RAJNIGANDHA
July 30, 2019 · 8:00 PM · The Royal Cinema
Co-presented with Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and co-sponsored by Pleasure Dome, SANGHUM, CINEMAS OF INDIA presents: Rajnigandha!
Basu Chatterjee’s Rajnigandha is a revelation in Hindi cinema, stepping away from the big-budget-angry-man narratives dominant in the 70s, towards a nuanced and realistic portrait of a young and urban middle class woman torn between two lovers.
Shot entirely on location, we sit alongside Deepa and her deepening frustration as she awaits for her boyfriend to return home from work. Later we feel the awkwardness and uncertainty of her desire as she reconnects with an old lover. In these moments, Deepa’s feelings of loneliness and unchecked independence reveal more than a confusion over two men, but a greater question of self and self-acceptance.
Featuring Vidya Sinha as Deepa, Rajnigandha is the first film in a six-part series focusing on portraits of women in Hindi Cinema!
Length: 110 min // 1 hr 50 min
Year of release: 1974
Director: Basu Chatterjee
Language: Hindi, English subtitles
Actors: Vidya Sinha, Amol Palekar, Dinesh Thakur
