Produced by AB Corp, ‘Antarmahal', starring Abhishek Bachchan, Soha Ali Khan and Jackie Shroff, takes you back to 19th century Bengal. It is a story about the corruption of power and sexual jealousy; a story about the lengths to which superstition and despair drives a man.
The film is based on Tarashankar Bandopadhyay's novel ‘Protima' about a zamindar's obsession with a male child and his two marriages towards that end. It has the younger wife ‘Chotobou' as the main protagonist, played by Soha Ali Khan, who goes through the whole gamut of oppression from child marriage to marital rape and then searches for sexual identity outside her marriage.
"For the first time I have done something which is not just relationships or not just interpersonal psychological transaction, but also has a firm social base to it and it captures history of colonial India in several layers," said Ghosh at the premiere show here.
Veteran actress Jaya Bachchan makes a comeback with her new-found role as producer, and is thrilled to produce the film with Vasu Bhagnani.
"I am happy that I produced the movie along with Vasu Bhagnani. It's good and I believe that more Hindi speaking film producers should come in and contribute in good films," said Jaya.
The binding story, scintillating sets, intense acting, and cinematography kept the audience glued to their seats.
"Soha Ali Khan was looking beautiful throughout the movie. She had a lot of resemblance to her mother Sharmila Tagore, like in those of Devi days. Sets were really nice and the end was really unexpected," said Avik Bhattacharya, a movie buff.
The film received rave reviews at the Locarno Film Festival and Jackie Shroff as the zamindar received wide accolade.
Rituparno Ghosh, who stepped into the world of films from the advertising world, is referred to as an heir to Satyajit Ray.