Kalpana Lajmi
Kalpana Lazmi (born 1954) is an Indian film director, producer and writer. She is considered to be an Art Film director, working more on realistic cinema, also known as Parallel Cinema. Her films are often woman-oriented films.
Biography
Lazmi debuted as a director with the Documentary film D.G. Movie Pioneer in 1978 and went on to direct more Documentaries like A Work Study in Tea Plucking (1979) and Along the Brahmaputra (1981). She debuted as a film director in 1986 with Ek Pal (One minute), starring Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah. She produced the film, took part in the film writing and had written the screenplay for the film along with Gulzar. Lazmi was appreciated for her Hindi directional debut.
She then took a break from directing movies and went to direct her first television serial Lohit Kinare (1988) starring Tanvi Azmi. She made her comeback to cinema in 1993 in a big way with the critically acclaimed Rudaali starring Dimple Kapadia. Kapadia won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance and Lazmi also won accolades for directing the film.
Her next film was Darmiyan (1997) which was directed and produced by her. The movie was another serious film starring Kirron Kher and Tabu.
Her next film in 2001, Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence was critically acclaimed. The film was distributed by the Indian Government and was critically acclaimed. It was the second time that an actress won the National Film Award for Best Actress under Lazmi's directional hand. Now, it was Raveena Tandon, who wasn't as appreciated before, and Lazmi was the one who exploited the hidden talent in her.
Her next film, Kyon? (2003) was unnoticed, while her last release Chingaari (2006) starring Sushmita Sen was well received.
Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | D.G. Movie Pioneer | Director |
| 1979 | A Work Study in Tea Plucking | Director |
| 1981 | Along the Brahmaputra | Director |
| 1986 | Ek Pal | Director, Producer, Writer |
| 1988 | Lohit Kinare | Director |
| 1993 | Rudaali | Director, writer |
| 1997 | Darmiyan | Director, producer |
| 2001 | Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence | Director, Writer |
| 2003 | Kyon? | Director, producer |
| 2006 | Chingaari | Director, producer, writer |
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