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| Damini | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Written by | Rajkumar Santoshi Sutanu Gupta (Story) |
| Produced by | Aly Morani Karim Morani Bunty Soorma |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ishwar R. Bidri |
| Edited by | V. N. Mayekar |
| Music by | Nadeem-Shravan Sameer (Lyrics) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | est. ₹ 11.75 crore[1] |
Damini (transl. Lightning) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed and co-written by Rajkumar Santoshi. It stars Meenakshi Seshadri in the title role with Rishi Kapoor, Sunny Deol and Amrish Puri. Aamir Khan makes a special appearance.[2] The story revolves around Damini who witnesses her housemaid being raped by her brother-in-law and his friends. Despite facing many obstacles, she strives to get justice for her with the help of her husband and Govind, a lawyer. The film is considered to be one of the best woman-centric films ever made in Bollywood.[3]
Besides being critically acclaimed, the film also became the sixth highest grossing of the year and was declared a "hit" at Box Office India.[1] Damini – Lightning marked Meenakshi Seshadri's career best performance that was highly acclaimed.[4]
It is considered a cult feminist film and is still regarded as an all-time classic female oriented film and important for portraying women empowerment in cinema[5] The pathbreaking film was praised for breaking social taboos and handling the subject of rape with sensitivity; a rarity in Bollywood at the time.[6]
The movie is highly memorable for Sunny Deol's portrayal of an alcoholic lawyer and the role gained him a Filmfare as well as National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1993. It strengthened his Bollywood he-man image. His dialogues in the film "Tarikh Pe Tarikh" ("date after date") and "Dhai Kilo ka Haath" ('Two-and-a-half kilogram hand') became iconic and a pop-culture reference.[7] The film was a milestone in the careers of Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri and Amrish Puri, who gave some great hits like Ghayal (1990) and Ghatak: Lethal (1996) together.[8] Aamir Khan acted in a special appearance in the stage show dance song. He also promotes his upcoming film Andaz Apna Apna (1994) which was also directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.
Damini is the recipient of a number of accolades. At the 40th National Film Awards, Deol won Best Supporting Actor. In addition to other awards, the film received seven nominations at the 39th Filmfare Awards including Best Film, Best Actress for Seshadri, and Best Villain for Puri. It won a 4 leading awards — Best Director for Santoshi, Best Supporting Actor for Deol, Best Story for Sutanu Gupta, and Best Sound for Rakesh Ranjan.
- ^ a b Box Office 1993 Archived 17 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Box Office India.
- ^ "Here Are 5 Aamir Khan Appearances We Bet You Had Totally Forgotten About (Or Perhaps Never Knew)". HuffPost India. 14 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ *"Women Power! 15 must watch female-oriented movies in Bollywood". Latest Indian news, Top Breaking headlines, Today Headlines, Top Stories | Free Press Journal. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Go with women-centric cinema this Women's Day". The Statesman. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "The best Bollywood movies on women empowerment". Zee News. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Mother India, Andhi, Arth, Jai Gangaajal, Queen: Movies to watch this Women's Day". The Indian Express. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Women's Day Special: 10 Bollywood Movies That Celebrate Womanhood". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ *"#MeToo was long overdue". telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Asin quits acting after marriage: Other actresses who chose family over career". Daily News and Analysis. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- Thombare, Suparna. "5 memorable roles of Meenakshi Seshadri – Birthday special". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Serving Justice on Screen". outlookindia.com/. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ *"#90sMoviesIn2018: Here's Why Meenakshi Seshadri-Rishi Kapoor's 'Damini' is a Cult Feminist Film". news18.com. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "20 women-oriented films in Bollywood". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Naina (Dushman, 1998)". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Navratri special: Top 5 Bollywood films which are female oriented!". Zee News. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "Evolution of the rape scene". Daily News and Analysis. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Bollywood films in which good triumphed over evil". mid-day. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- Kahlon, Sukhpreet. "Burning issues raised in Rajkumar Santoshi's Damini still remain — 25th anniversary special". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "The harsh truth about being a rape survivor in India". femina.in. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Top 10 movies that portray the moral decline of society". Daily News and Analysis. 13 September 2013. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "Tribune India – Tarikh pe tarikh".
- "RANKED: 5 Best Performances of Sunny Deol \u002D Desimartini". m.desimartini.com. 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Happy Birthday Sunny Deol: His 7 Best Films You Should Watch Again". News18. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "Amrish Puri birthday special 5 iconic performances of the legendary actor that made him our favourite villain- News Nation". newsnation.in. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "Jolly LLB, Damini, Pink, Court and more: Bollywood's 10 best courtroom dramas". Hindustan Times. 9 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- "5 Instances Where Holi Sequence in Bollywood Was Not A Happy Occasion". Desimartini. 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.