Shot in black-and-white, the finished film was released during the birth centenary year of Rabindranath Tagore, who was born on 7 May 1861.

[2] Ray avoided the controversial aspects of Tagore's life in order to make it as an official portrait of the poet.

"[3] Often regarded as polymath, author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse,"[4] Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

The first stanza of Tagore's five-stanza Brahmo hymn has been adopted as the National Anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana.

Mentioning about his marriage with Mrinalini Devi, the documentary explains his aim to form a new school at Santiniketan and its different education system, death of his wife and children in the short span of time and his association in Indian independence movement.

While showcasing Tagore's formation of Visva-Bharati University, the documentary mentions his renouncement of his knighthood, in response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.

It also documents his world journey for fund collection for his school, his paintings and his 70th birthday where a book, The Golden Book of Tagore, was published with the testimonials by intellectuals of the world, including French dramatist Romain Rolland, German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, Greek poet Kostis Palamas, Indian Polymath Jagadish Chandra Bose and Indian political leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

The documentary ends while mentioning about Tagore's last days, his last message to the world Civilization in Crisis and his death at his birthplace at the age of 80 on 7 August 1941.