Noted film director, producer and screenwriter, Kalpana Lajmi passed away in Mumbai in late September after a prolonged fight against kidney cancer at the age of 64. The filmmaker was under treatment for her illness for the last 3 years. We remember the filmmaker whose work brought the marginalized voices to the forefront and placed the issues of gender and patriarchy in the broader context of class and caste divides.
From working as an assistant costume designer in her Cousin Shyam Benegal’s landmark film Bhumika which starred actress Smita Patil in the main lead to rustling up some path-breaking cinema which defied stereotypes and the set norms of our society, filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi did all with a lot of conviction and aplomb.
Kalpana, who was a fierce and feisty filmmaker, churned out cinema which was feminist in its tone and much ahead in its time. The filmmaker back in the 80’s when the Hindi cinema was dominated by sex and violence made the kind of cinema which questioned the social and cultural beliefs and ideals which formed the fabric of our Indian society. Kalpana Lajmi was a filmmaker with a mind of her own and that is precisely why she faced a lot of criticism and condemnation in her professional and personal life as well. Her films all had the theme of a lone woman battling the odds in a male-driven society. She was the niece of veteran actor, director and filmmaker Guru Dutt, her mother Lalita Lajmi was Guru Dutt’s sister and she was also related to filmmaker Shyam Benegal who was her maternal cousin.
Her life was grist for the rumour mills
She was in an unconventional relationship with multi-faceted Assamese artist who was a singer, writer and director, Dr Bhupen Hazarika. She defied all odds when she at the age of 17 entered into a relationship with a man who was 28 years her senior. The two were in a live-in relationship till Dr Hazarika’s death in 2011. She faced many brickbats because of this relationship because Dr Hazarika had an estranged wife and son and a young Kalpana had to face all the criticism for her relationship with a much elder man.
A dream unfulfilled…
This story is from the November 2018, Festive Fervour edition of Glimpse.
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This story is from the November 2018, Festive Fervour edition of Glimpse.
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