Lajja (film)
Encyclopedia
Lajja is a 2001 Hindi
film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi
. The film is based on the plight of women in India. The movie recounts the story of four women, and stars some of the best known names in Hindi cinema, including Rekha, Madhuri Dixit
, Manisha Koirala
, Mahima Chaudhry
, Jackie Shroff
, Anil Kapoor
and Ajay Devgan
. Urmila Matondkar
and Sonali Bendre
perform item number
s.
The movie satirizes the honor with which women are placed in society and the restrictions on them. The fact that the four women's names (Maithali, Janaki, Ramdulhari, and Vaidehi) are all versions of Sita
, the ideal Hindu woman's name, is a message in itself.
Manisha Koirala
is the protagonist
of this film.
The film was a flop at the box office in India but was a commercial success outside India.
Rekha and Madhuri Dixit
were nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
, while Madhuri Dixit won the Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female for her performance.
) lives in New York
with her husband Raghu (Jackie Shroff
) and in-laws. On the outside, she lives a sophisticated life, but behind closed doors, her husband is abusive and has extramarital affairs. When she takes a stand for herself, she is banished from the household. She goes back to her parents' house in India
but they too reject her. Vaidehi soon finds out that she is pregnant.
Back in New York, Raghu gets into a car accident, which results in him being unable to father a child
. When he discovers that Vaidehi is pregnant, he calls her, faking remorse, and asks for her to return. Vaidehi agrees, thinking Raghu has amended himself. Raghu and his father plot for the son to become their new heir and if Vaidehi intervenes, they will kill her. At the airport, Vaidehi is informed by a friend about Raghu's true intentions, and escapes from his henchmen. She is helped by Raju (Anil Kapoor
), a petty, kindhearted thief. He hears Vaidehi's story and gives her money from his heist to help. To hide from the police, Vaidehi gatecrashes a wedding procession.
At the wedding, she meets Maithili (Mahima Chaudhary), a bride-to-be from a middle-class family. Maithili is marrying a man who hails from a rich background. The two women witness Maithili's father being hassled by demands for an opulent wedding he cannot afford and being forced to pay dowry. Vaidehi tries to convince Raju to give his money from the heist. He initially refuses and leaves. However, after having a change of heart, he returns to give his heist money (which he was saving to get a job in Dubai
) to Vaidehi. Maithili is humiliated by the groom's friend, who had tried to rape her. Having tolerated enough, she socially degrades the groom's family and they flee from the wedding.
Vaidehi is found by her husband and forced into a car. On the way, they encounter a protest mob. Raghu gets out of the car, giving Vaidehi the chance to escape. She arrives in Haripur, a small town, where she meets Janki (Madhuri Dixit
), a theatre actress in love with her colleague. Janki is pregnant, but not married. She is a carefree and bubbly woman who doesn't care for the society norms. She is lusted after by the theatre director, Puroshottam, an older man who keeps his wife Lata (Jaya Bhattacharya
) confined to their house. Puroshottam tells Janki's lover that he has slept with her, leading her fiancé to question her. Janki is outraged and refuses to take the Agni Pariksha
performed by Sita
during a performance of Ramayan. This leads to an outcry from the audience, and Janki is sent to the mental asylum after being assaulted by the audience, leading her to have a miscarriage. Vaidehi confronts Puroshottam, who threatens to call her husband. However, Lata intervenes and thrashes him. She then takes Vaidehi to the station and puts her on a train.
The train is robbed by bandits but the passengers are saved by Bhulva (Ajay Devgan
), a local dacoit. Vaidehi faints at the sight of blood, and Bulwa takes her to the local midwife Ramdulaari (Rekha). Ramdulaari bravely opposes the village leaders Virendra and Gajendra (Gulshan Grover
and Danny Dezongpa), who hold orthodox
beliefs. When her educated son — who is trying to free the village from Virendra and Gajendra's oppression by bringing education to the villagers — falls in love with Gajendra's daughter Sushma, all hell breaks loose. Gajendra locks Ramdulaari in her house and sets out to find her son. When her son gets away with Sushma, Virendra, Gajendra, and their henchmen gang-rape Ramdulaari and burn her alive. In rage, Bhulva and his men kill all of Virendra's men. Vaidehi escapes with Sushma and Ramdulaari's son.
