''Kamli'' is a 2006

Telugu film Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

directed by K. N. T. Sastry. The film stars

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...

in the title role of a

Lambada Lambada () is a dance from State of Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as forró, salsa, merengue, m ...

girl. The film's lyrics were written by

Suddala Ashok Teja Suddala Ashok Teja (born Gurram Ashok Teja; 4 April 1954) is an Indian poet and lyricist known for his work in Telugu cinema and Telugu literature. He has written lyrics for over 2200 songs. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for th ...

. The film was showcased at the

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

in Korea and the Asian Film Festival in Mumbai.

Plot

Kamli tackles the issues of the sale of the girl child (rampant in the community) and the swapping of the male child, a practice fairly common in the urban areas—particularly in the hospitals. Kamli (

) is the focal point of the tale. She is forced to sell her firstborn girl. It is a well-known fact that the girl child is not welcome in most Indian communities and amongst the Lambadas she is considered an ill omen. The boys are wanted as they feed their parents. One gets a peek into her life, how she is married to Redya (

Shafi The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...

), her toil for a job, how she puts up with an alcoholic husband, how she faces the 'contractors' and other men folk who have lecherous designs on her and so on. When she delivers a male child, her infant is swapped and a girl child is placed instead. This incident forces her to fight for her son. The media's role (in the building of hype of Kamli's fight), her dharna and the subsequent outcome with some melodrama are portrayed in a stereotypical manner.

Cast

as Kamli *

Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet, playwright and director who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including some in Tamil and Hindi; while he was ...

as Badya *

as Redya *

L.B. Sriram L. B. Sriram (born Lanka Bhadradri Sri Ramachandra Moorthy; 30 May 1952) is an Indian actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, and thespian known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He made his feature film debut with '' Ko ...

as Police Constable *

Roopa Devi Roopa (Hindi: रूपा) is a female given name in many languages of India, which means "blessed with beauty". Roopa may refer to: Notable people named Roopa * D. Roopa, Indian police officer *Roopa (actress) (born 1960), South Indian actress. ...

as Ramli * Kota Shankar Rao as Supervisor * Y. K. Nageswara Rao as Supervisor *

Pavala Syamala Pavala Syamala is an Indian actress from Andhra Pradesh. She has been playing supporting roles in Telugu films since 1984. She made her debut as an actress with the film Babai Abbai. Personal life She was born in a Brahmin family. She lost h ...

as Ayah * Vijayalakshmi as Cobbler * Satyapriya as Doctor * Bharati as Tribal Neighbor * Lakshmi as Tribal Neighbor * Sudhakar as Security * Tadivelu as Tea Master * Ashalatha * Damodar * Srinivasa Rao * Kalachandra

Awards

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

Nandi Award for Best Actress The Nandi Award for Best Actress was commissioned in 1977. The winner is awarded a "Silver Nandi" and a cash award of 30,000. Most Awards were received by Vijayashanti and Jayasudha (4 awards each). List of winners of Nandi Awards for Best Act ...

Inspiration

Kamli was inspired by a

K.N.T. Sastry Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry (5 September 1945 – 13 September 2018) was an Indian film critic, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered six National Film Award ...

's award-winning documentary harvesting babies. Sastry wanted to make a feature film based on the documentary about the plight of tribal women selling their babies for a pittance. He contacted and wanted to film with

Soundarya K. S. Sowmya (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Telugu_cinema, Telugu films and has also worked in Kannada, Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam f ...

as the main female lead of Kamli, but she died in a helicopter crash, and the role went to

References

External links

*http://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/nov/24kamli.htm 2000s Telugu-language films 2006 films Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners {{2000s-Telugu-film-stub