''Paroma'' (English title: The Ultimate Woman) is a 1985 award-winning

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 ...

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 ...

feature film 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 Film ...

Plot

The movie is about a 40-year-old married woman, Paroma whose identity lies in the words like "bouma" (the daughter-in-law), "kaki maa" (paternal aunt) and "boudi" (brother's wife). Her well-settled, very normal and predictable life turns upside down when Rahul, an expatriate photo-journalist working for a magazine chooses her to pose for a photo essay, "An Indian Housewife". It begins with a simple question, "What do you think, Paroma?". Through Rahul, Paroma rediscovers herself. His photographs of her make her look glamorous. Their affair or rather her discovery of herself, becomes a problem when some of the photographs, earlier admired by the family, are published in a journal (the semi nude photographs that were published were never shown to the family, Rahul deceived her by publishing those photographs without her consent). Paroma is rejected by her husband and has a mental breakdown. She tries to commit suicide cutting her vein but she ends up hitting her head in the bathroom. She has to undergo a surgery for which she had to cut her hair. She is taken care of by a nurse appointed by her family members. Though the family members decides to forgive her she is reluctant to go back to her old life. In the end, a doctor suggests prescribing psychiatric treatment and the family is willing to accept her back, but Paroma adamantly refuses any sense of guilt, turning to her friend and asking her if she can help her find a job. In the end she finally recalls the name of the flower which throughout the movie she was not able to recall. The movie closes with Parama and her daughter on the bed looking out through the window as a breeze comes into the room.

Cast

Raakhee Raakhee Gulzar (born Rakhee Majumdar on 15 August 1947 and known as Raakhee) is an Indian actress who has appeared in many Hindi films and Bengali films as well. In four decades of acting, she has won three Filmfare Awards and one National Fil ...

as Paroma *

Anil Chatterjee Anil Chatterjee (Chattopadhyay) bn, অনিল চ্যাটার্জী (চট্টোপাধ্যায়) (25 October 1929 – 17 March 1996) was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-ni ...

* Deepankar Dey * Mukul Sharma as Rahul

Awards

1986 National Film Awards * Silver Lotus Award - Best Supporting Actor -

Deepankar De Dipankar Dey ( bn, দীপঙ্কর দে) (born 5 July 1944) is an Indian actor in the Bengali film industry. He has worked in many movies as hero, villain and character artist. He starred in Ray's '' Jana Aranya'' (''The Middleman'', ...

National film award for best feature film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of severa ...

References

External links

* 1984 films 1984 drama films Bengali-language Indian films Films set in Kolkata Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award-winning performance Films about women in India Films about adultery in India Indian feminist films Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners 1980s Bengali-language films Films directed by Aparna Sen {{1980s-Bengali-film-stub