Aparna Sen's Mr And Mrs Iyer received good reviews when it was screened abroad at various film festivals, including Locarno, last year. In 2003, Sen was awarded the National Award for Best Director while her daughter and the film's heroine Konkana Sensharma won the Best Actress award.

This year, Rituparno Ghosh's Chokher Bali, featuring Aishwarya Rai, won applause at the Toronto and Locarno film festivals, but didn't do as well at home.

Both Bengali directors will make Hindi films next year. Sen has signed Ajay Devgan and Saif Ali Khan for Gulel. But Kareena Kapoor walked out of the project. Producer Pritish Nandy - an old associate of Rina, as Sen is known to her friends -- also pulled out as he found the script too 'arty.' Interestingly, Shabana Azmi will assist Sen on the film.

Ghosh's Hindi film, also starring Devgan, was to star Kareena in the female lead. But Chokher Bali Aishwarya Rai has now replaced Kareena.

Text: Ronjita Kulkarni

Aparna Sen makes a statement again
Of Ash and erotica in Chokher Bali
Aishwarya's screen presence and passion play