Considering that Rituparno Ghosh has just won a National award for the Best Hindi Film starring Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan, it is ironical that his latest loses something vital in its use of Bollywood actors. In Antarmahal, his back-to-the-late-19th century tale of rural Bengal, zamindars, absolute power, and a decaying moral universe with a superficial resemblance to Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, the most authentic performance comes from the made-in-Bengal Rupa Ganguly.

Bhubhaneshwar Chowdhary (Jackie Shroff) is the master of all he surveys. He treats his vassals and his wives equally with a mix of whimsy and tyranny. Wife No. One, Bodo Bohu (Ganguly), after many years of marriage has failed to give him a son and heir, so he takes on Chottu Bohu (Soha Ali Khan), subjects her to daily sexual subjugation with a lustful pundit looking on. His sights set on another objective, a Rai Bahadur title, which prompts him to hire a dirt-poor young sculptor from Bihar (Abhishek Bachchan) to fashion a Durga idol with Queen Victoria's face. When the local priests find out, all hell breaks loose.

Ghosh's strengths-the portrayal of complicated relationships between people who make up a large household, period or modern, in wonderful settings-are muted in this one because the lead actors, except for Ganguly, aren't a perfect match for their characters. They look just right, but their edges poke out of the mosaic.

Jackie's flourishes as the decadent zamindar remain, barring a couple of contemplative scenes, on the surface. Khan, apart from being killingly kohl-laden, isn't actor enough for her role, which requires her to be meek and submissive. Bachchan, who had begun using a quiet intensity to some effect at the time Antarmahal was being made (post-Yuva and pre-Naach) and who doesn't have much to do other than have soulful flashbacks of his pregnant wife when he is fashioning the idol's nether parts, is sadly underutilised. Ganguly is superb, though, and makes the movie worth your while.