''Antarmahal'' is a 2005 Indian Bengali film, directed by

Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...

, based on a short story by the name ''Pratima'' by the renowned Bengali author

Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay (23 July 1898 – 14 September 1971) was an Indian novelist who wrote in the Bengali language. He wrote 65 novels, 53-story-books, 12 plays, 4 essay-books, 4 autobiographies, 2 travel stories and composed several songs. ...

. It stars

Roopa Ganguly Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, playback singer and politician. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series '' Mahabharat''. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, s ...

Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan Pataudi Khemu (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and English films. She is the daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and t ...

and Jackie Shroff in lead, and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

, Sumanta Mukherjee and Biswajit Chakraborty in supporting roles.

Raima Sen Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma on 7 November 1979) is an Indian actress who is known for her work in the Hindi and Bengali films. Early life Raima Sen was born on 7 November 1979 in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Moon Moon Sen and Bharat Dev Varma ...

stars in a cameo role in the film. Shoojit Sarkar who assisted Rituparno as the first AD and Rituparno used to call him with a unique nickname Shooji.

Plot

The story takes place towards the end of the 19th century in Bengal. Bhubaneswar Chowdhury ( Jackie Shroff) is a rich and oppressive

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

(Landlord). He is planning to please the British so that they bestow on him the Raibahadur title. There are quite a few contenders and so something unique has to be done, so he decides to put Queen Victoria's face on the body of the Goddess Durga whose clay idol is made every year for

Durga Pooja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

. On the other hand, he also wants an heir and since he blames the failure on his elder wife Mahamaya (

) he marries again, the much younger Jashomati (

). Both these wives compete against each other in an ego struggle. In his pursuit for a son, Bhubaneswar rapes Jashomati every night while a priest reads hymns for conception near the bed, ordering Mahamaya, in a drugged state, to fulfill the carnal desires of five sexually deprived Brahmin priests. Although she luckily escapes the fate due to the untimely ending, Jashomati, while in her traumatised and lonely state, gets physically drawn towards a young sculptor (

). It's in this centre of all this that the sculptor makes his masterpiece, his tribute, and seals Jashomati's ultimate fate. the script is based on protima a masterpiece of Tarashankar bandopadhyay.

Cast

as Jashomoti * Jackie Shroff as Bhubaneswar Chowdhury *

as Mahamaya * Abhishek Bacchan as Brijbhushan

References

External links

* {{Rituparno Ghosh 2005 films Bengali-language Indian films Films directed by Rituparno Ghosh Films about landlords 2000s Bengali-language films