Film

The Bengali Night

Name: The Bengali Night
Genre: Drama
Released: 1988
Cast: Hugh Grant, Shabana Azmi, Supriya Pathak, John Hurt, Soumitra Chatterjee

A 1988 Anglo-Indian romance set in colonial Calcutta, where a British engineer and his boss's daughter fall into a doomed affair against the backdrop of India's independence movement. Languid, melancholic, beautifully shot. For anyone drawn to intimate period dramas about love caught between empires and social worlds.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like slow, costume-heavy period dramas where the mood of a colonial household matters more than plot, and you are happy to sit with a love story rooted in its place and class.

Skip it if you want brisk storytelling, since at over two and a half hours its unhurried pace and lingering interiors can feel like a lot of waiting around.

What it asks of you: Long, deliberate and quiet, at 153 minutes it gives its attention to glances and silences more than to events, so it rewards patience.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Bengali Night

The wildcard

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Tess1979

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The English Patient1996

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Charulata1964

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But The film is a gorgeous mess. The plot meanders, the politics are muddled, and it feels like it was edited while people were arguing about it.