Saat Pake Bandha (2009)

Suchitra Sen gives a major performance in this marital melodrama. The independent Archana (Sen) tries to overcome her domineering and snobbish mother (Chhaya Devi) by marrying Sukhendu (Chatterjee), a serious university lecturer, but mother continues to interfere, reminding her son-in-law of his poverty. Suffering from divided loyalties, Archana’s problems are aggravated when her husband insists that she sever all ties with her parents. She separates from her husband and decides to complete her studies while living independently. When she finally accepts her wifely duties and returns home it is too late, as Sukhendu has resigned his job and gone abroad. Sen’s finely honed performance often undercuts the ideology her character is supposed to exemplify, evoking the possibility of a more egalitarian representation of women in Bengali cinema. Despite the conservatism of the story, issues of marital compatibility are extensively discussed without invoking conventional patriarchal moralism.