'Choker Bali', the film, is adapted from Rabindranath Tagore's novel 'Binodini', where a beautiful, educated and vivacious young window Binodini forms the key character.

The story is set in the early 1900's against the backdrop of political resistance during the Bengal partition when the society is full of unrest. Binodini, the child widow played by Aishwarya Rai is out to wreak vengeance on the society, who she believes is responsible for her pitiful state of existence. She is with full of deceit and vileness inside her.

Binodini is from a poor family who doesn't have enough money to give dowry for her marriage. Her parents propose her marriage to two medical students Mahendra ( Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Bihari (Tota Raychaudhuri). Neither of them agrees to the proposal. Those days as it was a disgrace to keep an unmarried girl over 12 at home, she is married off to a poor sickly man who dies soon after. She is forced to lead the life of a widow and to face the ordeals.

Meanwhile Mahendra gets married to Ashalatha (Raima Sen) a naive but loving, illiterate girl from a humble background. After the initial bliss they are having a period of clamminess in their relationship. It is then that Binodini arrives at their home as a companion to Mahendra's rich, widowed, bossy mother Rajalakshmy (Lily Chakrabarti). Binodini uses her bewitching beauty to charm her way into everybody's lives in the household and makes calculated moves to cause conflict between them. Eventually Mahendra falls for her and the shocked but helpless Ashalatha leaves for her own home...

The film is a visual treat to the eyes. Shot mostly indoors inside a house with only one or two exceptions, the hues and shades of the relationships are cleverly depicted by excellent use of lighting. The director has looked into each and every minute detail and along with his art director Bibi Roy has depicted the era with perfection. But for the commoner the film may seem a bit too long and too overloaded with details. Background score by Debajyoti Mishra gels well with the mood of the film.

Aishwarya Rai looks beautiful as usual and she depicts a nymph like quality through out the film. Raima Sen is brilliant in her role and portrays her character in a sensitive manner. Lili Chakrabarti does her role well. Chaterjee as the westernized Mahendra is just okay.

The period film shot aesthetically may appeal to a select crowd of cinegoers.