Parineeta (1953)

In early twentieth-century Calcutta, the orphan Lalita lives with her kindly but debt-ridden uncle next door to the house of a rich, grasping landlord whose son Shekhar has been her companion since childhood. Their bond deepens quietly into love, and one evening a garland exchanged half in play takes on a meaning neither can forget. But Shekhar's father has designs on the uncle's house, a generous newcomer takes an interest in Lalita, and silence and pride drive the two apart. Bimal Roy's adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 novella is restrained and finely observed. Meena Kumari won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and Bimal Roy for Best Director. The story was filmed again in 2005 with Vidya Balan and Saif Ali Khan.