The film opens with Somlata (Konkona Sen Sharma), a newlywed bride in a traditional, crumbling aristocratic household in contemporary Bengal. She is the conscientious wife of the younger son, trying to navigate the stifling atmosphere created by her thieving, miserly brother-in-law, Chinmoy (Saswata Chatterjee). The arrival of a mysterious old trunk—the goynar baksho —changes everything. Inside, Somlata finds not just jewelry but the restless ghost of its original owner, Pishima (Moushumi Chatterjee), the eccentric, foul-mouthed widow of the family’s long-dead patriarch.
Aparna Sen balances the whimsical elements of a ghost story with the gravity of historical shifts, ensuring the film never feels like a caricature. Bengali Movie Goynar Baksho 2013 12
Young audiences rediscover the film on OTT platforms like and YouTube (where it’s often uploaded in 12 parts, hence “Part 12” searches). The film opens with Somlata (Konkona Sen Sharma),
Set against the backdrop of the Partition of Bengal and the move from East to West Bengal, the film mocks the faded grandeur of the landed gentry. The men of the family are portrayed as idle and ineffective, obsessed with their "aristocratic" habits while their wealth disappears. It is the women—initially through greed and later through industry—who adapt to the changing political and economic landscape. Why It Stands Out Inside, Somlata finds not just jewelry but the
, played by Surangana Banerjee, whose life as a child widow is central to the backstory. Plot Summary