Lajja (film)
| Lajja | |
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 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Produced by | Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Written by | Ranjit Kapoor Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Starring | Manisha Koirala Jackie Shroff Anil Kapoor Mahima Chaudhry Madhuri Dixit Rekha Samir Soni Ajay Devgn |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja Anu Malik |
| Cinematography | Madhu Ambat |
| Editing by | V. N. Mayekar |
| Distributed by | Santoshi Productions |
| Release date(s) | September 19, 2001 |
| Running time | 165 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Lajja is a 2001 Hindi film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is based on the plight of women in India. The movie recounts the story of four women, and stars some of the best known names in Hindi cinema, including Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Manisha Koirala, Mahima Chaudhry, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Samir Soni and Ajay Devgan. Urmila Matondkar and Sonali Bendre perform item numbers.[1]
The movie satirizes the honor with which women are placed in society and the restrictions on them. The fact that the four women's names (Maithali, Janaki, Ramdulhari, and Vaidehi) are all versions of Sita, the ideal Hindu woman's name, is a message in itself. Manisha Koirala is the protagonist of this film.
The film was a flop at the box office in India[2] but was a commercial success outside India.[3]
Rekha and Madhuri Dixit were nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award,[4] while Madhuri Dixit won the Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female for her performance.
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[edit] Plot
Vaidehi lives with her husband Raghu. On the outside, she lives a sophisticated life, but behind closed doors, her husband is abusive and has extramarital affairs. When she takes a stand for herself, she is banished from the household. She goes back to her parents' house in but they too reject her. Vaidehi soon finds out that she is pregnant.
Raghu gets into a car accident, which results in him being unable to father a child. When he discovers that Vaidehi is pregnant, he calls her, faking remorse, and asks for her to return. Vaidehi agrees, thinking Raghu has amended himself. Raghu and his father plot for the child to become their heir and if Vaidehi intervenes, she will be killed. Meanwhile,Vaidehi is informed by a friend about Raghu's true intentions, and so,she escapes from his henchmen. She is helped by Raju, a petty, but, kindhearted thief. He hears Vaidehi's story and gives her money from his heist to help. To hide from Raghu and his henchmen, Vaidehi gatecrashes a wedding procession.
At the wedding, she meets Maithili, a bride-to-be from a middle-class family. Maithili is marrying a man who hails from a rich background. The two women witness Maithili's father being hassled by demands for an opulent wedding,which he cannot afford, and is forced to pay dowry. Vaidehi tries to convince Raju to give his money from the heist. He initially refuses but changing his mind, he returns to give his heist money to Vaidehi. The groom's friend attempts rape on Mythili. Having tolerated enough, she degrades the groom's family and they flee from the wedding.
Meanwhile, Vaidehi is found by Raghu, and forced into going with him. On the way, they encounter a protest mob. Raghu gets out of the car, which gives Vaidehi the chance to escape. She arrives in Haripur, a small town, where she meets Janki, a theatre actress in love with her colleague. Janki is pregnant, but not married. She doesn't care for society's norms. She is lusted after by the theatre director, Puroshottam, an older man who keeps his wife, Lata, confined to their house. Puroshottam talks against janaki to her lover, which creates a rift between them. Janki is outraged messes up a scene, during a performance of the Ramayan. This leads to an outcry from the audience, and she is assaulted by the audience, leading her to have a miscarriage. Vaidehi confronts Puroshottam, who threatens to call her husband. However, Lata intervenes and takes Vaidehi to the station and puts her on a train.
The train is robbed by bandits but the passengers are saved by Bhulva, a local dacoit. Vaidehi faints at the sight of blood, and Bulwa takes her to the local midwife, Ramdulaari. Ramdulaari bravely opposes the village leaders Virendra and Gajendra who exploit innocent women, young and old. When her educated son, who is trying to educate the villagers against the wishes of virendra and gajendra, falls in love with Gajendra's daughter, all hell breaks loose. Gajendra, slyly, locks Ramdulaari in her house and sets out to find her son. When her son runs away with Sushma, Virendra and Gajendra, along with their goons, rape Ramdulaari and burn her alive. In a fit of rage, Bhulva and his goons, kill virendra and his goons. Vaidehi escapes with Sushma and Ramdulaari's son.
