Damini review :
Rajkumar Santoshi's follow-up to his super hit debut Ghayal (1990) was a social drama revolving around justice for a poor rape victim. Meenakshi Seshadri in the titular role, delivered her career best performance. But the real scene stealer of Damini turned out to be Sunny Deol, collaborating with Santoshi again, who appears only in the movie's second half.
With brillant punchlines like "Yeh dhaai kilo ka haath jab kisipe padta hai, toh aadmi uthta nahin, uth jaata hai" and "Aisa jhatka lagega ki tu jhatakna bhul jaayega", Sunny Deol played to the gallery as the alcoholic lawyer and the audience loved him so much that at Bandra Talkies, the current booking counters would remain open even after interval as public would come to watch the film post interval just for Sunny Deol.
Indeed, he overshadowed all others including Meenakshi herself whom I simply loved in this film. Her transition from a coy subdued middle class girl to a lady crusader in the end was so very convincing and effective. She was just perfect!! Amrish Puri as the corrupt lawyer was another great character. "Main Inderjeet Chaddha kabhi shikast nahi khaata" delivered a solid punch. Rishi Kapoor got a bit shortchanged as his character appears confused for most time and who ditches his righteous wife making the person somewhat negative. Tinnu Anand and Paresh Rawal left a mark even in small roles.
Undoubtedly, Damini is one of the finest films made by Santoshi which handles the sensitive issue of rape without titillating or trivialising it. This is truly responsible and still relevant cinema worth your time!!
Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.
Rajkumar Santoshi's follow-up to his super hit debut Ghayal (1990) was a social drama revolving around justice for a poor rape victim. Meenakshi Seshadri in the titular role, delivered her career best performance. But the real scene stealer of Damini turned out to be Sunny Deol, collaborating with Santoshi again, who appears only in the movie's second half.
With brillant punchlines like "Yeh dhaai kilo ka haath jab kisipe padta hai, toh aadmi uthta nahin, uth jaata hai" and "Aisa jhatka lagega ki tu jhatakna bhul jaayega", Sunny Deol played to the gallery as the alcoholic lawyer and the audience loved him so much that at Bandra Talkies, the current booking counters would remain open even after interval as public would come to watch the film post interval just for Sunny Deol.
Indeed, he overshadowed all others including Meenakshi herself whom I simply loved in this film. Her transition from a coy subdued middle class girl to a lady crusader in the end was so very convincing and effective. She was just perfect!! Amrish Puri as the corrupt lawyer was another great character. "Main Inderjeet Chaddha kabhi shikast nahi khaata" delivered a solid punch. Rishi Kapoor got a bit shortchanged as his character appears confused for most time and who ditches his righteous wife making the person somewhat negative. Tinnu Anand and Paresh Rawal left a mark even in small roles.
Undoubtedly, Damini is one of the finest films made by Santoshi which handles the sensitive issue of rape without titillating or trivialising it. This is truly responsible and still relevant cinema worth your time!!
Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.