The Storyteller is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama directed by Ananth Mahadevan, adapted from Satyajit Ray’s short story “Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro.” The film stars Paresh Rawal as Tarini Bandyopadhyay, a 62-year-old Bengali man renowned for his storytelling prowess, having held 73 jobs throughout his life. Upon retirement from Amrit Publishers in Kolkata, Tarini responds to an advertisement seeking a storyteller in Ahmedabad. There, he meets Ratan Garodia (Adil Hussain), a wealthy businessman suffering from chronic insomnia, who hopes Tarini’s unique stories will help him sleep.
As Tarini captivates Ratan with his tales, Ratan, realizing Tarini’s reluctance to publish his stories, begins submitting them under his own pen name, Gorkhe, gaining literary acclaim. The deception unfolds when Tarini discovers Ratan’s betrayal but chooses to continue working for him. The narrative takes a twist when Ratan faces legal consequences for inadvertently plagiarizing Rabindranath Tagore’s work, a scheme orchestrated by Tarini to teach him a lesson about authenticity and integrity. The film delves into themes of creativity, exploitation, and self-realization, culminating in both characters embarking on their own journeys of genuine storytelling.
