Bhairavi (1996)

Bhairavi is a 1996 Hindi drama directed by Aruna Raje, one of the few women directors working in mainstream-leaning Hindi cinema of her era and the maker of Rihaee. It stars Ashwini Bhave, with veteran theatre actor Manohar Singh and Sulabha Deshpande in key roles. Like Raje's other films, it is a woman-centred social drama that looks at family, power and the pressures placed on a woman's life rather than a song-and-dance entertainer. The strength of the film lies in its performances, particularly Manohar Singh, a stalwart of the National School of Drama tradition, and in Raje's interest in stories that mainstream cinema of the 1990s rarely told.