Gajendra is making a move into politics, so when he is applauded by the local authorities, Vaidehi intervenes. She exposes Gajendra as a rapist and fraud through a heart-wrenching speech, which drives all the woman in the audience to assault Gajendra, who is later killed by Bhulva. Raghu hears Vaidehi's speech and decides to amend his ways. The two return to New York as a proper married couple. Vaidehi gives birth to a daughter whom she names Ramdulaari. She meets Raju again, who is now a taxi driver and married to Maithili. She invites him to a charity dance show with Janki in the main role and tells him that all the money from her shows goes to fund women's organizations in India.http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Lajja/
. Lyrics of all songs were also written by Sameer
, except of "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar" which were written by Prasoon Joshi
. This song was also composed by Illayaraja and was sung by Lata Mangeshkar
. The songs featured in the movie are as below.
Bollywood Hungama
gave a rating of two and half out of five stars and said "On the whole, Lajja is a purposeful film within commercial parameters and the best part is that the Indian masses will be able to identify with the goings-on. An enviable star cast, a talented director and an excellent second half are amongst its strong points." The Hindu
stated "Unfortunately, this colourful film is a black-and-white disappointment, particularly in the second half when Santoshi loses track of his story and in a blatant bid to get the tax-free certificate brings in bits about computer education, female literacy and infanticide. Watch this diatribe against men if you are wedded to the increasingly popular idea of male-bashing. Despite sensitive performances by Madhuri and Manisha, it is alternately too loud, too simplistic. There is no space for grey matter: men are all black, women all white. Which is as far from reality as you can get". The BBC
gave a positive review saying "The film is well directed, excellent songs, although they should have had more realistic fights."
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi is a Filmfare award-winning Indian film director and producer of Hindi films. He is the son of producer-director P.L. Santoshi.-Career:...
. The film is based on the plight of women in India. The movie recounts the story of four women, and stars some of the best known names in Hindi cinema, including Rekha, Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
, Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...
, Mahima Chaudhry
Mahima Chaudhry
Mahima Chaudhary is an Indian actress and a former model who appears in Bollywood films. She made her acting debut in the 1997 film Pardes for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.-Early life:...
, Jackie Shroff
Jackie Shroff
Jackie Shroff is an Indian actor. He has been in the industry for more than 28 years and has appeared in over 150 films.-Personal life:...
, Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
and Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
. Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
and Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many Telugu films as well as a number of Marathi, Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent...
perform item number
Item number
An item number or an item song, in Indian cinema, is a musical performance that has little to do with the film in which it appears, but is presented to showcase beautiful dancing women in very revealing clothes, to lend support to the marketability of the film...
s.
The movie satirizes the honor with which women are placed in society and the restrictions on them. The fact that the four women's names (Maithali, Janaki, Ramdulhari, and Vaidehi) are all versions of Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
, the ideal Hindu woman's name, is a message in itself.
Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...
is the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of this film.
The film was a flop at the box office in India but was a commercial success outside India.
Rekha and Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
were nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
The Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Awards is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role...
, while Madhuri Dixit won the Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female for her performance.
Plot
Vaidehi (Manisha KoiralaManisha Koirala
Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...
) lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with her husband Raghu (Jackie Shroff
Jackie Shroff
Jackie Shroff is an Indian actor. He has been in the industry for more than 28 years and has appeared in over 150 films.-Personal life:...
) and in-laws. On the outside, she lives a sophisticated life, but behind closed doors, her husband is abusive and has extramarital affairs. When she takes a stand for herself, she is banished from the household. She goes back to her parents' house in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
but they too reject her. Vaidehi soon finds out that she is pregnant.
