''Lakshmi'' is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language biographical social problem film written and directed by

Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu language films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as ''Hyderab ...

. It stars

Monali Thakur Monali Thakur (born 3 November 1985) is an Indian singer and actress. She is the recipient of several awards including a National Film Award for the song "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" from the film '' Dum Laga Ke Haisha'' (2015) and a Filmfare Award for ...

as the title character alongside Shefali Shah,

Ram Kapoor Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who works in films and television serials. He gained popularity portraying Jai Walia in the television series ''Kasamh Se'' and the character of Ram Kapoor in ''Bade Achhe Lagte Hain''. He ...

Satish Kaushik Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter. Early life Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is a ...

and Kukunoor. The film deals with the harsh realities of human trafficking and child prostitution, which continue behind closed curtains in rural areas of India. The film Won Best Film - Mercedes Benz Audience Award, for Best Narrative at the

Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...

on 13 January 2014. It was earlier expected to release on 17 January 2014, but got delayed due to censorship issues. The film released on 21 March 2014. The film was screened official selection at Toronto Reel World, Washington DC, New York Indian and Melbourne Indian Film Festivals. It would open the 16th

London Asian Film Festival The UK Asian Film Festival, previously known as the London Asian Film Festival, is a British film festival organised by the not-for-profit organisation Tongues on Fire Ltd. and takes place annually in the spring in London. The festival is the leadi ...

in June 2014.

Plot

Lakshmi, a 14-year-old girl, is kidnapped from her village by Chinna (

) and brought to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

. She is taken to the home of Chinna's elder brother and boss, Reddy, where she first naively assumes the role of a domestic worker, helping the much older existing maid Amma. However, she is later raped by Reddy himself. The next day, Chinna takes Lakshmi to a brothel managed by Jyothi, who is both a reassuring and oppressive figure to the girls. After her first night, Lakshmi manages to run away to a nearby police station, but her complaint falls on deaf ears since Reddy has paid off the local police force. Thrown into this horrific, inhuman world, she survives with the help of the other girls and her own will to never give in. She forms a close friendship with her roommate at the brothel Suvarna, who walks her through the realities of life. It is revealed that Jyothi works for Reddy in order to fund her daughters college education and plans to retire as soon as she graduates. At the brothel, Lakshmi meets Uma, a kind hearted woman who periodically brings the girls sanitary items, condoms and sweets. While servicing a client at his home, Lakshmi tries to escape but is caught and punished by Chinna. She develops an infection due to the injury and is nursed by Jyothi and Survana, but is ultimately forced to work again, when a client demands a young girl. The client turns out to be an undercover agent Mohan who operates with the help of Jyothi and Uma, and Reddy and Chinna are arrested. The girls are taken to a women's shelter where Lakshmi recovers but the case against Reddy stagnates since no one is willing to testify against him. The brothel is reopened and one by one, the women slowly return, until Lakshmi is the only one left at the shelter. Against all odds, Lakshmi shows courage where everybody else fails. Her lawyer is in retirement due to having previously suffered a nervous breakdown, and initially refuses to take the case. He believes that Lakshmi will not be able to withstand the immense stress of the case, since she is the only witness against a powerful trafficking syndicate. Resisting all pressure - violent threats, coercion and bribes, she stands up in court. Her testimony reveals that her father sold her to a local politician, who in turn sold her to Reddy. At the brothel, Chinna beats and tortures Jyothi as punishment for her betrayal, and also reveals to Jyothi's daughter that she works there. Later that night, Jyothi castrates Chinna and slits her own wrists, resulting in them both bleeding to death. The trial results in a landmark judgement in India, succeeding in putting the traffickers behind bars.

Cast

as Bangaru Lakshmi * Shefali Shah as Jyoti *

as Avinash, Lakshmi's Advocate *

as Ram Reddy *

as Chinna *

Gulfam Khan Gulfam Khan is an Indian television and film actress who works in Indian television and Bollywood Hindi cinema. She is known for playing the role of Nazneen in '' Aladdin - Naam Toh Suna Hoga'' from 2018 to 2020. Early life Gulfam is known ...

as Corporator Radha *

Asha Saini Flora Saini, also known by her screen name Asha Saini, is an Indian actress and model. She predominantly works in Bollywood, and also appeared in a number of Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films. Since her debut in ''Prema Kosam'' (1999), she has a ...

as Suvarna *

Vibha Chibber Vibha Chibber is an Indian actress and theatre artist who appears in TV shows & Hindi films. She is well known for her memorable work in the successful television soaps '' Sapna Babul Ka... Bidaai'', '' Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein'' and '' ...

as Amma * Vinita Joshi Thakkar as Asha * Priyankaa Vir as Uma didi * Ramkrishna Shenoy as Mohan * Sumit Sharma as Opposition Lawyer * Raju as Bangaru Raju, Lakshmi's father * Subhash Gupta as Dr Murli * Suresh Kumar as Judge * Karan Pamnani as Inspector *Tejeswani Vellicharla as Police woman

Production

Director Nagesh Kukunoor was inspired to make the film after visiting some NGOs in India, where he met victims of human trafficking. The film is produced by both

, his long-time collaborator

Elahe Hiptoola Elahe Hiptoola is an Indian film producer and former actress. Her credits include producer of ''3 Deewarein'', ''Hyderabad Blues 2'', ''Iqbal'', '' Dor'', and '' Dhanak''. Early life Elahe Hiptoola was born in Mumbai and resides in Hyderabad. C ...

who worked with him on all his films since Hyderabad Blues, and also by renowned actor

. Kaushik stated the marketing campaign for the film was geared towards keeping "in tandem with the theme of the movie." The producers are planning to have private screenings of the film for Non-Governmental Organizations to promote awareness of the heinous crimes depicted in the film. They also hoped the film would be backed and sponsored by actor Salman Khan, who runs his own personal NGO called Being Human. Kukunoor initially sought a 14-year girl as the lead but later dropped the idea of casting a minor. He later auditioned

for the same. The film was shot in 22 days on location, entirely in

. The trailer for the film was released on 21 October 2013. The songs have been written by Manoj Yadav and composed by Tapas Relia. The four songs are 1) Sun Sugana Re sung by Suchi and Ankita Joshi 2) Sun Ri baavli sung by Papon 3) Aa Ghar Chale Hum sung by Monali Thakur and 4) Hain Reham Hain Karam sung by Kailash Kher.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''Lakshmi'' comprises 4 songs composed by Tapas Relia with the lyrics being written by Manoj Yadav.

Release and reception

The film was first viewed by the

Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

(CBFC) in November 2013, which found some scenes "objectionable" and slated it to be next viewed by a revising committee. However, till early January the film did not receive a viewing by committee and thus missed its 17 January Indian premiere date. Ahead of its release in India, the film has its premiere on 13 January, at the 2014

, where it received critical acclaim and won the Audience Award for Best narrative feature, which is based on viewers' votes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakshmi 2014 films Indian drama films Films about prostitution in India Films about child prostitution Films about human trafficking in India Films about rape in India Films about women in India Films scored by Tapas Relia Films directed by Nagesh Kukunoor 2014 drama films 2010s Hindi-language films Hindi-language drama films Films shot in Hyderabad, India Films set in Hyderabad, India