Bengali Movie Goynar Baksho 2013 12 Guide
Based on a short story by the legendary Bengali writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Goynar Baksho (translated as The Jewelry Box) is a magical realist dramedy that follows three generations of women in a conservative Bengali family.
The film brilliantly juxtaposes the 1960s, ’80s, and early 2000s, using the jewelry box as a metaphor for hidden female aspirations.
The story revolves around a centuries-old goynar baksho (jewellery box) passed down through generations of a Bengali aristocratic family. The box first belongs to Pishima (the eccentric aunt, played brilliantly by Moushumi Chatterjee), a feisty, outspoken woman who died young but refuses to leave the earthly realm.
When the box is inherited by the modern-day protagonist, Somlata (Konkona Sen Sharma), she discovers that Pishima’s ghost is still attached to her jewels. What follows is a unique relationship between a pragmatic young bride and a ghost from the past. Through Pishima’s commentary, we see the stark contrast between the repressed woman of the zamindar era and the relatively freer, yet still confined, woman of the 20th century.
Finally, the box passes to the third generation—Chaitali (Saswata Chatterjee’s character’s daughter), a rebellious young woman who sees the jewels not as sentimental heirlooms but as financial independence.
The interaction between these two actresses in the 2013 release was praised for its natural rhythm, feeling neither theatrical nor forced.
Somlata says a powerful line (around the 12th scene): "Ei baksho ta amar bou er adhikar. Stree dhone." ("This box is my wife's right. Women's wealth.")
In Bengali law (Streedhan), a woman’s jewelry is her absolute property. The film shows how men constantly try to reinterpret that law.
