''Bariwali'' (translation: ''The Landlady'', English-language title: ''The Lady of the House'') is a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film released in 2000 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 ...

. The film features

Kirron Kher Kirron Anupam Kher (also Kiran ''Indian Express'', 12 May 2002. or, Kiron born 14 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian politician; theatre, film and television actress; television personality; singer; entertainment producer; and a member of t ...

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 ...

, and

Chiranjeet Chakraborty Deepak Chakraborty (better known in film career as Chiranjeet Chakraborty; born 2 November 1955), is an Indian actor and director in the Bengali film industry located in Kolkata, West Bengal. He is also a politician and a Member of the Legisl ...

Synopsis

The film is a quiet drama about a lonely, sad, unfortunate middle-aged woman. Banalata (

Kiron Kher Kirron Anupam Kher (also Kiran ''Indian Express'', 12 May 2002. or, Kiron born 14 June 1952) is an Indian politician; theatre, film and television actress; television personality; singer; entertainment producer; and a member of the Bharatiya Ja ...

) who has lived a solitary existence since her husband-to-be died the night before their wedding from a snake bite. Never having quite gotten over the tragedy, she rarely ventures out and is clearly very lonely. This changes when she agrees to allow a film production unit to shoot in a wing in her sprawling estate. Suddenly her house is filled with movie stars and glamorous people, including the beautiful actress Sudeshna (Roopa Ganguly) and charming director Deepankar (

). Though she knows that not only is Deepankar married but that his former lover Sudeshna still holds a torch for him, the lonely woman finds herself drawn to the director. He is exactly the sort of worldly character whom she has always longed to meet. The rakish man flirts back and even persuades Banalata to appear in a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

in the movie. Yet once the film crew decamps, things at the estate return to the same grinding tedium as before, though the woman feels her isolation all the more acutely. The letters that Banalata writes to Deepankar go unanswered, and her bit part in the movie ends up on the cutting-room floor.

Cast

as Banalata, voice dubbed by

Rita Koiral Rita Koiral (or Rita Kayral; c.1959 – 19 November 2017) was an Indian Bengali actress, especially known for her television and film roles. She appeared in several soap opera roles, often as villains and often opposite Monami Ghosh. Direct ...

as Deepanakar, voice dubbed by

Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty is an Indian actor of theatre, films and television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the ...

as Sudeshna Mitra * Sudipta Chakraborty as Malati * Surya Chatterjee as Prasanna *

Abhishek Chatterjee Abhishek Chatterjee (30 April 1964 – 24 March 2022) was an Indian actor who was known for his work in Bengali cinema. He made his big screen debut alongside veterans such as Sandhya Roy, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Tapas Paul, and Utpal Dutt with ...

as Abhijeet *

Shiboprosad Mukherjee Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film '' Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. Th ...

as Debashish * Rukkmini Ghosh

Awards

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wit ...

for Kirron Kher * National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sudipta Chakraborty *

Netpac Award The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...

for

(tied with

Yuji Nakae is a Japanese film director who specializes in films set in Okinawa, featuring Okinawan music, language, themes and atmosphere. He shared the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his debut film, ''Pineapple Tours'', which was an om ...

for ''

Nabbie's Love is a 1999 film written and directed by Yuji Nakae about Nanako Agarikinjo (Naomi Nishida) returning to Aguni Island (Okinawa) to visit her grandmother, Nabbie Agarikinjo, played by Tomi Taira. The film score is by Kenichiro Isoda, with two t ...

'')

Controversy

, an Indian actress in the

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...

, in a 2017 TV show, claimed, she was asked to withhold to the media, the fact that she had dubbed the voice of actress

. Her contribution was not declared in the national awards nominations for the movie.

References

External links

*
Critical look at ''Bariwali'' - Sydney Film Festival
{{Rituparno Ghosh 2000 films Bengali-language Indian films Films featuring a Best Actress National Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress National Film Award-winning performance Films directed by Rituparno Ghosh 2000s Bengali-language films