This mesmerising tale of unrequited love reinforces our belief in eternal love

Feel-good films can singularly serve as mood-lifters when you’re feeling low. But there are those that can draw you in with a compelling narrative and evoke a range of emotions. Rituparno Ghosh’s National Award-winning Raincoat is one such film and is considered among the late legendary filmmaker’s seminal works. His vision is realised on the screen with much conviction by Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who play the central characters of Mannu and Neeru.

Set on a rainy day in a middle-income neighbourhood of Kolkata, two former lovers happen to meet. The circumstances, however, are less than ideal. Manoj or Mannu is unemployed and is visiting Kolkata from his hometown of Bhagalpur, hoping to cobble together funds to repay his debts. When all his efforts come to naught, in a desperate move, he shows up to meet a former lover, hoping that she would oblige. The exchange is a curious one and the old flames carve a narrative about their lives that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Unrequited love stories are often laced with layer of longing and multiple ‘what-ifs’ that can be heartbreaking if not insufferable. Delving into fragmented relationships to execute a post-mortem is never pleasant, after all. But Raincoat, inspired by O. Henry’s short story The Gift of the Magi, delivers the emotions in a restrained manner, almost deliberately ensuring the proceedings don’t get sappy at any point.

Shot in a record 16 days, with soul-stirring compositions of Debojyoti Mishra, the film paints a compelling picture of two lonely souls. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 2004 and Aishwarya Rai earned a nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards.

If you haven't watched Raincoat yet, you can stream it exclusively on HoiChoi.

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• Written by Sneha Singh