Mohomaya To Tasher Ghawr: 5 Path-Breaking Women Leads In Bengali OTT

Bengali content, whether films or series, have always stood out for its major women-centric content and strong female leads. Characters like Aishwarya Rai’s Binodini in Chokher Bali, veteran actor Rakhee’s titular character in Parama, Aparna Sen’s character Bandana in Shwet Pathorer Thala, women in Satyajit Ray’s films, and Rituparna Sengupta’s character in Dohon, among several others have been iconic female leads that have set examples for strong female leads in the country.

With the OTT content on rise, there have been a flurry of several shades of strong female leads in the OTT platform as well. From Swastika Mukherjee to Ananya Chatterjee, here are five web series and films on Bengali OTT platform where women leads are breaking paths one character at a time.

Mohomaya

Starring two leading ladies of the Bengali film industry– Swastika Mukherjee and National award-winning actor Ananya Chatterjee, the Bengali psychological crime thriller series Mohomaya is streaming on Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi. The series has the two actors playing mothers, one deceased and the other initiating a motherlike bond with her son’s classmate. The series is a must-watch for the intense performances by the two actors and how they nail at sailing the ship for over two seasons.

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Paap

While actor Puja Banerjee, who has worked both in Bengali and Hindi film and television industries, has mostly been seen in roles of bahus or playing goddesses in mythological serials, she has played the protagonist in the murder thriller mystery web series Paap who is full of vengeance. The series revolves around Parboni (Banerjee) who returns to the Chowdhury household after several years with a dreaded secret. As she returns to seek vengeance from the family during Durga puja she unveils the atrocities, and abuses – both physical and sexual – she had faced throughout her time at the house.

Indu

Though Bengali content has more women-centric series and films for a long time now, popular detectives are mostly men, whether classics like Byomkesh Bakshi, Feluda, Eken Babu or modern like Gora. However, Indu (played by Ishaa Saha) is one of the first female detectives. Indu is a tale of finding secrets with Saha turning into Sherlock Holmes. This bonedi bari (massive old mansion belonging to families with zamindari pasts) holds complicated and dark secrets. Indu leaves no stone unturned in her quest to solve the mystery as murky family links, scandals, and strange murders swirl through her house's shadowy corridors.

Tasher Ghawr

The 2020 short film Tasher Ghawr starring Swastika Mukherjee released on the Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi. The film addresses the issue of domestic violence as a consequence of the Covid-19 lockdown and revolves around a woman in an unhappy marriage who finally decides to take control of her life. It only starred Mukherjee and was shot inside a house through and through. It won the Best Short (Narrative) Film Award at the New York Indian Film Festival.

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Hello!

Starring Raima Sen and Priyanka Sarkar in the lead, the Bengali series Hello! revolves around Nandita's life which is turned upside down when she discovers her husband Ananya's extramarital affair with Nina through a series of passionate MMS. Nandita realises that the MMS could potentially be directed at her as the mystery deepens.