''Goynar Baksho'' ( ''The Jewellery Box'') is a 2013

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 ...

Indian

horror comedy film Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...

directed by

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five F ...

. The film is based on a novel ''Goynar Baksho'' and a short story ''Rashmonir Sonadana'', both written by

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay ( bn, শীর্ষেন্দু মুখোপাধ্যায়; born 2 November 1935) is a Bengali author from India. He has written stories for both adults and children. He is known for creating the relativel ...

and published in '' Desh'' magazine. The film premiered in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

on 12 April 2013.

Plot

The film revolved around women of three generations and their lives and changing position in society. And this is shown in relation to a jewellery box. The lead character is the

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general E ...

of a

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Ben ...

family (

Moushumi Chatterjee Moushumi Chatterjee (born Indira Chattopadhyay) is an Indian actress who is recognised for her work in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. She was one of the highest paid actresses in Hindi films during the 1970s. She joined the Bharatiya Janata ...

) of

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, th ...

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

. She was married off in an arranged marriage at age 11, and widowed shortly thereafter. The story of the film revolves around her wedding

jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

, which she keeps sequestered in a box. After becoming a victim of

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...

during the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, her family moves to the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

, losing their ancestral lands in the process. She spends the remainder of her life, apparently as a chaste widow, hiding her wedding jewels from her greedy relatives in the joint family. In 1949, she befriends the new bride of the family, her niece-in-law (

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...

) shortly before dying. The niece-in-law is visited by the spirit of the matriarch, who demands that she hide the jewelry box from her greedy relatives. Over the years, the family descends into

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

, losing money in judicial proceedings over family property disputes, while the niece in law, regularly monitored by the spirit of the matriarch, keeps the jewels hidden. Eventually, the spirit of the matriarch allows the niece-in-law to

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

some of the jewels so that her husband (

Saswata Chatterjee Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majum ...

) can set up a business, over the objections of the family, selling

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

s . The prosperity of the business allows her to buy the jewels back, completing the hidden collection. The niece-in-law discovers that her husband is having an extramarital affair, and complains to the ghost of the matriarch. The ghost of the matriarch regales her with a story of a torrid sexual liaison that she had with a labourer when she was alive and young, and encourages the niece in law to take on a lover of her own. The niece-in-law at first falls in love with the secret lover but later she returns to her husband and gives birth to a girl. The ghost failing to succeed in her endeavor of uniting the niece in law and her lover abandons the niece in law and begins to visit her daughter, the ghost's grandniece instead. The final part of the film revolves around the daughter as she grows up (

Srabanti Chatterjee Srabanti Chatterjee is an Indian actress, former journalist at ABP News and anchor who appears in Bengali language films. Srabanti primarily works in cinema of West Bengal, based in Kolkata. Political career Chatterjee joined Bharatiya Janata ...

) and becomes a modern

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n woman; going to college,

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to fol ...

, and becoming involved in politics. The film approaches the year 1971, when the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

breaks out in

. Bengalis in

demand political, cultural and linguistic freedom from the intense and brutal oppression of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and rebel against

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

. The daughter's lover regularly crosses the border over to East Pakistan to aid the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

rebels in their struggle for freedom. The

1971 Bangladesh genocide The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali peopl ...

becomes a backdrop of the film, and one of the rebels is murdered by a Pakistani

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...

, following which the ghost of the matriarch advises the daughter to donate the jewels to the cause of the

Production

Aparna Sen thought to make this film in 1993. But, she was not getting the right production house to finance the film. That's why she had to delay the project so long. Sen told–

When I first read the book way back in 1993, I instantly decided to turn it into celluloid, but the delay was due to not getting the right production house to finance the film. Now finally it is happening.

Cast

as Rashmoni / Pishima *

as Somalata *

as Chaitali / Young Rashmoni *

as Chandan *

Paran Bandopadhyay Paran BandopadhyaySpelling according tTimes of IndiaanTelegraph, Calcutta We'll follow this spelling. (alternate spelling Paran BandyopadhyaySpelling according t/ref> or Paran BanerjeeAlternative of surname ''Bandopadhyay'', see Banerjee) is an ...

as Chandan's Father *

Aparajita Addya Aparajita was an able Shilahara ruler of north Konkan branch from 975 CE – 1010 CE. Chhadvaideva was followed by his nephew Aparajita, the son of Vajjada. Aparajita was an ambitious king. He sought to extend his sphere of influence by ...

as Chandan's Sister in Law *

Pijush Ganguly Pijush Ganguly (2 January 1965 – 25 October 2015) was a noted Bengali film, television and theater actor. In 2005 he received the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in ' ...

as Chandan's Elder Brother *

Manasi Sinha Manasi Sinha ( bn, মানসী সিনহা) is a Bengali film and television actress. She is the daughter of Manideepa Roy, a noted Bengali theatre actress.Age 98 Works Filmography Television * ''Checkmate (Indian TV series)'' ...

as Chandan's Mother *

Kaushik Sen Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor of film, television and theatre based in Kolkata. He is the director of the well-acclaimed theatre group Swapnasandhani. He has won the BFJA awards for best supporting actor for his perform ...

as Rafiq *

Koushik Roy Koushik Roy is an Indian television and film actor. Roy is best known for playing the lead antagonist, ''Krishnendu Sengupta'', in '' Bojhena Se Bojhena'' and main protagonist in ''Khorkuto''. He has also played the lead role in ''Onnyo Bwoso ...

as Banwarilal aka Benu/ Ram Khilawan *

Monu Mukhopadhyay Sourendra Mohan Mukherjee (1 March 1930 – 6 December 2020), known as Monu Mukhopadhyay, was an Indian actor who worked in Bengali language films and television serials. In 1958, he became a prompter. His first acting assignment was in the play ...

as Chandan's Paternal Uncle *

Sudipta Chakraborty Sudipta Chakraborty is an Indian actor who mostly works in Bengali cinema. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Bariwali''. She completed her school leaving examination from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort Willi ...

as Kamala *

Pradip Mukherjee Pradip Mukherjee, also known as Pradip Mukhopadhyay, (11 August 1946 – 29 August 2022) was an Indian actor and dramatist who primarily acted in Bengali movies. Although not famous for acting in mainstream movies, Pradip Mukherjee received cr ...

as Doctor * Rudraneel Das

Tracklist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''Goynar Baksho''
at

Disney+ Hotstar The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goynar Baksho Bengali-language Indian films 2010s Bengali-language films 2013 films Films based on short fiction Indian comedy horror films 2013 comedy horror films Films based on Indian novels Films based on works by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay Films directed by Aparna Sen 2013 comedy films Films scored by Debojyoti Mishra