The Storyteller, directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, is a tale of two elderly men forming a friendship in an unusual manner. They belong to two different cultures, and yet they somehow find themselves drawn to the art of storytelling. They are surrounded by people who are aware of their true nature, and who bring out a certain quality in these two men. The Storyteller is a pleasant watch, and here is the list of characters in the film.
Tarini Bandyopadhyay
Veteran actor Paresh Rawal is Tarini Bandyopadhyay in The Storyteller, who all his life has been considered someone who narrates many tales he has picked up as a person working for a publishing house. He is a widower who is a fan of Rabindranath Tagore and his works and has lived alone ever since the passing of his wife, Anuradha. Anuradha, when alive, had asked him to pursue his passion for writing, but he never did so. Soon after his retirement, he travels to Ahmedabad after coming across a job posting for The Storyteller. Since Tarini is considered a master in the craft, it did not take that long for him to make the journey and wind up at a rich businessman’s mansion. Tarini feels good being needed, yet he feels odd about helping the businessman Ratan Garodia deal with his chronic insomnia. Tarini takes his job seriously, and as an avid reader, he joins a library to get himself familiar with the local literature and get access to his favorite books as well. Tarini tries to get comfortable with the life he is leading in Gujarat, apart from the jarring lifestyle and culture differences. It almost seems he’s found his comfort zone until he learns of an awkward truth about the man he was working for.
Ratan Garodia
Adil Hussain is Ratan Garodia, the rich cotton businessman who lives alone in his mansion. He suffers from chronic insomnia and intends to treat it to get going with his life. He hires Tarini Bandyopadhyay., an elderly man from Kolkata, to narrate tales and stories that would help him sleep. Ratan lives alone, and soon he opens up about his love for a woman named Saraswati whom he could not marry. Ratan seems to have all the materialistic pleasures he could desire, yet his loss of sleep and lack of love bother him, and he does not intend to die alone. He opens up about his love for Saraswati and how he wanted to marry her. Ratan and Tarini become good friends in a short span of time, but soon one of them finds out a secret that could possibly ruin their relationship.
Suzy Fibert
Tannishtha Chatterjee is Suzy Fibert, a librarian who works for a public library in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She comes in touch with Tarini after he finds the library in his search for solace and refreshing stories he wants to narrate to Ratan. Suzy and Tarini quickly bond over their love for classic books and authors and spend most of their time in coffee shops nearby. She is aware of Tarini’s obsession with Bengali authors, especially Rabindranath Tagore.
Saraswati
Yesteryear actress Revathy is Saraswati, Ratan’s lover from when they were young. According to Ratan, she eventually married an IAS officer, as she wanted to be with someone more intellectual and not money-minded like Ratan. Saraswati, many years later, is now a widow and is back in Ratan’s life, yet she is unaware of his intention of wooing her into marrying him. Saraswati meets Tarini as well, and he is close to revealing Ratan’s secret, but he stops himself.
Manikchand
Jayesh More is Manikchand, Ratan’s servant living in his house. He is also the cook and the caretaker of the property, for he knows his employer very well. Manikchand becomes good acquaintances with Tarini, who helps the servant cook several non-vegetarian items. Manikchand is not comfortable with Tarini initially, but finally it becomes easy for him to adjust to his guest’s food preferences and life interests.
Bankim
Rohit Mukherjee is Bankim, Tarini’s longtime friend. He is concerned for Tarini since he has just retired and plans to live alone in his big home. Bankim is the one who encourages him to take up the Ahmedabad job, even though he is skeptical about his friend being able to adjust. Bankim and Tarini speak to each other every day about his work progress with Ratan and how much he misses eating rice with fish, which is a staple of the Bengali diet.
Anuradha
Anindita Bose is Anuradha, Tarini’s deceased wife, who always encouraged him to write a book since he had always been good at narrating stories. She had once gifted him a pen, a sign that she wanted him to start writing, but he kept procrastinating over it and never even considered it until long after she was gone. He keeps remembering Anuradha and her encouragement and always openly admits to having loved her a lot. It will be up to Tarini if he would take her words seriously since he is retired now and has time to venture into writing.