'Goynar Baksho' - Story of love, life, desire and despair

 

Goynar Baksho is a visual depiction of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s work that explores the three generations of women and their changing position in society that been shown in relation to a box of jewels. ‘Paromitar Ek Din’, ‘The Japanese Wife’, ‘Iti Mrinalini’, ‘Arshi Nagar’, ‘Goynar Baksho’ – director Aparna Sen owns it every time when it comes to her craft. Set in the late 1940s, the plot of the film has a haunting ghost, a shy housewife who later turned into a confident entrepreneur, a meek husband, a historic revolution, an almost affair and one young love-story – the film has it all.

Goynar Baksho is no ordinary, spine-chilling horror ghost movie. The story is intense but told with care. It is a strong, emotional feministic story with a tinge of funny. It is a story of three strong women of different generations told by another strong woman. The film kickstarts with the central character, Rashmoni (played by Moushumi Mukherjee) aka Pishima, who is a true rebel. She has been a child widow and though she was not educated but her quick wit and smartness made her cling on to the box of her wedding jewels that she received from her parents in the form of her dowry. She lived with her brother’s family in the ancestral home and guards the box of jewels with her life from the greedy family members, who were waiting for her to die so that they can get hands on the box. Rashmoni aka pishima’s character is a beautiful, strong, young woman who has been wronged by society. The society had forced her 11-year-old self to chop off her hair, wear white saris and stay away from women since she was a widow, who was not even at fault that her husband died. Actress Mousumi Mukherjee’s portrayal of a foul-mouthed, fuming in anger and vengeance Pishima is unparalleled and gives us a sneak peek into the life of the suppressed women in the early 20s.

Post her death, Pishima didn’t fail to protect the jewel. Deprivation, widowhood, unfulfilled dreams and desires, nothing had been able to dampen her spirits.  She bullies her newly married nephew’s wife, Somlata, played by Konkona Sen Sharma. Konkana’s depiction of a timid, shy yet courageous housewife has been beautifully highlighted. Somlata is the ‘hero’ of the movie, who uses some of pishima’s jewels to start a business and later becomes an entrepreneur. Pishima becomes her life coach, with whom she shares everything and even seeks advice. Somlata’s daughter, Chaitali played by Srabanti Chatterjee, shows a modern-day Bengali woman of the 50s, who goes to college, drives and even takes interest into politics. The final part of the film approaches the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War when Pishima’s jewels are donated to help the Mukta Bahini rebels.

Throughout the film, the three women were seen becoming more independent and more fearless with time and the journey of the jewellery box was a metaphor for the changing position of women in the Indian society. Watching Goynar Baksho is like watching a beautifully shot, hilarious folktale. The cinematography and colourful visuals are extraordinary, with an incredible cast that will definitely take you to the 1950s. The first half of the film will keep you hooked on but it felt like Sen lost control over the script in the second half. Post interval, the film was rushing and at the end. Overall, the storytelling, art direction, background score, acting everything was spot on. Actress Moushumi Chatterjee delivers one of the greatest performances with nothing but sheer brilliance in every scene along with unbeatable comic timing. Konkana Sen Sharma nails the character of a shy housewife turned entrepreneur with a secret lover. Supporting cast of Saswata Chatterjee, Aparajita Adhya, Piyush Ganguly and even a small part of a secret lover played by Kaushik Sen was beautifully done.

To sum it up, Goynar Baksho is an underrated must-watch that beautifully shows the forgotten Bengal. Not the best, but definitely one of the best directorial of Aparna Sen.