''Zakhmi Aurat'' (English : Wounded Woman) is a 1988
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 ...
n
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
movie 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 ...
and
Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. He was the Pr ...
and directed by Avtar Bhogal. Kapadia played Kiran Dutt, a police officer who is subject to gang rape and, when the judicial system fails to convict the criminals, unites with other rape victims to
castrate the rapists in revenge. A financial success, the film opened to a polarised reaction from critics and further attracted wide coverage for its lengthy and brutal rape scene involving Kapadia.
Khalid Mohammed
Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the '' Hindustan Times'' and was the lead editor for ''Filmfare'' magazine. He is the son of Hindi film actress Zubeida B ...
of ''The Times of India'' noted Kapadia's "power packed performance" but criticised the rape sequence as "utter lasciviousness" and "vulgarity spattering through the screen". Feminist magazine ''
Manushi
''Manushi: A Journal about Women and Society'' is an Indian magazine devoted to feminism as well as to gender studies and activism. The magazine was founded in 1978 by Madhu Kishwar and Ruth Vanita
Ruth Vanita is an Indian academic, activis ...
'' panned its low cinematic quality, including the absurdity of the action scenes and the "ugly kind of titillation" in the rape scene, but believed it "stays closer to women's experience" than other films of its sort; the review was particularly approving of Kapadia's work: "What really carries the film through is Dimple Kapadia's performance—low key, moving and charming without being at all clinging or seductive. She brings a conviction to her role that is rare among Bombay heroines."
In later years, ''The Times of India'' labelled it a "B-grade movie" though it noted Kapadia's convincing portrayal of "anguish and bitterness at being denied justice".
M.L. Dhawan from ''The Tribune'', while documenting the famous Hindi films of 1988, praised Kapadia for "proving her mettle as an actress of intensity and passion." Subhash Jha, however, wrote in 2002 that its box-office outcome notwithstanding, ''Zakhmi Aurat'' "turned into quite an embarrassment for its leading lady".
Plot
The film is about women who have been
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
d and how they get revenge by
castrating
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceu ...
the rapists.
(This film is inspired by the 1986 X-rated thriller ''
The Ladies Club
''The Ladies Club'' is a 1986 American rape and revenge film, rape and revenge film directed by Janet Greek (under the pseudonym A.K. Allen) and starring Karen Austin, Diana Scarwid, Christine Belford, and Bruce Davison. It follows a Los Angeles p ...
'').
Kiran Dutt (Dimple Kapadia) is a woman police officer who is gang raped by six goons in gruesome fashion - her jeans and panty flung on the fan, her hands and legs spread wide apart and tied to bed posts, as testimony to the ghastly act taking place below.
In the film the victim's (Dimple) trust in the Indian judicial system is shattered when despite her testimony, her rapists walk free.
She decides to punish the rapists by forming a gang of wronged women and the modus operandi is to first identify the rapists, trap them and then castrate them one by one.
The film was generously sprinkled with explicit scenes falsifying the claim of the filmmaker of an anti-rape film. Watch what happens when she is taken to court.
Will she get justice? or will she be punished for the crimes she has committed??
Cast
*
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 ...
as Inspector Kiran Dutt
*
Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. He was the Pr ...
as Suraj Prakash
*
Anupam Kher as Advocate Mahendranath
*
Rama Vij
Rama Vij ( hi, रमा विज, pa, ਰਮਾ ਵਿਜ) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Punjabi movies and TV serials.
Career
Vij is a well known name in Pollywood (Punjabi Cinema in India) and Bollywood. Her debut movie w ...
as Dr. Asha Mehta
*
Aruna Irani
Aruna Irani (born 3 May 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She has won two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Act ...
as Salma
*
Beena Banerjee
Beena Banerjee (born 19 February 1943), also known as Beena or Bina, is an Indian actress in Bengali and Hindi films and television.
Biography
Beena Banerjee was born as Beena Batabyal on 19 February 1943, the daughter of film actor Pradeep ...
as Mrs. Mahendranath
*
Satyendra Kapoor
Satyendra Kappu (born Satyendra Sharma; also credited as Satyen Kappu; 7 February 1931 – 27 October 2007), was an Indian character actor in Bollywood films. He has acted in 390 films. His most remembered role is Ramlal in the movie ''Sholay'' ( ...
as Shanti's Father
*
Om Shivpuri
Om Shivpuri (14 July 1938 – 15 October 1990) was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films.
