Review: Chokher Bali

Chokher Bali (Sand in the Eye) [2003]

Directed by: Rituparno Ghosh

*ing: Prosenjit Chatterjee
Tota Raychaudhuri
Aishwarya Rai
Raima Sen
Lily Chakrabarti

Rating: ****

We have witnessed innumerable attempts by filmmakers worldwide striving to bring the sensitivity and hard-ships of the widows of the pre-independence era, on screen. Though most of them do succeed to an extent, this premise still attracts many more. One such exemplary effort is Chokher Bali, a remake of Tagore’s novel and Satu Sen’s 1938 super-classic of the same name. Other than sympathy, mercy and revolution, this film succeeds in arousing much more.

Set between 1902 and 1905, Rituparno Ghosh illustrates Tagore’s characters beautifully in this dramatic tale of luscious deceptions and relationship manipulations.

We are straightaway introduced to Binodini (Aishwarya Rai) who is denied marriage by a high society Brahmin Doctor - Mahendra (Prosenjit Chatterjee) because he isn’t ready for it yet. She marries another man out of emergency who sadly, dies within a year. Widowed and slapped by fate, she starts living a dull, meaningless life in her village.

Meanwhile, its celebrations in Kolkata as Mahendra marries Ashalata (Raima Sen) who was supposed to be marrying Mahendra’s cousin Bihari (Tota Raychaudhuri) till Mahendra intervened. Bihari still stores feelings for his sister in-law but hides them for his family’s sake.

On the other hand Mahendra’s mother Rajlakshmi (Lily Chakrabarti) visits her village and gets Binodini along with her to her majestic then-Calcutta home as a maid and daily help.

It’s now on that relationships, love and faith spiral out of control into lust, deception and adultery. Binodini and Ashalata instantly bond to become best friends and fondly nickname each other “Chokher Bali”. While, Binodini being deprived of physical needs is easily smitten by the only two men she is close to at home, Mahendra and Bihari. Mahendra lusts for her equally but Bihari though fond of her has sweared celibacy. Mahendra and Binodini get involved in a whirlwind affair and eventually fall in love as Ashalata continues to blindly trust Binodini and her husband as well.

Finally as the secrets tumble out of the closet and circumstances arise, Binodini rushes to Bihari for forgiveness and acceptance. The rest of the film unfolds in the holy city of Kashi where decisions are made and truths are revealed. Binodini on the other hand remains irritatingly indecisive about her future, her needs and her intentions till the very end
Despite Binodini’s crafty antics and attempts at seducing men, she doesn’t come across as a clichéd negative character. This is the director’s forte and Tagore’s magic.

The great Rabindranath Tagore had exclaimed “I have always regretted the ending of Chokher Bali” on 24^th June, 1940. Personally, I think the climax is as perfect as they come.

Chokher Bali is a film about changing relationships and temptations. It proves that a person can be in love with more than one at a time. It’s also a saga of a widow who refuses to surrender to her cultural norms and society’s regulations. It is also a glimpse in to the rich Bengali culture and its pre-evolution era, where drinking tea by a widow was considered a sin

The only low-points of this mini-classic are its sloppy editing and the not so perfect dubbing that leaves much more to be desired. A film of this class deserves equal technical expertise.

Aishwarya Rai as the widow who breaks all the rules is brilliantly honest. Her bold and rebellious portrayal is effective to a great extent till she herself gets entangled in her previous helpless characters as in Taal and Devdas. She slightly struggles to balance the scale between a sympathy seeker and a nymphomaniac but succeeds for the most of it.

Prosenjit Chatterjee is competently contrived and displays the under-tones of a confused man with grace. Tota Raychaudhari and Lily Chakrabarti are picture perfect.

Its Raima Sen though who towers above all else as the dumb, lovely and innocent village dame. She is so immensely likeable that everything else doesn’t matter. Her dilemmas between choosing her best friend or her husband come across with precision and impact.

Chokher Bali is not a fun-filled potboiler but portrayal of Tagore’s wonderful literature on celluloid.
It is highly recommended cinema but strictly for the niche and discerning viewer. Step down “Closer”, “Chokher Bali” is here.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.