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imdbi rating-****/*****
Sadma is a 1983 Indian film directed by Balu Mahendra which stars Sridevi and Kamal Hassan with music composed by Ilayaraaja. The picture tells the story of Nehalata (Sridevi), a young woman who regresses to childhood after suffering a head injury in a car crash. Lost, she ends up trapped in a brothel before being rescued by Somu (Kamal Haasan), a lonely school teacher who falls in love with her.
The film is a remake of the 1982 of Balu Mahendra's own Tamil Film Moondram Pirai, starring Sridevi and Kamal Hassan. Sridevi's autistic child-woman performance brought her nominations in the Filmfare Best actress award category as well as State awards and National Awards.
Kamal's performance in the film's climax won him the National Award in the Tamil original. The film was a huge success and achieved cult status and is regarded as an all time classic featuring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi's best performances.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Soundtrack
4 Critical Reception
5 Awards and nominations
5.1 Filmfare Awards
6 References
7 External links
Plot
Nehalata (Sridevi) is a young, modern girl who meets with an accident that leaves her with the memory and intelligence of a seven year old. Circumstances lead her into prostitution, and in the brothel she meets Somu (Kamal Haasan). He realizes that she has been tricked into the trade. He rescues her and takes her to his home in Ooty and begins to take care of her. He knows Nehalata as Reshmi, which was the pseudonym given to her at the brothel. Reshmi reciprocates Somu's care as they spend several months together sharing an amazing and innocent relationship that treads the tender line between affection and love. The sub-plot of the film follows the wife of Somu's boss who is attracted to Somu, though Somu doesn't reciprocate her feelings. It depicts how the outside world succumbs to carnal desires which have no place in Somu and Reshmi's relationship. Somu takes Reshmi to the village's medical practitioner who cures her and brings her back to sanity as she regains her memory up to the point of her accident. When Somu comes to meet Reshmi later that day, she is unable to identify or remember him. Despite his efforts to make her understand that he was the one who had taken care of her for several months, she is indifferent to him and leaves Ooty for her hometown, thus abandoning Somu and the life and relationship that she once had with him.
Cast[edit]
Sridevi as Nehalata Malhotra ('Reshmi')
Kamal Haasan as Somprakash ('Somu')
Gulshan Grover as Balua
Silk Smitha as Soni
Paintal as Paintal
Arvind Deshpande as J. K. Malhotra
Viju Khote as Police Inspector David
Birbal as Shamu
Leela Mishra as Somu's Neighbor ('Nani')
Asha Latha as Rajeshwari Malhotra
Padma Chauhan as Madam
Soundtrack[edit]
All music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, who retained most of his compositions from the original Tamil version. The film marked the composer's debut in Bollywood.
Aye Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le - Suresh Wadkar
O Babuaa Yeh Mahua - Asha Bhosle
Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein - K. J. Yesudas
Ek Dafa Ek Jungle Tha - Kamal Haasan, Sridevi
Yeh Hawa Yey Fiza - Asha Bhosle, Suresh Wadkar
Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein (Sad) - K. J. Yesudas
Critical Reception
Sadma is included in iDiva's list of '10 Must Watch Movies That Weren't Blockbusters'.[1] Sridevi's performance as a child-woman suffering from amnesia was called by Indian Express "a milestone in her illustrious career".[2] Sridevi also featured in the Mid Day list of 'Challenging Roles played by Bollywood Actors' describing her act in the film as "her best performance ever".[3] In 2012, Adil Hussain, Sridevi's co-star in English Vinglish revealed that he became a fan of the actress after watching her in Sadma.[4] The Sridevi-Kamal Hasan pair also appeared on the CNN-IBN list of 'Greatest Romantic Couples on Celluloid'.
Awards and nominations
Filmfare Awards
Nominated
Filmfare Award for Best Story - Balu Mahendra
Filmfare Best Actor Award - Kamal Haasan
Filmfare Best Actress Award - Sridevi