A National School of Drama, New Delhi alumnus, Shivpuri became the first chief of the National School of Drama Repertory Co ...
as Police Commissioner
*
Puneet Issar
Puneet Issar (born 6 November 1959) is an Indian actor, writer, director, producer and dialect coach best known for his works in Hindi films and television shows. Issar started his acting career as a villain in the Manmohan Desai's 1983 film '' ...
as Sukhdev (Rapist)
*
Tej Sapru
Tej Sapru (born 5 January 1955) is an Indian actor. He is the son of D. K. Sapru and Hemvati, both of whom were actors in the Hindi film industry. He has appeared in a number of Bollywood films of between the 1980s and 2010s, including ''Gupt'' ...
as Suryakant (Rapist)
*
Shiva Rindani
Shiva Rindani (born Mukesh Rindani) is an Indian actor who appeared in Bollywood, Hindi films - mostly - in either villainous roles or in comic roles.
He has appeared in more than 100 films. His latest film was ''Deshdrohi'' in 2008, and ''Hu ...
as Ranjit (Rapist)
*
Avtar Gill
Avtar Gill is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi and Punjabi language films and television serials. He has done many plays with Indian People's Theatre Association Mumbai.
Selected filmography Films
* ''Noorie'' (1979)
* '' ...
as Pinky's Rapist
*
Roopesh Kumar
Roopesh Kumar (16 January 1946 – 29 January 1995) was a character actor in Bollywood films, especially known for his role as a villain in over 100 Hindi films from 1965 to 1995. He is widely remembered for his comic negative roles in the film ...
as Raj
*
Mangal Dhillon
Mangal Singh Dhillon, better known as Mangal Dhillon is an Indian actor, writer, director and film producer. He was born in Wander Jatana near Kotkapura in Faridkot district, Punjab.
Early life
He was born in a Sikh family in a village Wander ...
as Mr. Mehta
*
Leela Mishra
Leela Mishra (1 January 1908 – 17 January 1988) was an Indian actress. She worked as a character actor in over 200 Hindi films for five decades, and is best remembered for playing stock characters such as aunts (''Chachi'' or ''Mausi''). She ...
as Shanti's Grandmother
*
Kalpana Iyer
Kalpana Iyer (born 26 July 1956) is a former Indian actress, singer, and model, who is best known for her works in Hindi cinema throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She appeared in over 100 films, and is accredited for her performances in many popula ...
as Kanta
*
Chand Usmani
Chand Usmani (3 January 1933 – 26 November 1989) was an Indian actress in Hindi films from the 1950s to the late 1980s. She won the 1971 Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is best remembered for playing self-sacrificing wives an ...
as Suraj's Mother
*
Moolchand
Moolchand was a prolific character actor in Hindi and Panjabi cinema, who was active from 1950 to his death in the late 1980s. He appeared in over 250 films. These films spanned the parallel cinema of Guru Dutt to the wrestler films of Dara Sing ...
as Moolchand
*
Surbhi Javeri Vyas as Neelu Castration Gang Member
*
Madhu Malhotra
Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''.
Metaphorical use
''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...
as Castration Gang Member
Soundtrack
All songs are written by
Faruk Kaiser
Faruk Kaiser (6 June 1918 – 10 November 1987) was an Urdu poet and a renowned lyricist in India, making a significant contribution to the success of many Bollywood films. He was one of the dominating forces of music in Indian Cinema during the ...
.
Production
Dialogues of this movie written by
Iqbal Durrani
Iqbal Durrani is an Indian writer, director, actor and producer of Hindi films.
Career
1988. ''Kaal Chakra'' 1st film of Iqbal Durrani dialogues of this movie was smash hit. It completed silver jubilee and audio cassette of dialogues were rele ...
became quite popular.
References
External links
{{IMDb title, 0364135
1988 films
1980s action films
Indian erotic films
Films about rape in India
1980s Hindi-language films
Gang rape in fiction
Indian rape and revenge films
Films scored by Bappi Lahiri