Back in New York, Raghu gets into a car accident, which results in him being unable to father a child
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
. When he discovers that Vaidehi is pregnant, he calls her, faking remorse, and asks for her to return. Vaidehi agrees, thinking Raghu has amended himself. Raghu and his father plot for the son to become their new heir and if Vaidehi intervenes, they will kill her. At the airport, Vaidehi is informed by a friend about Raghu's true intentions, and escapes from his henchmen. She is helped by Raju (Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
), a petty, kindhearted thief. He hears Vaidehi's story and gives her money from his heist to help. To hide from the police, Vaidehi gatecrashes a wedding procession.
At the wedding, she meets Maithili (Mahima Chaudhary), a bride-to-be from a middle-class family. Maithili is marrying a man who hails from a rich background. The two women witness Maithili's father being hassled by demands for an opulent wedding he cannot afford and being forced to pay dowry. Vaidehi tries to convince Raju to give his money from the heist. He initially refuses and leaves. However, after having a change of heart, he returns to give his heist money (which he was saving to get a job in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
) to Vaidehi. Maithili is humiliated by the groom's friend, who had tried to rape her. Having tolerated enough, she socially degrades the groom's family and they flee from the wedding.
Vaidehi is found by her husband and forced into a car. On the way, they encounter a protest mob. Raghu gets out of the car, giving Vaidehi the chance to escape. She arrives in Haripur, a small town, where she meets Janki (Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
), a theatre actress in love with her colleague. Janki is pregnant, but not married. She is a carefree and bubbly woman who doesn't care for the society norms. She is lusted after by the theatre director, Puroshottam, an older man who keeps his wife Lata (Jaya Bhattacharya
Jaya Bhattacharya
Jaya Battacharya is an Indian television actress. She has also done small roles in movies. She is of Bengali descent.-Acting career:In the Hindi movie Saathiya, she played a small role being the sister-in-law of the main character, Vivek Oberoi. She also played a small role in the 2002 Bollywood...
) confined to their house. Puroshottam tells Janki's lover that he has slept with her, leading her fiancé to question her. Janki is outraged and refuses to take the Agni Pariksha
Agni Pariksha
Agni Pariksha is a drama that airs on Zee Bangla. It is running about 2 years. In this program it is seen that every woman is giving AgniPariksha . It is a drama which shows every aspect of how a woman goes through different ups and downs of life, fighting through the good and bad...
performed by Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
during a performance of Ramayan. This leads to an outcry from the audience, and Janki is sent to the mental asylum after being assaulted by the audience, leading her to have a miscarriage. Vaidehi confronts Puroshottam, who threatens to call her husband. However, Lata intervenes and thrashes him. She then takes Vaidehi to the station and puts her on a train.
The train is robbed by bandits but the passengers are saved by Bhulva (Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
), a local dacoit. Vaidehi faints at the sight of blood, and Bulwa takes her to the local midwife Ramdulaari (Rekha). Ramdulaari bravely opposes the village leaders Virendra and Gajendra (Gulshan Grover
Gulshan Grover
Gulshan Grover is an Indian actor, who has acted in over 400 films through a career spanning over 30 years.Gulshan Grover is one of the first Indian actors to have made a successful transition from Bollywood into Hollywood and international Cinema....
and Danny Dezongpa), who hold orthodox
Orthodox
Orthodox may refer to:In music:* Orthodox , album by the Czech death metal band KrabathorIn science:* File manager#Orthodox file managers in computing* Orthodox seed, seed which may be preserved via drying or freezing...
beliefs. When her educated son — who is trying to free the village from Virendra and Gajendra's oppression by bringing education to the villagers — falls in love with Gajendra's daughter Sushma, all hell breaks loose. Gajendra locks Ramdulaari in her house and sets out to find her son. When her son gets away with Sushma, Virendra, Gajendra, and their henchmen gang-rape Ramdulaari and burn her alive. In rage, Bhulva and his men kill all of Virendra's men. Vaidehi escapes with Sushma and Ramdulaari's son.
