The box with jewels, stood on the table. In the box there was a story that wanted to be told. Film adaptation of the work of the famous Bengali writer Shirsendu Mukhopadhya. The story of three generations of women of the same family, about how their social status has changed over time.
1949. The former British colony became two independent countries, India and Pakistan. The territory of Bengal is also divided. Somlata, a girl from a poor family, enters the house of once rich landowners as her daughter-in-law. She's humble and, unexpectedly, smart. The new relatives can’t wait to see the death of the old Rasmoni, who has lived with the brothers since she was widowed. She was once married at the age of 11, to a man over 40 years older than her, and a year later he died. And she was a widow at 12. But she was not burned at the stake with her husband, as was customary at that time, not sent to the “widows’ house”, and not expelled to the street, and she remained to live in her father’s house. And although her luxurious hair was cut, and she is forced to wear a white sari all her life, and eat only vegetables and rice, her brothers and father always pampered her, gave her various jewelry. And the very Rasmoni was very contentious and was harmful and capricious. Moreover, gradually growing up, she lustfully looked from the window to the street at the guys passing by, and languishing with passion and desire to possess them, but not having the opportunity to do so, became more and more angry and disgusting. And the most important thing for which everyone puts up with her unbearable character is a jewelry box, which Rasmoni received in a dowry from her grandmother. It hurt her father and brothers very much that her grandmother bequeathed her box not to her son and two grandchildren, but to her only granddaughter. And there are as many as 5 kg of pure gold! Rasmoni every day she went through and counted the jewelry in the box, and practically did not let it out of her hands, not letting anyone even approach her treasures.
And so the years have passed, Rasmoni has grown old, and relatives are waiting every day for her to finally die to get their hands on the jewels. And so that day came, and without even burying Rasmoni, everyone rushed to look for the unfortunate box. But it wasn't. The old lady wasn't that easy. Even after she dies, she does not intend to part with her wealth. And so, on the most ordinary day, there was a fateful meeting of the smart girl Somlata and the ghost Rasmoni... And only Somlata knew where the box was. The new family Somlaty lives in a luxurious house that looks more like a palace (in our country from such houses after the revolution, in Central Asia they made houses of Culture or library, and in Moscow, from such houses were obtained chic communal houses, the beginning of the 20th century), and has long been mortgaged for debts. No one in the family works. Especially men. Of course (as stated by his father-in-law) they are landowners, landowners, and to work for them is to humiliate themselves and disgrace their family. After the division of the country into India and Pakistan, all their possessions remained in Pakistan. They are zamindars, and would rather starve to death or sell anything they could sell, including their wives’ jewelry, than work. That's why they need this box so much. And when Somlata and her husband try to establish a small business (open a sari shop), and at least in this way support the whole family, then all the men in the family create a lot of problems for them, not allowing them to turn around. Of course, the son of the landlord will be engaged in trade, it is a disgrace to the whole district. But the ghost Rasmoni stands up for the store, because she was very flattered that the nephew and daughter-in-law called their shop her name.
Oh, I loved this movie! I came across it quite by accident, watching the filmography Concons. And even the director Aparna Saint - and could not pass by, as they say. I decided that since the novelties of Bengali cinema in principle, and of such quality as the work of Aparna Saint, especially - we have a great rarity, we need to "bring it to the masses", i.e. be sure to write about it.
The story is simply wonderful - the intricacies of nuances, the inimitable game of Moushmy Chaterjee and Concona Saint Sharma, subtle psychologism and really deep subtext. Bengal cinema - for ever! I would like to find other works of this writer (I do not even know if they are translated into English). Perhaps it is not for nothing that he is considered a “living classic”.
A great movie! How gracefully the narrative of representatives of three generations of a particular family is inscribed in a monumental historical canvas! Moshmi I have always loved, and in this case she conquered me again. The ghost Rasmoni in her performance is something phenomenal. I can't even find words to describe it. A masterpiece. Brilliant. Delicious. And a lot of different epithets. Concona was also excellent. Well done, very subtly and accurately played, especially in scenes of communication with the ghost Rasmoni.
The release prompted me to collect all the directorial works available on the Internet in a single folder for a personal collection. I decided to do a retrospective in chronological order.
In a word, this is a full-fledged film with meaning. Excellent scenery, script, cinematography. The most important thing is dialogue. It's amazing. At the very end of my review, I thank the director/writer of this film for the great plot and for the courage to film such a complex work.
10 out of 10