Andhra Pradesh

True-to-life account of tribal innocence

True-to-life account of tribal innocence, illiteracy and exploitation Nandita Das breathes life into the role of a Lambada woman

STELLAR PERFORMANCE: Nandita Das in the film `Kamli'.

Kamli (Telugu)

Cast: Nandita Das, Shafi

Director: K.N.T. Sastry

Baby swapping has been the bane of Government hospitals in the State. So is the sale of infants, sometimes when they are still in the womb, by Lambadi parents for a pittance.

A Lambadi man ready to disown his wife for giving birth to a boy instead of a girl-child, which could have fetched him monies, and the hapless illiterate Lambadi woman who not only has to stomach her husband deserting her, but also the trauma of the baby boy being snatched away from the hospital and cradle a girl baby left in his place. "Naa biddanu naakiyyundri saaru," the woman's impassioned pleas ring loud as she refuses to leave the hospital without her biological child. That is `Kamli' from award winning director K.N.T. Sastry produced by Haricharana Prasad and Sukanya on Apoorva Chitra banner.

Feeling it afloat in the womb when it is in an unearthly state, unaware of the world outside as she toils at construction sites, cuddling it up in the warmth of her lap, giving succour and suddenly finding the baby going amiss- Nandita Das, with her smouldering eyes breathes life into the role of Lambada woman and mother fighting the corruption-the cancer-stricken Government hospital system to get her boy child back. Making her debut in Telugu films, Nandita Das is the fulcrum of the film. Shafi, lives the role of a typical sendhi-guzzling Lambadi man, perennially high on spirits and low on self-esteem. Thankella Bharani and Rupa Devi, as the gudamba-brewing Lambada couple, showcase the uncertainty of Lambadi lives.

The liberal use of Lambadi dialect along with Telugu adds authenticity to the film, which has been already screened at the Pusan International Film Festival. So are the native folk songs, meaningful lyrics by Suddala Ashok Teja and tunes by Isaac Thomas Kottukapalli picked up from the Lambada hinterlands that heighten the melancholy of their nomadic life.

Stark the film is, but a far more engaging screenplay could have enhanced the mood of the film and endeared it to a wider audience. After all the language of motherhood is universal and can transcend barriers of the so-called mass and class audiences. The film remains a symbol of the transcendent power of motherhood. K.V.S. Madhav

K.V.S. Madhav

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