Shadows Of Time - Touching Tale of Love and Loss

The other night i caught a Bengali movie in Sony pix called "Shadows Of Time". It was like a semi-documentary kind of a movie, where in all the characters spoke perfect Bengali.. Well, i didn't intend on watching that particular movie that night, but while just surfing through the channels at around midnight, i came across this movie with subtitles with Indian actors that appeared to be based in Calcutta in the pre-independence time. And it was the cinematography and the realistic acting by the child actors at the initial part of the movie that i found to be particularly captivating and found it hard to tear myself away from the screen till the end.
To give a short summary of the movie without revealing much of the storyline, i would have to say that it was a Story about two kids, Ravi and Masha who were sold to work in a carpet factory by their respective parents. Slowly a bond forms between the two and grows with time. On learning that the miserly factory owner was intending on selling Masha to a rich pervert; Ravi gives the factory owner all the money that he had collected over time, intended to buy his freedom; for the freedom of Masha. He end up striking a deal with the factory owner and Masha is allowed to leave the factory. But before leaving they promise to meet again, and Masha promises to go to the largest Shiva temple of the city every full moon night and wait for Ravi to come. 10 years later, Masha ends up as a courtesan wooed by a customs official,played by Irfan Khan. And Ravi after finnaly paying for his freedom comes to the city in search for Masha, and finds employment at a carpet shop and helps them to turn it into a successful business. The rest of the story is about the trials and turmoils and also the misunderstandings that fate throws their way over time; and to see if Ravi and Masha end up together or not.
It was beautifully shot, and the acting by the lead pair was commendable. The actor who played the role of Ravi in the movie Prashant Narayan; did such a good job, that it is difficult to believe that he isn't even Bengali. His diction was amazing. In a way i kind of got a crush on him ;-) . Anyway for those of who like a touching movie with a sensitive portrayal of the characters, and amazing precision to the art and set to depict Calcutta in the pre-independence era, this movie is a must watch.
And here is the twist...the movie's story and direction was by a German Director named Florian Gallenberger with his entire filming crew being Germans! You can imagine my shock at this bit of information! I never thought that a director who wasn't Indian nor understand the language before making the movie could come up with a concept that is so authentically Bengali and come up with a touching tale of love and sorrow that is portrayed with finesse.