Kalpana Lajmi: Maker Of Women-Centric Films Like Rudaali, Passes Away At 64

Renowned filmmaker, Kalpana Lajmi, died at age of 64 on  September 23 after a long battle with kidney cancer.

Lajmi – a director, producer & screenwriter, was known for working on films that were socially relevant and brought out the challenges faced by women. She made films to bring the sidelined important topics to the mainstream cinema that made people think and talk about it.

Some of her popular films include Rudaali, Daman, and Darmiyaan: In Between.

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Each one of them revolved around strong women characters, who were trying to break the social norms. The movies built social awareness about the topics that no one in society wanted to talk about.

On one hand, through Rudaali, Lajmi tackled the social custom of lower-caste women professional mourners (Rudaali), who are employed to weep at upper-caste funerals. And on the other hand, through Daman, she portrayed the conservative Indian socio-cultural life where women were subject to domestic violence and marital rape. Further with Darmiyaan: In Between, she gave India’s first mainstream film that addressed the issue of the third gender.

What made Ms. Lajmi so special?

She was a filmmaker, whose impact far exceeds the credit that was awarded to her. She was amongst the finest storytellers of emotions of real people in the cinema industry.

There is no doubt that her films supported the female cause. But, would we label her a feminist? Perhaps. But she was also deeply in love with a man, Bhupen Hazarika, to whom she dedicated her life. Feminism for her did not mean male hatred.

Many people came forward to pay condolences:

A mold-breaker both in her professional and personal life, Kalpana inspired many people to come forward and talk about the subjects that no one wanted to talk about.

We will definitely miss the Maverick Lajmi!

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