Maya Memsaab (1993)

'Maya Memsaab' is cinematic adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's novel, "Madame Bovary". This poignant and tragic tale primarily revolves around the beautiful young Maya (Deepa Sahi), who has a mind full of dreams and a body full of desires. One day, her father falls down the stairs and breaks his leg. A young country doctor (Farooque Shaikh) comes to treat him. Love blossoms between the gentle doctor and Maya and they get married. Initially, the excitement of beginning a new life, of redecorating the house and discovering togetherness, gives her a feeling of euphoria. But gradually, the monotony of marriage starts setting in. The boredom of a small-town, middle-class existence starts becoming oppressive, and she finds escape in a series of extramarital affairs. At the same time, her craving for a more glamorous life leads her to the fantasies of romance and passion. She seeks refuge in the extravagant, hoping that possessing symbols of luxury will provide her some satisfaction, but it only leads her to duplicity, debt and despair. She becomes addicted to drink and, while attending a party with a male companion, she becomes excessively inebriated and some boys start touching her private parts; the male companion (SRK) saves her but, subsequently they end up spending an erotic night together Even her extramarital relationships, at first platonic, then passionate, end up as pathetically possessive, making her realize that adultery can become as banal as marriage. The more she gets disillusioned with reality, the further she slips into her fantasy world. And she keeps chasing her self-created mirages till her tragic, comic, heroic and magical end. The story is narrated in flashback as a reconstruction of the life of Maya. The film ends very tragically, when her house is auctioned and she appears to be engulfed by her fantasy life.