Chokher Bali actress Paromita Chatterjee: Tagore wrote about women with great sensitivity and depth

Durga Puja is around the corner. Zee Theatre has been celebrating the unfettered power of sisterhood and femininity in its ongoing Shakti Mahotsav. Among the specially curated stories from West Bengal and the Northeast, is the much-loved feminist teleplay, Chokher Bali. Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, it is adapted from Rabindranath Tagore’s novel.

Actress Paromita Chatterjee, who stars in the teleplay, says, “Tagore depicted fierce feminine characters as early as the 1900s and etched them with great sensitivity and depth. His multi-layered protagonists embody the meaning of Shakti in all its nuances and it was a challenge to play one such character.” The play also stars Parno Mittra, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Vijay Verma, and Chitrangada.

According to Paromitaa, Chokher Bali is a bold attempt to discuss sensitive issues like child marriage, widow remarriage, and female sexuality. She says, “It explores love, trust, betrayal, mistrust, adultery, and manipulation and is one of the earliest and finest examples of a woman-centric, complex narrative. The central character of the young widow Binodini who comes to live in Kolkata with an old woman and her son, Mahendra, may appear to be simple but Tagore, slowly reveals different shades of her character and shows us her fallibility, her vulnerability, and also her strength.”

Binodini befriends Mahendra’s wife Ashalata and soon complications erupt. The arrival of Mahendra’s best friend Bihari creates even more tension. Paromita says, “The story reveals something new about each character at every turn in the novel.”

Shakti Mahotsav with its special theatrical offerings will culminate around Durga Puja.