Living Stories of Tagore: Fidelity and Transformation in the Adaptations of “Kabuliwallah” and “Punishment”

Abstract

Adaptations borrow from canonical texts, transform the original texts and get a life of their own. In fact, numerous film/television adaptations become more popular than the original texts. This paper is a critical analysis of the television adaptations Kabuliwallah and Punishment, both of which are two episodes in the series titled Stories by Rabindranath Tagore that was critically acclaimed after it was released on the Epic channel in 2015. The director of the adaptation taken for study is Anurag Basu, who tailored it in agreement with his own visual schemes and rhythms. This article proposes to examine, as indicated in the title, the transformation that has occurred while the original text is being shifted to the visual medium. The research methodology is established on the adaptation theories of fidelity and transformation framed by the major theorists in the field. In the process, the issue of fidelity arises, and this article clarifies how the narrative method, plot, characterisation, and setting of the original text are captured in the television adaptation, though certain changes have been made due to the change in the medium. From the findings, it is concluded that a new work of art is created after passing through innumerable ups and downs.