Mandi (1983 film)
| Mandi | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster for Mandi | |
| Directed by | Shyam Benegal |
| Screenplay by | Shyam Benegal |
| Story by | Ghulam Abbas |
| Starring | Shabana Azmi Naseeruddin Shah Kulbhushan Kharbanda Smita Patil Amrish Puri |
| Cinematography | Ashok Mehta |
| Music by | Vanraj Bhatia |
| Distributed by | Blaze Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 167 min |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Mandi (Hindi: मंडी, translation: Market Place) is a 1983 Urdu movie starring Shabana Azmi.
The film is a satirical comedy on politics and prostitution, and stars Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil. Based on a classic Urdu short story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, the film narrates the story of a brothel, situated in the heart of a city, an area that some politicians want for its prime locality.[1]
The film won the 1984 National Film Award for Best Art Direction for Nitish Roy.[2] It was selected at Indian Panorama at Filmostav, Bombay 1984, and was invited to the Los Angeles Exposition (FILMEX), the Hong Kong International Film Festival 1984, and London Film Festival 1983.[3]
Synopsis
For years an aging Rukmini Bai (Shabana Azmi) has been the Madame of a brothel in Hyderabad, India. One day she gets the news that she now has a new landlord in Mr. Gupta (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), whose daughter is to marry the mayor's son Sushil, shortly. Led by City Councillor, Shantidevi, the people in this town demand that this brothel be moved elsewhere, preferably on the outskirts of the town, and they do succeed, compelling Rukmini to move with her women to their new location, which happens to be near the Dargah of Baba Karak Shah. Ironically, this attracts a lot of people, and the patronage to Rukmini's bordello increases. Then complications set in when Sushil refuses to marry his father's choice, childlike Malti, and wants to marry Zeenat (Smita Patil) - a prostitute, not entirely by choice and seeking for a better existence, who resides with Rukmini.
Cast
- Shabana Azmi as Rukmini Bai
- Smita Patil as Zeenat
- Neena Gupta as Basanti
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Mr. Gupta
- Naseeruddin Shah as Tungrus
- Soni Razdan as Nadira
- Om Puri as Ramgopal
- Saeed Jaffrey as Mayor Agarwal
- Annu Kapoor as The Doctor
- Aditya Bhattacharya as Sushil
- Anita Kanwar as Parweena
- Sreela Majumdar as Phoolmani
- Satish Kaushik as Councillor
- Gita Siddharth as Shantidevi
- Pankaj Kapur as Shantidevi's assistant
- Harish Patel as Policeman
- Ratna Pathak Shah as Malti
- Amrish Puri as Darvish
- Bela Bose
- Ila Arun
- K. K. Raina
Soundtrack
All lyrics are written by Mir Taqi Mir, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Insha, Makhdoom Mohiuddin and Sarwar Danda.; all music is composed by Vanraj Bhatia
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chubbati Hai" | Asha Bhosle | |
| 2. | "Ishq Ke Shole" | Asha Bhosle | |
| 3. | "Shamsheer Bhari Na Maang Gazab" | Preeti Sagar | |
| 4. | "Zabaane Badalti Hain" | Asha Bhosle |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Nitish Roy | National Film Award for Best Art Direction | Won |
| 1984 | Shabana Azmi | Filmfare Award for Best Actress | Nominated |
| 1984 | Smita Patil | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
