Kalpana Lajmi (1954–2018) was an Indian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, producer and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. Lajmi was an independent

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

working more on realistic, low-budget films, which are known in India as

parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

. Her films were often woman-oriented. She had been for a long time manager with

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 ...

. She was diagnosed with

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include spr ...

in 2017 and died on 23 September 2018 at the age of 64.

Biography

Kalpana Lajmi was the daughter of painter

Lalita Lajmi Lalita Lajmi (born ) is an Indian painter. She is a self-taught artist born into a family involved in the arts, and was very fond of classical dance even as a child. She is the sister of Hindi film director, producer, and actor Guru Dutt. In ...

and Navy Captain

Gopi Lajmi Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion ('' Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the ...

. She was niece of filmmaker

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indian ...

, debuted as an assistant director under the veteran film director

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

who was also her relative of the Padukone family. She later went on to work as an assistant costume designer in Shyam Benegal's '' Bhumika: The Role''. She made her directorial début with the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''D.G. Movie Pioneer'' in 1978 and went on to direct more documentaries like ''A Work Study in Tea Plucking'' (1979) and ''Along the Brahmaputra'' (1981). She debuted as a feature film director in 1986 with ''Ek Pal'' (A Moment), starring

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

and Farooq Sheikh. She produced the film, took part in the film writing and had written the screenplay for the film along with

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

. She then took a break from directing movies and went to direct her first television serial ''Lohit Kinare'' (1988) starring

Tanvi Azmi Tanvi Azmi is an Indian film and television actress. Early life and career She was born to Marathi-Hindi actress Usha Kiran and Manohar Kher. Azmi portrayed a troubled doctor in the tele-series, ''Jeevanrekha'' and as a young widow in telefil ...

. She made her comeback to cinema in 1993 with the critically acclaimed ''

Rudaali ''Rudaali'' (pronounced "roo-dah-lee"; ) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Kalpana Lajmi, written by Lajmi and Gulzar and based on a 1979 short story of the same name by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi. Set in a small villag ...

'' starring

Dimple Kapadia Dimple Kapadia (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father ...

. Kapadia won the

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 performance and Lajmi also won accolades for directing the film. Her next film was '' Darmiyaan: In Between'' (1997) which was directed and produced by her. The movie starred

Kirron Kher Kirron Anupam Kher (also Kiran ''Indian Express'', 12 May 2002. or, Kiron born 14 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian politician; theatre, film and television actress; television personality; singer; entertainment producer; and a member of t ...

and

Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

in pivotal & influential roles. Her next film in 2001 was '' Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence''. The film was distributed by the

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...

and was acclaimed by critics. It was the second time that an actress won the

under Lajmi's directorial hand. This time it was

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 ...

, who was not as appreciated before, and Lajmi was credited as being the one to explore the hidden talent in her. Her next film, ''Kyon?'' (2003) was unnoticed, while her last release and her last film was ''

Chingaari ''Chingaari'' ( hi, चिंगारि; en, Spark) is a 2006 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Kalpana Lajmi. The film is based on the novel, ''The Prostitute and the Postman'' by Bhupen Hazarika. This was the fourth to star Mithun Chakrab ...

'' in 2006 that starred

Sushmita Sen Sushmita Sen (born 19 November 1975) is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe 1994 pageant. She is the first Indian to win the Miss Universe pageant. She was previously crowned Femina Miss India 1994 at the age of 18. A ...

as a village prostitute. Chingaari turned out - to be a commercial box-office flop.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Rediff interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lajmi, Kalpana 1954 births 2018 deaths Indian women film directors 20th-century Indian film directors Indian women screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Hindi screenwriters 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Screenwriters from Kolkata Film directors from Kolkata 21st-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian women film producers Film producers from Kolkata Hindi film producers Women artists from West Bengal Businesswomen from West Bengal 20th-century Indian businesswomen 20th-century Indian businesspeople 21st-century Indian businesswomen 21st-century Indian businesspeople Deaths from kidney cancer Deaths from cancer in India