Rituparno Ghosh

Maharaja Arunangshu, the ruler of a princely state named Balabantpur, had made a wish list on his death bed in the presence of Dewan Chandrashekhar, the family physician Kaligati and the High Priest. It laid down certain conditions for his heir, his son Himangshu. The first of which forbade Himangshu from marrying a non Hindu girl, and the second demanded a legitimate heir within three years of his marriage. Bound by the conditions of succession, Himangshu is compelled to marry Alaka, an aspiring actress. A year and half into the marriage, Harinath, the young palace librarian disappears without any trace. This mystery occasions the arrival of the sleuth Byomkesh and his author friend Ajit to Balwantpur. The visit though is under the pretext of an invitation for a hunting expedition. The ensuing story revolves around his unveiling of the culprit behind the mystery of Balwantpur.

The film revolves around choreographer, Rudra who is performing Tagore`s, `Chitraganda`, a dance drama. He is in a homosexual relationship with Partho, a drummer. In order to fulfill their desire of having a baby, Rudra decides to opt for a sex reassignment surgery.

Binodini is a young widow who lives with a woman and her son, Mahendra, who had once refused to marry her. Their lives are thrown into disarray when there is deceit and adultery between Binodini, Mahendra, his wife and his friend. The book, Binodini, is the story of a young woman, who is left to her own devices when her sickly husband dies soon after they are married. She returns to her village and lives there for a couple of months until she sees one of her relations passing by there on her way to somewhere else. Binodini hails the woman and the two soon agree that it would be best if Binodini came to live with the woman and her son, Mahendra (who, by the way, was one of the first to see Binodini's photo when she was unwed and up for grabs yet refused her on account of his being "unready for marriage"). Now, when the two arrive the woman's son and his new bride are in the throes of passion, constantly sneaking off to be alone together; this infatuation does not last long, however, when Mahendra begins to see that his wife's friend, Binodini, is more his type. The story details the lives of these three and Mahendra's best friend as they deal with certain issues as distrust, adultery, lies, and numerous fallings-out between them. The movie correctly depicts what Tagore so skillfully wrote and is a sad, stirring tale of the deceit and sorrow that come from being unsatisfied and unhappy. —gavin (gunmasterM@hotmail.com) Mahendra is a doctor circa British rule in India, who lives a comfortable life in a city in Bengal (India). He is friendly with a young man, a bachelor named Behari. Both Mahendra and Behari are of marriage age, and do get a lot of proposals. One day they receive a proposal of a young woman named Binodini along with a photograph. Neither of them shows any interest nor even take a look at the photograph. They get news that Binodini has got married. Shortly thereafter, they receive another proposal without a photograph, for a young woman named Ashalata. Behari is asked to check her out for Mahendra - he ends up consenting to marry her, but subsequently let's Mahendra be the groom. A few months later Ashalata gets pregnant, and the family gets the news that Binodini has been widowed only after a year's marriage. Then things get complicated when Ashalata befriends Binodini - and both Mahendra and Behari get attracted to her - so much so that Mahendra is considering separating from his bride - and Behari separating from his bachelorhood - but both in quandary over the social taboo of marrying a widow - and of the present agitation aimed against the British to quit India. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Titli is a beautiful tale narrating the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Titli who is in her teens has a crush on Rohit Roy, the superstar of Bengali films. Titli`s mother tries to make her understand that the man is twice her age and hence unfit for marriage. The story unfolds itself to reveal that Titli`s mother and Rohit were lovers but parted ways. On hearing this Titli is shattered. She is consoled and brought back to reality by her mother. But Titli`s mother herself is still mesmerized by Rohit and is heart broken when she reads the news about Rohit`s marriage. However,tables have turned,Titli has overcome her crushes and is now the one who consoles her mother.