baa.Diwaalii[previous knot in the 2004 Indian Film Festival in Atlanta thread]

That's (almost) how one would pronounce Bariwali. I wonder who came up with the counter-intuitive English spelling. That annoyance (manifested by even more incorrect pronunciation from the person who introduced the film -- with nothing much to say except a fragmented version of the blurbs in the handouts!) aside, my first look at the ouevre of Rituparno Ghosh held out remarkably well. The presence of Kiron Kher as Banolata, the "Lady of the House", had me getting uneasy. A lot of filmmakers have used actors and stars of another linguistic body of film. Several examples amount to these people bringing aboard their iconography and having their voices dubbed by speakers of the language in question (sometimes even famous actors -- like Revathi for Tabu in Kandukondain Kandukondain). People like Mani Rathnam have long used stars in special song appearances (Sonu Walia in Dalapathi, Mallaika Arora in Dil Se). But in Ghosh's film, Kiron Kher not only decides to turn in a poignant performance, but also dub for herself as well (please please correct me if I am wrong). The comparisons to Ray are generous, and Ghosh's patient unsentimental handling of the events that are triggered by the arrival of a film crew at the remarkable residence of a single "unlucky" woman merit the laurels. The colours, the framing and the subtle use of filmic devices were a joy. Great performances all across the board. Wonder if the aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (if I remember correctly) was mandated by creative or budgetary reasons ...