Devi

In rural Bengal during the 19th century, the widowed zamindar Kalikinkar Roy [Chhabi Biswas], a devout worshipper of Kali, presides over a spacious mansion filled with servants and rooms that echo with ritual. He shares the home with his son Taraprasad [Purnendu Mukherjee] and Taraprasad’s wife Harasundari [Karuna Banerjee], along with their son Khoka [Arpan Chowdhury], while Umaprasad [Soumitra Chatterjee], Kalikinkar’s other son, has gone to Calcutta to continue his schooling, where he even learns English. Umaprasad’s wife Doyamoyee [Sharmila Tagore] stays behind to help care for Khoka and to assist Kalikinkar in daily prayers and rituals. The family’s life is a blend of devotion, duty, and a mounting sense of reverence surrounding Doyamoyee’s presence.

Kalikinkar dreams of a vision where Kali’s eyes seem to merge with Doyamoyee’s, a sign he reads as a divine incarnation. He wakes Doyamoyee and falls to the floor in front of her out of reverence, while Taraprasad, following his father’s lead, also bows; Harasundari remains more skeptical. The family’s priest is summoned, and a ritual with smoke and bells unfolds. Doyamoyee faints, which Kalikinkar interprets as a trance, and upon waking she asks Harasundari to write to Umaprasad, signaling a widening sense of sacred events within the home.

Doyamoyee is moved to a more secluded part of the mansion and placed at the center of ongoing worship, becoming the focal point around which rituals circle. A local beggar brings his unconscious grandson to the estate, and Kalikinkar suggests giving the boy charanamrito—the water used to wash the goddess’s feet—to drink. Umaprasad arrives amid the preparations, shocked by what he witnesses, and privately argues with his father about the direction of their beliefs. Kalikinkar questions his son’s certainty briefly, but when the sick boy’s eyes open, he takes it as proof of Doyamoyee’s divinity.

That night, Umaprasad slips into Doyamoyee’s room and asks her to flee with him. They reach the riverbank where a boat waits, but Doyamoyee grows anxious and hesitates, wondering if she truly is a goddess. Afraid, she begs Umaprasad to take her home, and he reluctantly complies, returning to Calcutta alone.

News of the so‑called miracle spreads, and Doyamoyee’s following swells as supplicants travel from afar to pay homage. She remains calm and composed during ceremonies, yet the weight of isolation tightens around her, and even Khoka begins to avoid her presence.

Khoka then falls gravely ill with a high fever. Harasundari calls a doctor, who is uneasy about treating Khoka without Kalikinkar’s knowledge but agrees to return with medicine. Taraprasad informs Kalikinkar of the crisis, and Kalikinkar proposes a healing attempt: give Khoka charanamrito and have Doyamoyee hold him for the night, risking how others will view the act. Despite serious doubts from Harasundari and Doyamoyee, they proceed, but Khoka dies by morning.

When Umaprasad returns and finds his father weeping at Kali’s statue, he confronts him with anger, accusing the father of causing Khoka’s death through blind faith. He then learns that Doyamoyee is preparing to leave, dressed in wedding attire, as if to flee a future he cannot bear. She resolutely declares they must go, and, as mist swallows the landscape, she flees, with Umaprasad calling after her.

Last Updated: October 07, 2025 at 08:38