Lakshmi

Lakshmi is the story of titular character played by Monali Thakur, a 14-year-old girl who is abducted and sold trafficked into prostitution in a Hyderabadi brothel. The film is a harrowing account of the exploitation of young girls into prostitution. The portrayal of the brothel is an antithesis of the countless romanticised stories of what popular Hindi cinema used to show as courtesans, who dance and sing and who are overall very stereotypical filmi figures the kind of which you won't see here. The brothel is very much a real place which gathers some demonic humans who mercilessly trade young girls' bodies. The main madame, played by Shefali Shah, is testament to that, as she is a real person, who is cruel and kind in equal doses. She can be loving and caring one moment, and absolutely wicked and vicious the next, because that's what the job calls for, and she has a young daughter whose future depends on this very job. She is a very effective manager, as terrifying as it may sound, and Shah is brilliant in this difficult role, as usual.

Lakshmi is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, who also plays the cruel trader and head of the brothel, along with his elder brother, Reddy, played by the great Satish Kaushik in a role that epitomises a wolf in sheep's clothing. Kukunoor does his best to give the brothel a horrific feel of authenticity, but while it could be mistaken as a realistic portrayal, it is much subtler than one would expect. The tough viewing is more due to the story itself, the characters and the dialogue, but the film remains quite clean and spares the viewers the horrid, disturbing pictures of films like, say, Bandit Queen. More than anything, the story takes a cathartic turn of events somewhere post interval where it turns into a standard courtroom drama which sadly isn't the most convincing you'll see. I think Kukunoor, being the director he is, could have done a better job with the material. The title character is played by the well-known singer. She does really well playing the girl's innocence and does look the part even if not exactly so young. The film is a good watch.

Some of the finest actors have done a great job in this movie , lovely executed I must say , some parts were not necessary apart from those movie was well made !

I have always been fan of Nagesh Kukunoor's movie however Lakhmi is the best movie from Nagesh. Brilliant performance by Monali (Lakshmi) and Nagesh.

I din't even know when this movie was released and how come I missed this movie. movies from Nagesh have always have something new and have a meaningful story as well as have some message to society.

Lakshmi is based on true story.The movie story is little disturbing, however the way it has been directly is extraordinary. Performance of Monali Thakur is brilliant, the maturity of acting is comparable to Konkana sen.

Very few movies that have toughed me and Lakshmi is one of them.

Would 100% recommend this movie for all 18+ (strictly) audience.

I don't know what to say once i finished watching this movie , there were moments of pause in between were tears just rolled out of my eyes . An absolute eye opener this movie is a harsh reality which would force u to change ur perspective when u watch a girl after it & being very honest it did that to me ...... We keep on lamenting about fact that we Indians won't catch up to Hollywood level of reality and authenticity but this movie did it ........ A must watch and an eye opener , outstanding acting ,beautiful story , great direction & trust me u have to close ur eyes in few scenes .

I was trying to catch Lakshmi but it proved to be really difficult. Firstly, it had a very limited release on rare screes and secondly, couldn't find a DVD as well. However, the wait was worth and I just watched one of the most realistic movie ever made in Hindi Cinema. Amazing performances by the actors. No words to describe it. Nagesh's subject for the film is one of a kind not witnessed in recent times. His direction is top notch as well but the second half drifts more towards hope than reality. Overall, an amazing thought provocative and introspective movie which forces you to rethink about the society you live in. Must watch.