Rajkahini is one of the best films ever made in this decade and rituparna sengupta, a national award winning actress in her debut film, has given a career best performance in it. In this film, she plays the madame, of a brothel house, with 12 prostitutes working under her,set in the times of 1947 partition of India. the line of partition passes through her brothel house and the problem begins. childhood best friends turned opposing party members in congress and muslim league, a royal family who has lost everything in communal riots migrating over to India, who realise that years of royal prestige and respect has become zero overnight, and a brothel madame who threatens to cut a line through anyone who even thinks of demolishing the brothel house, or rather as she says it, she would 'partition" anyone who thinks of partitioning her land. This hugely acclaimed film will soon be made in HINDI and the role of the brothel madame will be played by VIDYA BALAN.
I am sharing the plot spoilers from wiki.
Plot Spoilers ahead
Plot
In August 1947, the British passed a bill regarding the partition of Bengal. Delving into the grim history of the Partition, Srijit's movie Rajkahini is weaved around a border between the two nations that runs through a brothel housing eleven women. Bengal was broken up twice (1905, and then during Independence) - officially for demographic reasons and ease of administration - but actually, it was a strictly political move to curtail Bengal politics. The narrative follows the erection of the Radcliffe Line as the boundary between the newly formed nations of India and Pakistan. As both the Congress and the Muslim League battle it out in courtrooms as to which side of Bengal will get which territory, in another part of Bengal is a brothel, situated right in the middle of Debiganj and Haldibari districts, which is the home and the world to eleven women and two men. Begum Jaan (Rituparna) is the boss, while the other women work under her as prostitutes. ...
Meanwhile, the political sky is darkening. The Radcliffe Line passes between Debiganj and Haldibari, the former being placed in East Pakistan, and the latter remaining in India. Mr. Prafulla Sen (Saswata Chatterjee) from Congress and Mr. Ilias (Koushik Sen) from Muslim League (who were childhood friends but now separated) meet and discuss about the relocation of the people of the two districts. They discover that in its course, the boundary line has been drawn right through the middle of Begum Jaan's brothel. They meet Begum Jaan and tell her to evacuate her brothel along with her women, who refuses to budge. Meanwhile, the Nawab of Rangpur (Rajatava Dutta) was relocating with his family and followers to West Bengal, where he stayed at the brothel for a night. Begum Jaan complained to him about Mr. Sen and Mr. Ilias, to get them out of their respective parties. After visiting Delhi for the meeting of the rulers of the Princely States, he informed Begum that he is not an influential person anymore, and the Princely States were being integrated in the Indian Union, and the titles were being abolished. Begum decided to fight her own battle.
Exasperated at the futile attempts to evict Begum and her women from the house, Prafulla and Ilias turn to Kabir (Jisshu Sengupta), leader of a criminal gang, for help. Kabir and his gang commits all kinds of heinous crimes in these turbulent times of riots and violence. ...
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