Rudaali (1993)

In a small village in Rajasthan, India, a woman named Shanichari was born - so named, as shortly after her birth her father died; & her mother, Peewli, ran away with a rich lover, the owner... See full summary »

Director:

Kalpana Lajmi

Writers:

Mahasweta Devi (story), Gulzar (dialogue),

Stars:

Rakhee Gulzar, Dimple Kapadia, Raj Babbar

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rakhee Gulzar	...	Bhikni (as Raakhee)
Dimple Kapadia	...	Shanichari
Raj Babbar	...	Thakur Lakshman Singh
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Budhwa (as Raghuveer Yadav)
Sushmita Mukherjee	...	Mungri (Budhwa's Wife)
Manohar Singh	...	Pandit Mohan Lal
Rajesh Singh
Mita Vasisht	...	Mistress of rich man
Amjad Khan	...	Thakur Ram Avtar (Lakhsman's dad)
Usha Bannerjee
Minaaz	...	(as Mehnaz)
Pramod Bala
Ravi Jhankal
Yusuf Khurram
Suneel Sinha

Storyline

In a small village in Rajasthan, India, a woman named Shanichari was born - so named, as shortly after her birth her father died; & her mother, Peewli, ran away with a rich lover, the owner of a drama company, abandoning her. When Shanichari grew up she was married to a male named Ganju who lived with his ailing mother. Shanichari gave birth to a boy and named him Budhwa. The local Landlord, Ram Avtar's son, Lakhsman Singh, would like Shanichari to live with him as his mistress, but she must first abandon her husband and son, which she is unable to do. Her ailing mother-in-law passes away - Shanicharni is unable to weep; Years later, Ganju gets killed after consuming holy water from a temple - Shanichari is unable to weep; When Budhwa get's married to a local prostitute, Mungri, who becomes pregnant, and then subsequently aborts the child - Shanichari is unable to weep; When Budhwa runs away from home, never to be seen again - Shanichari is unable to weep. Then a woman named Bhikni ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Also Known As:

The Mourner

Filming Locations:

Barna Village, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Doordarshan, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Samay O Dheere Chalo"
Sung by Bhupen Hazarika / Lata Mangeshkar / Asha Bhosle

User Reviews

'perfect Mix of Tradition and Artistic Talents'

Ruddali is one such movie that did succeed in bringing out the perfect portrayal of ancient traditional roots of Rajathan in India.

The success is not only visible in the Story.. the picturisation. but Kalpana Lajmi's directional skills are far augmented by the very Music that perfectly suited to the story ( and may be the first time in Indian Cinema ).. given by none other than one of the Most talented Volk Music Director Bhupen Hajarika. Yet times, even if the Audience are so engrossed in the story.. the drama that is going-on on the screen, it makes me feel that without the support of Bhupen hajarika's Music talents the film would have ended somewhere half the way than what it did finally achieve in the Critics' views.

Yes, I must finally say that .. this movie is one that is far from any typical of Bollywood Movies ..even it had all the elements a typical Bollywood movie would attribute itself with ! The success of this movie is doesn't end with the creative side os a film making .. but an inherent power which it might trigger in the minds of History lovers and thinkers of Traditions and evolved social cultures.

the movie is worth 1000+ usual bollywoods movies that get churned out every year !