A Good Wife

Logline:
I am everything that challenges the identity of a Hindu-Marwari-married woman. While I return home to confront my parents about my impending divorce, they are consumed with finding the "perfect bride" for my brother. Amid these clashing journeys, my parents weave their ideal of a "good wife," hoping to reshape me into their vision of virtue.

Synopsis:
I am a Hindu, Marwari, married, and a filmmaker—identities that often collide. As I contemplate divorce, haunted by loneliness and consumed by work, my family blames me for the growing rift in my marriage. Meanwhile, in Kolkata, my devoutly religious mother is searching for a bride for my brother, Deepak. Seeing this as a chance to examine my family’s rigid ideals of a "virtuous wife," I travel from Noida to Kolkata to film.
My mother idolizes the controversial clan deity Rani Sati, celebrated for becoming a 'Sati' centuries ago, and blames my filmmaking career for disrupting my life. Ironically, she gambles obsessively in the stock market, losing more than she earns but refusing to question herself.
When a marriage broker introduces a prospective bride for Deepak, my mother’s harsh scrutiny lays bare society's suffocating expectations of women. Through this journey, I confront the tension between tradition, modernity, and the search for my own identity.

  • Anuradha Bansal
    Director
  • Anuradha Bansal
    Producer
  • Anuradha Bansal
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 32 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    71,831 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    English, Hindi
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Anuradha Bansal

Anuradha is an independent filmmaker based in Noida, with a focus on community, culture, and individual self-awareness. Her dissertation documentary, A Distant Song (2017, 24:23 min), received recognition and awards at national and international film festivals. Building on this project, she created an installation titled City Soundscape, exhibited at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, exploring the interplay of sound and image.
She directed and edited Magic Moments (2019, 8:01 min) for Akshardham Yuvati Mandal, New Delhi, and has since worked on several freelance and community video productions. In 2020, she curated Alternate Space, an online audiovisual exhibition showcasing the works of eight international contemporary artists at Gallery ONKAF, New Delhi.
Her short film, Chai pe Charcha (2022, 8:45 min), was featured in the Kochi Biennale satellite exhibit as part of the curation A Place at the Table. She also served as cinematographer and editor for A Long Walk Home (2023, 5:09 min), a top-10 finalist in the LICHFL Womentaries competition by Better India and LIC, focused on women empowerment.
Currently, Anuradha is in post-production on her feature-length non-fiction film, A Good Wife, a project seven years in the making. The film was pitched and mentored at the international platform DocEdge, Kolkata, and selected for the prestigious rough cut lab, Edit Camp.

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Director Statement

My name was changed on my marriage invitation under the guise of astrological reasoning—a tradition designed to erase a bride’s maiden identity. I resisted, refusing to even change my last name. This defiance, paired with my choice of an unconventional profession as a filmmaker, has made me an outlier in my Marwari community.
In a culture where divorce rates are among the lowest globally, a woman contemplating divorce—let alone one pursuing an audacious career—is often labeled as "worldly influenced." While the practice of Sati is abolished, the ideal of self-sacrifice remains deeply ingrained, placing the burden of marital adjustment squarely on women.
Through this film, I aim to question these traditions and explore the intersection of marriage, family, and identity. By confronting my own family’s beliefs, I hope to foster a deeper understanding and inspire women to reflect on how socio-religious norms shape their lives, empowering them to make decisions true to themselves.