KOLKATA: A 26-minute documentary that salutes the fighting spirit of singer Anasua Choudhury left the audience spellbound at its first screening at Nandan on Friday evening. Titled "Jibanpur Station", the Ravi R documentary was inspired by a TOI article on Anasua's comeback four years after her life had come to a standstill when she suffered a cerebral attack.Calamity had struck Choudhury at the peak of her career in 2011 when she suffered two strokes , followed by multi-drug resistant tuberculosis . She suddenly found herself battling with garbled speech and immobility. Four years later, she bounced back with a concert and followed it up with acting in plays.According to Ravi R, Anasua's comeback tale has all the ingredients to motivate any person. The director chose to narrate the journey from the eyes of Anasua's son, Archishman.What started off as a tale of a little boy, who is scared of his celebrity mother, turns into a tale of bonding between the two. Through the illness, the mother-son duo forges a bond that is healing. The documentary doesn't have melodramatic scenes of Anasua battling her illness. "I wanted the audience to empathize with her," the director said. This empathy is elicited when the camera focuses on Anasua rehearsing for her comeback concert in August 2015. There she goes out of breath or rushes with her lines. Unable to stand for long, she sits and sings. Particularly poignant is the moment when before her show, she says, "Don't expect that much from me."Watching the documentary had a "cathartic effect" on Archishman. It brought back memories of hunting for an ambulance to take Anasua to the nursing home on a Dashami evening. "I felt my mother has shown that a person can always stage a comeback even if life deals the biggest blow," Archishman said.Last year, Anasua also acted in a play, "Alokanandar Putro Konya".

Stay updated with all the Kolkata Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.