In honor of the centenary of Rabindranath Tagore's birth, Ray made not only the documentary, Rabindranath Tagore, but also this feature based on three Tagore stories. When the film was released in the West, the middle story, Monihara, was deleted for reasons of length, and Three Daughters was shown here as Two Daughters, until Monihara was acquired by the PFA Collection (though it has still not been reinstated in prints in general distribution).
The first story, The Postmaster, concerns a young man from Calcutta who lands a job in a remote village. He is looked after by an orphan girl, and his eventual departure causes an unexpected tragedy. Monihara (Bejewelled Obsession) is a chilling study of a childless woman's infatuation with jewelry, and her return after death to her frightened husband. The Conclusion (Samapti) is a comedy, a kind of Indian “Taming of the Shrew,” in which the village tomboy revolts against an arranged marriage on the night of her wedding.