Gajendra is making a move into politics, so when he is applauded by the local authorities, Vaidehi intervenes. She exposes Gajendra as a rapist and fraud through a heart-wrenching speech, which drives all the woman in the audience to assault Gajendra, who is later killed by Bhulva. Raghu hears Vaidehi's speech and decides to amend his ways. The two return to New York as a proper married couple. Vaidehi gives birth to a daughter whom she names Ramdulaari. She meets Raju again, who is now a taxi driver and married to Maithili. She invites him to a charity dance show with Janki in the main role and tells him that all the money from her shows goes to fund women's organizations in India.http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Lajja/
Cast
- Manisha KoiralaManisha KoiralaManisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...
as Vaidhehi (main character of this film) - Jackie ShroffJackie ShroffJackie Shroff is an Indian actor. He has been in the industry for more than 28 years and has appeared in over 150 films.-Personal life:...
as Raghuveer - Anil KapoorAnil KapoorAnil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
as Raju - Mahima Chaudhary as Maithali
- Madhuri DixitMadhuri DixitMadhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
as Janki - Rekha as Ramdulaari
- Ajay Devgn as Bulwa
- Beena Banerjee as Vaidehi's mother
- Suresh OberoiSuresh OberoiSuresh Oberoi is an Indian actor who is also father of Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi. He was born in Quetta, now Pakistan and is a recipient of 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor...
as (Raghuveer's father) - Johnny LeverJohnny LeverJohn Prakasa Rao Janumala famously known as Johnny Lever is an Indian film actor and comedian. He was born to Prakash Rao Janumala and Karunamma Janumala and brought up in Mumbai. He started his career in 1984 and has acted in over 350 Bollywood films...
as Fakhruddin (Raghuveer's stooge) - Razak Khan as Francis (Raghuveer's stooge)
- Anjan SrivastavAnjan SrivastavAnjan Srivatsav is an Indian film, television and stage actor, associated with Indian People's Theatre Association in Mumbai of which he remained Vice-President for several years...
as Nekchand (Maithili's father) - Farida JalalFarida Jalal- Career :Farida Jalal, a native of New Delhi, started her career in the 1960s, when she won the United Film Producers Talent Hunt sponsored by Filmfare. She usually played the sister or rejected fiancée of the male lead, but almost never the female lead...
as Saroj (Maithili's mother) - Sonali BendreSonali BendreSonali Bendre is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many Telugu films as well as a number of Marathi, Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent...
as Dancer (Special Appearance) - "Mujhe Saajan Ke Ghar Jaana Hai" - Tinu Anand as Purshotam
- Jaya BhattacharyaJaya BhattacharyaJaya Battacharya is an Indian television actress. She has also done small roles in movies. She is of Bengali descent.-Acting career:In the Hindi movie Saathiya, she played a small role being the sister-in-law of the main character, Vivek Oberoi. She also played a small role in the 2002 Bollywood...
as Lata - Danny DenzongpaDanny DenzongpaTshering Phintso Denzongpa , widely known by his acting name "Danny" Denzongpa, is an Indian actor of Sikkimese ancestry working in Bollywood films....
as Gajendra - Gulshan GroverGulshan GroverGulshan Grover is an Indian actor, who has acted in over 400 films through a career spanning over 30 years.Gulshan Grover is one of the first Indian actors to have made a successful transition from Bollywood into Hollywood and international Cinema....
as Virender - Aarti Chhabria as Sushma (Gajendra's daughter)
- Sharman JoshiSharman JoshiSharman Joshi is an Indian film and theatre actor. He has worked on various stage productions in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati languages. However, he is mostly known for his work in Hindi films.-Personal life :...
as Prakash (Ramdulaari's son) - AsraniAsraniGovardhan Asrani , popularly known simply as Asrani, is an actor in Indian films whose Bollywood career has spanned over 35 years. His wife Manju Bansal is an actress.-Early life:...
as Gulab Chand - Dina PathakDina PathakDina Pathak or Deena Pathak was a veteran actor and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was also a woman activist and remained the President of the 'National Federation of Indian Women'...
as Bua - Govind NamdeoGovind NamdeoGovind Namdeo is an Indian film actor. Govind made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam . He has acted in numerous A grade movies...
