''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 h ...

and produced by

Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Amitabh Bachchan Corporation (formerly Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, ABCL), also known as AB Corp, is an Indian entertainment company founded by actor Amitabh Bachchan in 1995. The company was involved in event management, film producti ...

. The film is based on a Bengali short story named ''Pratima'' by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. Set in the late

19th century The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, ...

, the plot revolves around two women who are married to a vainglorious Bengali landlord who exploits them to obtain

social status Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. Such social value includes respect, honour, honor, assumed competence, and deference. On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members ...

. It stars

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...

, Roopa Ganguly, Soha Ali Khan,

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. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

, Mrinal Mukherjee, Sumanta Mukherjee and Biswajit Chakraborty. The film received widespread critical acclaim.

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

writes, "Rituparno Ghosh spins another sumptuous, yet intimate family story with Antarmahal: Views From The Inner Chamber, playing once morein the same register he successfully used two years ago for fellow Locarno competitor Chokher Bali."

Plot

The story takes place towards the end of the 19th century in Bengal. Bhubaneswar Chowdhury, a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

of Bakuldanga plans 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 Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's face on the body of the goddess

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

whose clay idol is made every year for Durga Pooja. On the other hand, he also wants an heir and since he blames the failure on his elder wife Mahamaya ( Roopa Ganguly) he marries again, the much younger Jashomati ( Soha Ali Khan). Both of 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 Bhubaneshwar Chowdhury, the landlord of Bakuldanga * Roopa Ganguly as Mahamaya, elder wife of Bhubaneshwar * Soha Ali Khan as Jashomoti, younger wife of Bhubaneshwar, voice dubbed by Rimjhim Mitra * Abhishek Bacchan as Brijbhushan * Mrinal Mukherjee as a Hindu priest *Sumanta Mukherjee as Taracharan, the estate manager of Bakuldanga * Biswajit Chakraborty as Bhattacharya Moshai, a Hindu priest * Ratna Ghoshal as Mangala, the chief maid-servant of Mahamaya *Dola Chakraborty as Tarini *Shibani Bhattacharya *Peter Taylor as the painter *Debesh Mukherjee as Pal Moshai *Arpan Bashar *Kameshwar Mishra as Hariya *

Raima Sen Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma) is an Indian actress and model, born into the royal family of Tripura to Bharat Dev Varma and Moon Moon Sen. Sen is known for her work in Hindi and Bengali films. Early life Raima Sen was born on 7 November ...

(Cameo) as Rukmini, Brijbhushan's wife

References

External links

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