Chokher Bali

Rituparno Ghosh's 2003 Bengali film is adapted from Rabindranath Tagore's novel. Widowed young, Binodini moves in with her late husband's family and refuses to accept the life widowhood imposes on her. The axis is the consequence of that refusal. Binodini turns the relationships in the house to her own advantage; the narrative presents her as neither victim nor villain and holds desire and the search for power in the same place. Aishwarya Rai leads, with Raima Sen as the young wife. The film is set in Bengal at the start of the twentieth century, with the politics of the period before partition in the background. Ghosh gives weight to period design and interiors. Who it's for: those who like Indian literary adaptation and period drama. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a driven narrative; the film is long and takes place almost entirely indoors.