Gajendra is making a move into politics, so when he is applauded by the local authorities, Vaidehi intervenes and exposes Gajendra as a rapist and fraud through a heart-wrenching speech, which drives all the woman in the audience to assault Gajendra, who is later killed by Bhulva. the speech changes Raghu's attitude towards Vaidehi and he decides to mend his ways. The two return to New York as a proper married couple. Vaidehi gives birth to a daughter who is named Ramdulaari. She meets Raju again, who is now a taxi driver and married to Maithili. She invites him to a charity dance show with Janki in the main role, wherein, all the money from her shows goes to fund women's organizations in India.
[edit] Cast
- Manisha Koirala as Vaidehi (main character of this film)
- Samir Soni as Manish
- Jackie Shroff as Raghuveer
- Anil Kapoor as Raju
- Mahima Chaudhary as Maithali
- Madhuri Dixit as Janki
- Rekha as Ramdulaari
- Ajay Devgn as Bulwa
- Beena Banerjee as Vaidehi's mother
- Suresh Oberoi as (Raghuveer's father)
- Johnny Lever as Fakhruddin (Raghuveer's stooge)
- Razak Khan as Francis (Raghuveer's stooge)
- Anjan Srivastav as Nekchand (Maithili's father)
- Farida Jalal as Saroj (Maithili's mother)super
- Sonali Bendre as Dancer (Special Appearance) - "Mujhe Saajan Ke Ghar Jaana Hai"
- Tinu Anand as Purshotam
- Jaya Bhattacharya as Lata
- Danny Denzongpa as Gajendra
- Gulshan Grover as Virender
- Aarti Chhabria as Sushma (Gajendra's daughter)
- Sharman Joshi as Prakash (Ramdulaari's son)
- Asrani as Gulab Chand
- Dina Pathak as Bua
- Govind Namdeo as Hazarilal
- Jagdeep as Bansidhar Chakkiwala
- Ritu Shivpuri as Anita
- Rohini Hattangadi as Mrs. Hazarilal
- Sangmesh Biradar as Don
- Urmila Matondkar as Dancer (Special Appearance)- "Aahiye Aajaiye"
- Viju Khote as Damodar
[edit] Music
The background score for the movie was done by Illayaraja and the songs were mainly composed by Anu Malik. Lyrics of all songs were also written by Sameer, except of "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar" which were written by Prasoon Joshi. This song was also composed by Illayaraja and was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The songs featured in the movie are as below.
- "Aa Hi Jaiye" (Singer: Anuradha Sriram)
- "Badi Mushkil" (Singer: Alka Yagnik)
- "Jiyo Jiyo" (Singer: K. K.)
- "Kaliyug Ki Sita" (Singer: Anuradha Paudwal)
- "Kaliyug Ki Sita - II" (Singer: Shubha Mudgal)
- "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar" (Singer: Lata Mangeshkar)
- "Saajan Ke Ghar Jana Hai" (Singers: Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam, Richa Sharma)
[edit] Reviews
The film received mixed reviews however the performances from the lead actors were highly praised.[5][6]
Bollywood Hungama gave a rating of two and half out of five stars and said "On the whole, Lajja is a purposeful film within commercial parameters and the best part is that the Indian masses will be able to identify with the goings-on. An enviable star cast, a talented director and an excellent second half are amongst its strong points."[7] The Hindu stated "Unfortunately, this colourful film is a black-and-white disappointment, particularly in the second half when Santoshi loses track of his story and in a blatant bid to get the tax-free certificate brings in bits about computer education, female literacy and infanticide.".[8] The BBC gave a positive review saying "The film is well directed, excellent songs, although they should have had more realistic fights."[9]
[edit] Box office
Lajja failed commercially at the box office in India. However it tasted success overseas. It ranked 14th on the British box-office chart, according to the International Movie Database.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Lajja at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Box Office 2001". Boxofficeindia.com. http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=207&catName=MjAwMQ==. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ a b Arthur J Pais (8 September 2001). "Lajja's a hit overseas". Rediff. http://www.rediff.com/movies/2001/sep/08raj.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ "Lajja: Awards and Nominations". Bollywood Hungama. http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/awards/6794/index.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ "Film Review - Lajja". Planet Bollywood. http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Lajja/. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ Bariana, Sanjeev Singh (2001-09-02). "Rekha, Madhuri, Manisha all the way". The Tribune. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010902/cth2.htm#5. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
- ^ Adarsh, Taran (29 August 2001). "Lajja: Movie Review". Bollywood Hungama. http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/6794/index.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ "Film Review: Lajja". The Hindu. 7 September 2001. http://hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/09/07/stories/09070223.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ Virdee, Jay (30 August 2001). "Lajja reviewed". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/entertainment/movies/2001_09/14/lajja_review.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
[edit] External links
- Lajja at the Internet Movie Database
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