as Hazarilal - JagdeepJagdeepSyed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffry, better known as Jagdeep, is an Indian film actor known for his comic roles. He played Soorma Bhopali in Sholay , Gabbar in Purana Mandir , Chief Zabardast in Tehkhana , Hotel Receptionist in Veerana , Salman Khan's father In Andaaz Apna Apna and later directed a movie...
as Bansidhar Chakkiwala - Ritu Shivpuri as Anita
- Rohini HattangadiRohini HattangadiRohini Hattangadi is an Indian actress of film, theatre and television. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one National Film Award, and is the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi...
as Mrs. Hazarilal - Sangmesh Biradar as Don
- Urmila MatondkarUrmila MatondkarUrmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
as Dancer (Special Appearance)- "Aahiye Aajaiye" - Viju KhoteViju KhoteViju Khote is an Indian actor who has worked as character actor in more than 300 films in Hindi cinema and Marathi cinema. He is especially famous as the dacoit Kalia in the film Sholay and the dialogue, Sardar maine aapka namak khaya hai and Robert in movie Andaz Apna Apna...
as Damodar
Music
The background score for the movie was done by Illayaraja and the songs were mainly composed by Anu MalikAnu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
. Lyrics of all songs were also written by Sameer
Sameer (lyricist)
Sameer is an Indian lyricist,the main form of work undertaken by Sameer is for Indian songs in Hindi language films. His father is the famed Hindi lyricist, Anjaan . Since the beginning of his career, Sameer has penned around 4,000 songs in over 500 Hindi films and more than 130 songs in 23...
, except of "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar" which were written by Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
. This song was also composed by Illayaraja and was sung by Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
. The songs featured in the movie are as below.
- "Aa Hi Jaiye" (Singer: Anuradha SriramAnuradha SriramAnuradha Sriram is an Indian carnatic and playback singer who hails from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung in many Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films.- Personal life :...
) - "Badi Mushkil" (Singer: Alka YagnikAlka YagnikAlka Yagnik is an Indian singer who is ranked among the best Hindi playback singers of all time. She is a seven-time winner of the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award as well as a two-time recipient of the prestigious National Film Awards...
) - "Jiyo Jiyo" (Singer: K. K.)
- "Kaliyug Ki Sita" (Singer: Anuradha PaudwalAnuradha PaudwalAnuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India.She has sung songs in Hindi, Marathi and Nepali.- Biography :She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai. She was married to the late Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant...
) - "Kaliyug Ki Sita - II" (Singer: Shubha MudgalShubha MudgalShubha Mudgal is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music, Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, and popular Indian Pop music.She has been awarded the 1996 National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction for 'Amrit Beej', the 1998 Gold Plaque Award for Special Achievement in Music,...
) - "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar" (Singer: Lata MangeshkarLata MangeshkarLata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
) - "Saajan Ke Ghar Jana Hai" (Singers: Alka YagnikAlka YagnikAlka Yagnik is an Indian singer who is ranked among the best Hindi playback singers of all time. She is a seven-time winner of the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award as well as a two-time recipient of the prestigious National Film Awards...
, Sonu NigamSonu NigamSonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
, Richa Sharma)
Reviews
The film received mixed reviews however the performances from the lead actors were highly praised.Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
gave a rating of two and half out of five stars and said "On the whole, Lajja is a purposeful film within commercial parameters and the best part is that the Indian masses will be able to identify with the goings-on. An enviable star cast, a talented director and an excellent second half are amongst its strong points." The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
stated "Unfortunately, this colourful film is a black-and-white disappointment, particularly in the second half when Santoshi loses track of his story and in a blatant bid to get the tax-free certificate brings in bits about computer education, female literacy and infanticide. Watch this diatribe against men if you are wedded to the increasingly popular idea of male-bashing. Despite sensitive performances by Madhuri and Manisha, it is alternately too loud, too simplistic. There is no space for grey matter: men are all black, women all white. Which is as far from reality as you can get". The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
gave a positive review saying "The film is well directed, excellent songs, although they should have had more realistic fights."