By Devananda Edamadathil
Lajja, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, is a profound eye-opener that brings to light a plethora of women’s issues like dowry, mental and physical abuse, and the torture and inhumanity of rape, released in the wake of days when these atrocities weren’t discussed as widely as they are done today. Apart from its mind-boggling storyline, Lajja features a dream team of a cast, studded with names like Manisha Koirala, whose character leads us through the tapestry of the intricate lives of the four women portrayed, and Madhuri Dixit, who stuns us not only with her dance and beauty but also her intense acting, adding further magic to the cinematic masterpiece that Lajja truly is. Rekha’s Raamdulari would grip your heart with her lament and would haunt our hearts, even after the end credits have rolled. The star-studded cast also includes Anil Kapoor, Mahima Chaudhary, Jackie Shroff, and Ajay Devgn.
The film opens by throwing light on the life of Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala), who finds herself banished by her parents, who consider a daughter separated from her husband as a dishonor that would tarnish their name in the society, after she escapes from the clutches of her abusive and unfaithful husband, Raghu (Jackie Shroff). Bereft and pregnant, Vaidehi thus begins her journey and finds herself at the mercy of a kind thief, Raju (Anil Kapoor), with whom she gatecrashes a wedding and meets Maithili, the bride, who’s being married off to a rich groom. Here, light is shed onto the devil of dowry: the bride and her family are harassed and oppressed constantly, in the name of ‘responsibility,’ in addition to threats to call off the wedding until the payment is complete. Distraught and disappointed with the appalling attitude of the groom and his deplorable inability to stand up for her, Maithili stands up for her honor and breaks off the wedding.
Along the way, Vaidehi meets and befriends Janki (Madhuri Dixit), a small-town actress who had become pregnant out of wedlock. Janki battles patriarchal darts of male chauvinism, material abuse, and the notion that women are machines for sex and reproduction. Janki questions the society, through a botched portrayal of the Ramayana, how patriarchy has been deep-seated into the minds of people for centuries; even in mythologies and norms, cultures and traditions, women have been controlled and abused for the vested interests of men. She faces public humiliation, is deemed insane, and is sent to exile, undergoing a subsequent miscarriage in the process.
Eluding the infuriated audience members and attackers, Vaidehi runs off and is attended to by Ramdulari (Rekha), a local midwife, who bravely opposes the men who try to oppress the innocent women of her society. Following her stay at the latter’s house, Vaidehi watches a vexing incident of female feticide, asserting the fact that the village still treated women as a burden and a liability that must be married off. Ramdulari’s vituperative end charges a vexed Vaidehi to express a vehement, gut-wrenching speech about the injustices that women had been facing since time immemorial. She attacks the dominance of men, preaching to the audience, full of women, instilling them with passion and strength, following which they attack and restrain the perpetrator.
The stories of these women are different, yet entwined, resonating with the pain of one another, forming jigsaw pieces of a corrupted system, colored by misandry and male chauvinism. Rooted in years of suppression and oppression of women, unquestioned and hidden, in the light of day. Vaidehi, Janki, Maithily, and Ramdulari are all names of Goddess Sita, considered as the ideal woman. The film is a caricature of high caliber, aimed to shoot at the nuances of a repellent society that expects women to be idealized versions of themselves but, in return, is at the receiving end of torture, humiliation, and cruelty. It challenges traditional Indian conventions and beliefs, where women are viewed as either tools to obtain dowries and male heirs from their in-laws or as obligations to be wedded off by their families.
The picturesque frames of rural India, as grasped by the noteworthy cinematography, capture the stark contrast between the beauty of the land and the regressive thoughts of the folk. Overall, Lajja is a thought-provoking drama, representing the resilience of women in the face of adversity. It is both perturbing and uplifting, seeking to create an equitable and fair society. It is a remarkable gem of Indian cinema that stands out for its impactful gist, especially in a time when such unflinching rendering of the atrocities faced by women is under-discussed.
