Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s Busan International Film Festival selection “The Storyteller,” based on a short story by Oscar-winning Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, isn’t “just another homage” to the late master.

Film enthusiast Tapobrati Das Sammaddar recommended Ray’s story “Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro” to Mahadevan, who was “instantly fascinated by the layered social satire.” The story follows an unpublished Bengali storyteller who answers a help ad from a Gujarati businessman who suffers from insomnia, and there is a twist in the tale.

Samaddar translated the story and Kireet Khurana (“T for Taj Mahal”) and Mahadevan developed it into a screenplay that was a faithful adaptation of the original. Mahadevan, who cites Ray’s “Charulata” and “Pather Panchali” as influences, says that the choice of film grammar was the tricky part of the shoot.

The cast includes veteran Paresh Rawal (“Dear Father”), Adil Hussain (who also has “Max, Min and Meowzaki” in Busan this year), Tannishtha Chatterjee (2019 Busan title “Roam Rome Mein”) and Revathi (“Aye Zindagi”).

The film is produced by Purpose Entertainment, Quest Films and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios.

“The Storyteller” is in competition for the Busan’s Kim Ji-seok award. Mahadevan’s previous film “Bittersweet” was also nominated for the award in 2020, but he couldn’t attend because of pandemic restrictions.