''Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence'' is a 2001

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Kalpana Lajmi Kalpana Lajmi (1954–2018) was an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Lajmi was an independent filmmaker working more on realistic, low-budget films, which are known in India as parallel cinema. Her films were often woman-oriented. ...

released on 4 May 2001. The lead actress,

Raveena Tandon Raveena Tandon (born 26 October 1972) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. The daughter of director Ravi Tandon, she made her acting debut in the 1991 action film ''Patthar Ke Phool'', which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face of ...

, won the distinguished

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wit ...

for her role as Durga Saikia. The film follows the story of a battered wife. The film was distributed by the Indian Government. It marked the debut of bollywood singer Shaan, son of singer and composer Late

Manas Mukherjee ''Manas Mukherjee'' (also known as ''Manas Mukharji''; 9 September 1943 — 16 October 1986) was an Indian composer who composed several albums in Hindi. He was the son of Jahar Mukherjee, a Thumri singer, composer, lyricist and a film producer ...

and younger brother of pop singer and actress Dhorendra gouda as an actor.

Plot

The Saikia family are an extremely wealthy family in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. The two sons of the family are Sanjay (

Sayaji Shinde Sayaji Shinde (Marathi pronunciation: əjaːd͡ʒiː ʃin̪d̪eː born 13 January 1959) is an Indian actor who has acted in Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Bhojpuri films and several Marathi Plays. Sayaj ...

) and Sunil Saikia (

Sanjay Suri Sanjay Suri (born 6 April 1971) is an Indian actor and film producer of Hindi cinema. He made his debut in the film ''Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999)''. He went on to star in many supporting roles, but finally got his big break with ''Jhankaar Be ...

). The latter being the kinder of the two whilst the former is very hot-tempered and has occasional mood swings. The parents decide to get him married to Durga (

), a lower caste girl from a poor family, thinking she will be able to cope with Sanjay's temper. Sanjay initially refuses to marry Durga, but when his mother threatens to cut him off from the family will he relents. Thus, Durga marries Sanjay and looks forward to her new life. From day one, Durga is subjected to physical and mental harm by her husband. To add insult to injury, he spends their wedding night with a sex worker called Chameli. Durga continues to be tortured by her husband and after a drunken night he rapes her. Soon Durga is pregnant, but Sanjay is convinced the child is not his but Sunil's. Durga gives birth to a girl, named Deepa, but this only disappoints Sanjay and he shuns the child. Sanjay decides to get Deepa, now twelve years old, married to a much older man. When Durga protests, he viciously beats her. Durga's only companion Sunil is killed by Sanjay after he suspects that he and Durga were having an affair. Durga is devastated by Sunil's death and decides that enough is enough. She runs away with Deepa and decides to cut all ties with Sanjay. Sanjay files a police complaint but is unsuccessful in finding the two. Durga carries on with her life but it's not long before Sanjay finds the two. Eventually Durga kills her husband.

Cast

as Durga Saikia *

as Sanjay Saikia *

as Sunil Saikia *

Raima Sen Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma on 7 November 1979) is an Indian actress who is known for her work in the Hindi and Bengali films. Early life Raima Sen was born on 7 November 1979 in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Moon Moon Sen and Bharat Dev Varma a ...

as Deepa Saikia *

Nipon Goswami Nipon Goswami (3 September 1942 – 27 October 2022) was an Indian actor and theatre artist associated with Assamese language, Assamese-language films. He was one of the veteran actors of Assamese Film Industry. He started his acting career as ...

Bharti Jaffrey Bharti may refer to: Companies * Bharti Enterprises, a business conglomerate based in New Delhi, India ** Bharti Airtel, an Indian global telecommunications services company based in New Delhi, India People * Sunil Bharti Mittal (born 1957), Ind ...

Indra Bania Indra Bania ( as, ইন্দ্ৰ বনিয়া‎; 24 December 1942 – 25 March 2015) was an Indian theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director from Assam. His performance in Jahnu Barua's ''Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai ...

Moloya Goswami Moloya Goswami is an Indian actress who works in Assamese cinema. In the 39th National Film Awards 1992, she won the Best Actress award for her performance in the '' Firingoti''. Personal life Moloya married Pradip Goswami in 1981. The couple ...

* Shaan as Kaushik Nath

Music

#"Gum Sum Nisha Aayi (Female)" -

Kavita Krishnamurthy Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojp ...

#"Jai Bhagawathi" -

Jaspinder Narula Jaspinder Narula ( pa, ਜਸਪਿੰਦਰ ਨਰੂਲਾ; born 14 November 1970) is an Indian singer of playback, classical and Sufi music. She is known for her work in Hindi and Punjabi cinema. In 2021 she was selected by BJ Sam the Nige ...

#"Gum Sum Nisha Aayi" -

Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika () (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, filmmaker and politician from Assam, widely known as ''Sudha Kontho'' (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His ...

#"Hu Hu Pagal" -

#"Sun Sun Goriya Kya Bole Teraa Kangana" -

Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...

#"Sar Sar Hawa, Jisne Badan Chhua Hai" -

Hema Sardesai Hema Sardesai, also known as Hemaa Sardesai, is an Indian playback singer and lyricist. Hema hails from the coastal state of Goa, in India, and was born in Mumbai. She shot to fame in 1997 with songs from movies like '' Sapnay, Biwi No. 1'' and ...

#"Bahar Hi Bahar Hai, Fiza Me Bhi Khumar Hai" - Shaan,

Dominique Cerejo Dominique Cerejo is an Indian female playback singer best known for the song "Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein" from Rock On!!. She has sung in over thirty bollywood soundtrack albums. She is married to Clinton Cerejo, who also works in the Indian mus ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0273164 2001 films 2000s Hindi-language films Films shot in Assam Films shot in Mumbai Films featuring a Best Actress National Award-winning performance Films about women in India Films about domestic violence Non-Assamese-language films with Assamese connection Films scored by Bhupen Hazarika Films directed by Kalpana Lajmi