Lajja, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, is a profound eye-opener that brings to light a plethora of women’s issues like dowry, mental and physical abuse, and the torture and inhumanity of rape, released in the wake of days when these atrocities weren’t discussed as widely as they are done today. Apart from its mind-boggling storyline, Lajja features a dream team of a cast, studded with names like Manisha Koirala, whose character leads us through the tapestry of the intricate lives of the four women portrayed, and Madhuri Dixit, who stuns us not only with her dance and beauty but also her intense acting, adding further magic to the cinematic masterpiece that Lajja truly is. Rekha’s Raamdulari would grip your heart with her lament and would haunt our hearts, even after the end credits have rolled. The star-studded cast also includes Anil Kapoor, Mahima Chaudhary, Jackie Shroff, and Ajay Devgn.
The film opens by throwing light on the life of Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala), who finds herself banished by her parents, who consider a daughter separated from her husband as a dishonor that would tarnish their name in the society, after she escapes from the clutches of her abusive and unfaithful husband, Raghu (Jackie Shroff). Bereft and pregnant, Vaidehi thus begins her journey and finds herself at the mercy of a kind thief, Raju (Anil Kapoor), with whom she gatecrashes a wedding and meets Maithili, the bride, who’s being married off to a rich groom. Here, light is shed onto the devil of dowry: the bride and her family are harassed and oppressed constantly, in the name of ‘responsibility,’ in addition to threats to call off the wedding until the payment is complete. Distraught and disappointed with the appalling attitude of the groom and his deplorable inability to stand up for her, Maithili stands up for her honor and breaks off the wedding.
Along the way, Vaidehi meets and befriends Janki (Madhuri Dixit), a small-town actress who had become pregnant out of wedlock. Janki battles patriarchal darts of male chauvinism, material abuse, and the notion that women are machines for sex and reproduction. Janki questions the society, through a botched portrayal of the Ramayana, how patriarchy has been deep-seated into the minds of people for centuries; even in mythologies and norms, cultures and traditions, women have been controlled and abused for the vested interests of men. She faces public humiliation, is deemed insane, and is sent to exile, undergoing a subsequent miscarriage in the process.
Eluding the infuriated audience members and attackers, Vaidehi runs off and is attended to by Ramdulari (Rekha), a local midwife, who bravely opposes the men who try to oppress the innocent women of her society. Following her stay at the latter’s house, Vaidehi watches a vexing incident of female feticide, asserting the fact that the village still treated women as a burden and a liability that must be married off. Ramdulari’s vituperative end charges a vexed Vaidehi to express a vehement, gut-wrenching speech about the injustices that women had been facing since time immemorial. She attacks the dominance of men, preaching to the audience, full of women, instilling them with passion and strength, following which they attack and restrain the perpetrator.
The stories of these women are different, yet entwined, resonating with the pain of one another, forming jigsaw pieces of a corrupted system, colored by misandry and male chauvinism. Rooted in years of suppression and oppression of women, unquestioned and hidden, in the light of day. Vaidehi, Janki, Maithily, and Ramdulari are all names of Goddess Sita, considered as the ideal woman. The film is a caricature of high caliber, aimed to shoot at the nuances of a repellent society that expects women to be idealized versions of themselves but, in return, is at the receiving end of torture, humiliation, and cruelty. It challenges traditional Indian conventions and beliefs, where women are viewed as either tools to obtain dowries and male heirs from their in-laws or as obligations to be wedded off by their families.
The picturesque frames of rural India, as grasped by the noteworthy cinematography, capture the stark contrast between the beauty of the land and the regressive thoughts of the folk. Overall, Lajja is a thought-provoking drama, representing the resilience of women in the face of adversity. It is both perturbing and uplifting, seeking to create an equitable and fair society. It is a remarkable gem of Indian cinema that stands out for its impactful gist, especially in a time when such unflinching rendering of the atrocities faced by women is under-discussed.
By Devananda Edamadathil
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