Lajja

About the film

Lajja (transl. shame, modesty) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film produced and directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Based on the plight of women and feminism in India, the film satirizes the honor with which women are placed in society and the restrictions imposed on them. The fact that the names of four women (Vaidehi, Janki, Ramdulari and Maithili) are all versions of Sita, the ideal Hindu woman's name, is a message in itself. It features Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit, Rekha and Mahima Chaudhry in the lead roles, along with Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Jackie Shroff and Danny Dengzongpa.

Lajja failed commercially in India but was a major commercial success overseas. It received mixed reviews with criticism for story and screenplay, but the performances from the lead actors were highly praised.

Plot

Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala) is married to the rich Raghu (Jackie Shroff) in New York City. Outside, she lives a sophisticated life, but inside, Raghu is abusive and has extramarital affairs. Even his father doesn't care about his son's immoral behavior. Later, Vaidehi has enough and is banished from the household. She returns to her parents' house, but they reject her as Vaidehi running away from Raghu taints their family's reputation because her in-laws' home is a daughter's real home. She soon finds out she is pregnant.

Raghu gets into a car accident and is left impotent. Upon knowing Vaidehi's pregnancy, he calls her, faking remorse, and asks her to return. She agrees, thinking Raghu has mended his ways. In reality, he and his father plot for the baby to become their heir, and if Vaidehi intervenes, she will be killed. A friend informs Vaidehi of Raghu's true intentions, and she escapes from his henchmen.

Raju (Anil Kapoor), a petty but kind-hearted thief, helps Vaidehi, hears her story, and gives her money so that she can go to Haripur. They gatecrash a wedding, where Vaidehi meets the bride, Maithili (Mahima Chaudhary), a middle-class girl marrying her college sweetheart, a rich man. The groom's friend Gulshan attempts to drunkenly propose to Maithili but is stopped by Raju. She and Vaidehi witness the groom's father, Mr. Hazarilal, harassing Maithili's father, Nekchand, with demands for an opulent wedding, which is unaffordable, and forcing him to pay dowry, with his reputation in society being ruined if he fails. Vaidehi tries to convince Raju to give Nekchand his money from the heist. He refuses and is soon forced to escape as somebody has recognized him as a gatecrasher. Changing his mind after helping a prostitute, he returns to give his heist money to Vaidehi.

Music

The songs were mainly composed by Anu Malik. A. R. Rahman was initially signed in as the composer; but then he opted out; after he got extremely busy with his international assignment, Bombay Dreams. Then, the background score for the movie was done by Ilaiyaraaja. Lyrics of all songs were also written by Sameer, except those of "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar", which were written by Prasoon Joshi. This song was also composed by Ilaiyaraaja and was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 13,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's fifteenth highest-selling.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews; however, the performances from the lead actors were highly praised.

Bollywood Hungama gave a rating of two and a half out of five stars and said, "On the whole, Lajja is a purposeful film within commercial parameters, and the best part is that the Indian masses will be able to identify with the goings-on. An enviable star cast, a talented director, and an excellent second half are amongst its strong points." The Hindu stated "Unfortunately, this colourful film is a black-and-white disappointment, particularly in the second half when Santoshi loses track of his story and in a blatant bid to get the tax-free certificate brings in bits about computer education, female literacy and infanticide.". Jay Virdee of the BBC gave a positive review saying "The film is well directed, excellent songs, although they should have had more realistic fights." Anita Bora of Rediff wrote "Santoshi deserves more than a generous dose of credit for trying to portray both sides of the story -- through powerful and well sketched characters and treading into a territory which not too many mainstream directors explore".

Box office

Lajja failed commercially at the box office in India due to high budget and distribution price. However, it tasted success overseas. It ranked 14th on the British box-office chart.

Key details