Binodini.....

Woman psychae is the most sought after subject for any intellegent film maker… yes sometimes the intellegent film maker is so captivated by his character that he looses himself to her. Or sometimes  in the character eludes the writer so much that the writer stops thinking logically and puts himself in the place of the character… there are lot of clauses there.

“CHOKER BALI”  is an adaptation from the book Choker Bali authored by Radindra Nath Tagore. I have read the book and so I know the book and the movie hardly share any similarities except the emotions of the character Binodini, Mahendra, Asha, Bihari and Mahendra’s Mother ( cant recall the character’s name..) Binodini’s role played by Aishwarya Rai is well done… or so may I say… all will not agree. She doesn’t get into the skin of the character because she is simply not Binodini. The Binodini I have read. She tries to hard, Tagore’s Binodini never tried. She was Binodini. Well, I am not writing a review so no point comparing the actors.

The author has shown a woman who is a widow, a friend, a companion, wife, daughter – in – law, a hostess, a girl, a woman… a seductress. She is Binodini.

When one reads the book or watches the movie they definitely once think, do all women have a Binodini in them? The answer is tough. Because all women aspire to be a Binodini. The poise, the grace, the beauty, the sensuality, the seduction, the dedication, the aspirations, the courage, the love, the zest for life… everything which Binodini possess hardly a woman could think of in the days when the book was written. Even in this fast moving world, a woman defintiely aspires but can hardly be one. Binodini is an actress, she plays a fool with everyone. She wants to achieve as she is scared to be a loser. She losses her husband after 1 year of her marriage. She is jealous so she has Mahendra and tries to have Bihari too. I am talking like a man… but hell no.. she is a creation which no man can resist.

I finally finished the book, and the ending left me quite in distaste. Although, after reading the book one cannot really expect a different sort of ending, but when a movie is an adaptation from a fantastic book already written and loved the expectations reach a different level altogether. There is a whole lot of psychology happening there… let me try and explain. I remember talking about this when Da Vinci Code was made into a movie and everybody thought that with Tom Hanks starring as Robert Langdon the movie would do wonders because thebook was meant to be a movie! Well, people had some hell loads of dejection from the movie! I think the only book that has transformed itself into a brilliant motion picture and has some resemblance to the characters and the plots of the book originally written is Lord Of the Ring.

There is a point in the movie when Binodini is ridiculed by Rajalakshmi (Mahendra's Mother) when the latter finds out about the ilicit relationship between binod and her Son.... she decides to take refuge in Behari's place. In despair, Binodini appeals to Behari, asking him to marry her or make her his mistress. Her status in society depends on being the possession of a man. Behari refuses, explaining that he cannot forgive her for her behaviour. Binodini decides to return to her country home. There she contemplates the options open to her - suicide or exile to Benares, and chooses Benares. Mahendra turns up at her doorstep and agrees to escort her to the holy city. He also agrees to a platonic relationship. 

Benares is a kind of revelation for Binodini, a melting pot of death, despair and lost hopes set against the canvas of eternity. From Mahendra's boat she spies on this new world through her binoculars. She also catches a glimpse of a visibly pregnant Ashalata. This shocks her into remorse. She decides to renounce Mahendra. At this crucial moment, Behari arrives at Benares bringing the news of Rajlakshmi's death with him. He realises Binodini's plight and asks her to marry him. Binodini agrees, but when the wedding day arrives, she is nowhere to be found. She leaves a note for Ashalata. In the note Binodini says that freedom is the final reality, the place where one belongs, the only thing that one can call one's own. She advises Ashalata to raise her child differently, open to the world and its influences, unlike her generation caged within four walls. 

This is how the movie ends. 

Choker Bali is hands down one of the most well written and well thought books I have read in the recent past. But it is sad to see the book being wasted into a movie. The way the great characters of Mahendra, Ashalata, Behari and Binodini have been butchered is not what the fans of Rituporno Ghosh were expecting of him.