special guest at the function.

Produced by Shurolok Bangladesh, a music appreciation group and co-directed by Hasina Ahmed Shoma, a prominent short film and documentary maker, this 50-minute documentary is in English.

According to the organizers, the film traces the history of Gitanjali from its original publication in 1910, leading to its translation and transformation into its English version, the events that shaped its Nobel award, and its relevance in today’s world.

A number of eminent Tagore researchers, artistes and academics have been interviewed in this documentary, highlighting Gitanjali’s relevance as a timeless creation, and how this work became a part of the Western Literature, a press release said.

Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman, Dr Hayat Mahmud, Professor Shamsuzzaman Khan, Dr Karunamaya Goswami, Chitralekha Choudhury and Ranjan Bandopaddya are among those interviewed.

Shooting for this documentary was done in London, Kolkata, Shantiniketan and Bangladesh over the last one year.

Each of these places carries significant historical perspectives surrounding Gitanjali.

The documentary also features songs, and recitation from Gitanjali.

‘The uniting factor of Gitanjali remains Shantiniketan in West Bengal and Shiladaha in Bangladesh (the then East Bengal). Shantiniketan saw the initiation and creation of a significant amount of work contained in Gitanjali, while Shilaidaha saw the beginning of translation of his own works in English that found place in the Gitanjali. This historical facets demand being documented in a visual medium for future learners, and people of all ages,’ says the conceptualizer, planner and director Dr Chanchal Khan, who along with Hasina Ahmed Shoma directed another documentary titled ‘Bangladeshey Rabindranath’ on the occasion of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary celebration.

BDST: 2117 HRS, MAY 13, 2014