Paromitar Ek Din (House of Memories) [2000]

Aparna Sen was a successful Bengali film actress, and has transitioned as one of the most respected directors of India. Though not very prolific in her output, she has made up with sheer quality, with Paromitar Ek Din ranking as one of her finest directorial efforts. The movie opens with Paromita attending the final services of her former mother-in-law Sanaka, and as memories start filling her mind, elaborate flashbacks are used to reveal her marriage into the family, the slow disintegration of her marriage, and the simultaneous burgeoning bond with the severely lonely Sanaka, over a period of 14 long years. Observant, sensitive, nuanced and profoundly affecting, the movie has managed to capture the various layers that define human relationships – one’s inherent loneliness, fleeting moments of platonic friendship, and the numerous moments of heartbreak that lie in between. Brilliant, devastating performances by Rituparna Sengupta as the serious and reserved Paromita, actor-director Aparna Sen as the Paan (betel leaf)-chewing Sanaka, and Ray favourite Soumitra Chatterjee, as Sanaka’s quietly melancholic childhood friend, and the terrific, elegant cinematography which has managed to capture the distinct flavour of North (old) Calcutta even though nearly the entire movie occurs inside the family’s ancestral home, played their parts in making this an exquisite human drama.





Director: Aparna Sen
Genre: Drama/Family Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India