Gaaner Oparey was a critically acclaimed Indian (Bengali) television serial which was aired on Star Jalsha from 28th June 2010 to 16th April 2011. This TV musical marked the beginning of a year long celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. This new concept was a brainchild of the famous Indian director Rituparno Ghosh. The show gained immense popularity among both the urban youth of Bengal as well as the educated older generation, used to the more orthodox interpretation of Tagore. The songs which were all popular Rabindra sangeets since ages were well received and soon became a huge hit in its new style. The serial received high television viewership and is considered one of the greatest successes on Bengali television.
The story revolves around a girl called Sohini (more commonly known as Pupe) from an orthodox Tagore worshipping family and Gora, an extremely talented but carefree lad, who keeps on experimenting with Rabindra sangeet. The story traces their relationship and human emotions through an imaginative portrayal of Tagore, his true ideals and their significance today. It also potrays the patriarchal society still prevalent in mordern India.The serial used more than fifty Tagore songs and brought out their relevance in the lives of the protagonists. The cast was composed of stalwarts such as Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Dipankar De plus newcomers Gaurav and Arjun Chakrabarty(sons of Sabyasachi Chakraborty ) who did an appreciable job. The female lead was played by Mimi Chakraborty who gave a stellar performance in only her second project as an actress. The show has very commendably portrayed three different forms of Rabindrasangeet: the more traditional kind through the voice of Pupe, a fused version with Hindustani classical music, through the voice of Pradipto, and a totally 'unplugged' rendition, sometimes even incorporating rap words and band music, through Gora. Some of the most talented voices in the Bengal music industry today have been thus discovered. Some of the more prominent names being Anindya Narayan Biswas, Soumyojit Das, Sharmistha Paul, and last but not the least - Samantak Sinha, who has already garnered tremendous popularity through his extremely unconventional renditions, guided ably by his hitherto untrained voice, which helps him deliver a completely original interpretation of Tagore's music.
Story : Anuja Chattopadhyay and Rituparno Ghosh
Script : Rituparno Ghosh & Anuja Chattopadhyay
Music : Debajyoti Mishra
Singers : Anindya Narayan Biswas, Samantak Sinha, Sharmistha Paul, Soumyajit Das, Amrita Datta, Debashish Banerjee, Runu Dutta.
Producer : Ideas Creations ( Prosenjit Chatterjee & Arpita Chatterjee )
Director : Joydeep Mukherjee