''Laaga Chunari Mein Daag – Journey Of A Woman'' () is a 2007 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language drama film directed by

Pradeep Sarkar Pradeep Sarkar (born 30 April 1955) is a writer and director who works in Bollywood. He began his career with Vinod Chopra Productions, the production company of director and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Personal life From a young boy lis ...

and starring

Jaya Bachchan Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party, serving four terms since 2004. Known primarily for her work in Hindi and Bengali ...

Rani Mukherji Rani Mukerji (pronounced ; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including seven Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the high ...

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen S ...

, Anupam Kher, Kunal Kapoor and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

. Produced by

Aditya Chopra Aditya Chopra (; born 21 May 1971) is an Indian filmmaker, studio executive, producer and film distributor who mainly works in Indian cinema. Currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of Yash Raj Films, founded by his father Ya ...

, it premiered on 12 October 2007. The film was the first directed by Sarkar under the

Yash Raj Films Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...

banner.

Plot

Vibhavari "Badki" Sahay and Shubhavari "Chutki" Sahay, are the daughters of Shivshankar Sahay and Savitri Sahay. They live on the banks of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Banaras Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

. Life is full of happiness and joy for the two sisters although the family is poor and their house badly needs repairs. Savitri struggles to financially support the family by sewing clothes, and Badki left school before completing 12th standard in order to help Savitri earn more. Both Savitri and Badki are determined to ensure that Chutki completes her education, while Shivshankar spends his days buying lottery tickets and voicing his resentment that Badki was not born a son. When Shivshankar falls ill and greedy relatives threaten to sue the family for their house, Badki goes to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

to find work, but she is continuously rejected due to her lack of education and qualifications. She begs her friend Karan to introduce her to his sleazy middle-aged boss, Gupta. Married yet lonely, he offers her a lucrative job on the condition that she physically please him, with sex. She returns to her residence to find out the land lady has evicted her without notice. Homeless and lonely, a desperate Badki contacts Gupta and meets him in a posh hotel room, where they have sex. She feels she has secured her job, only for Gupta to reveal that he had manipulated her for sex; he refuses her the job and throws money at her, offering her a job as his personal escort, leaving her anguished. Feeling defeated and out of options, Badki becomes an escort, taking only wealthy men as clients. Coached by Karan's friend Michelle, Badki learns how to speak English and how to dress modernly and goes by the name "Natasha." Badki lies to her father and Chutki that she found work as an event planner and sends money for Shivshankar's medicines, house repairs, and a family lawyer. Although Savitri knows the truth and is pained by it, she does not dissuade Badki for fear of losing the steady flow of money. Through one of her clients, Badki meets and falls in love with attorney Rohan in Zurich but then leaves him fearing that he would be disgusted by her profession. Meanwhile, Chutki completes her

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

and comes to live with Badki in Mumbai. She starts working at an agency and begins a relationship with her boss, creative director Vivaan, who soon proposes to her. While wedding preparations begin in Banaras, Savitri calls Chutki to implore her that Badki not attend the celebrations, for fear of Badki's profession being discovered and bringing shame on the family. Chutki then inadvertently discovers Badki's secret, and while initially upset, she apologizes to Badki for their family's selfishness. Chutki fiercely vows to remain by Badki's side and begs Badki to attend her wedding. At Chutki's wedding in Banaras, Badki comes face-to-face with Rohan, who is revealed to be Vivaan's older brother. Old feelings resurface between the two, and Rohan asks Badki to marry him. Badki refuses, feeling that Rohan would never accept her if he knew the truth, and informs her mother of his proposal. Savitri is terrified of the possibility of Chutki's wedding being ruined and blames Badki for coming to Banaras. Chutki, however, rebukes her mother for overlooking Badki's sacrifices for the family and urges Badki to finally put herself first, whatever consequences there might be for Chutki's marriage. Shivshankar overhears this conversation and, along with Savitri, realizes what Badki has suffered for the family's sake. Badki divulges her profession to Rohan, who shocks her by revealing that he knew from the moment they were introduced by her client in Zurich. He explains that he deeply admires her character and the sacrifices she made for her family and wants to marry her. Badki accepts, and the two couples marry in a joint wedding ceremony.

Cast

as Savitri Sahay *

as Vibhavari "Vibha/Vibs/Badki" Sahay / Natasha *

as Shubhavari "Shubhi/Chutki" Sahay * Anupam Kher as Shivshankar Sahay *

Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film '' Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on t ...

as Vivaan Verma *

as Rohan Verma *

Kamini Kaushal Kamini Kaushal (born as Uma Kashyap, 24 February 1927) is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films and television. She is noted for her roles in films such as ''Neecha Nagar'' (1946), which won the 1946 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at Cannes F ...

as Rohan and Vivaan's grandmother * Tarana Raja as Sophia * Ninad Kamat as Karan *

Harsh Chhaya Harsh Chhaya is an Indian actor. He debuted in a minor role as "Jijo" in the early 1990s Zee TV series '' Tara'', but first came into prominence in the role of Krishnakant Trivedi (KT) in mid 1990s TV series '' Hasratein'', where he portrayed ...

as K. K. Gupta *

Murli Sharma Murli may refer to: * Murli, Bihar * Murli (instrument) * MuRli, Togolese-Irish rapper {{disambiguation ...

as Sunil Bhatia *

Tinnu Anand Tinu Anand (born Virender Raj Anand, 12 October 1945) is an Indian actor, director, writer and producer in Hindi cinema and a few Telugu and Tamil films. Early life He is the son of veteran writer Inder Raj Anand, brother of producer Bittu An ...

as Rajshankar 'Rajjo' Sahay *

Sushant Singh Sushant Singh (born 9 March 1972) is an Indian character actor, television actor, author and presenter known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and Telugu cinema. He made his screen debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal Varma's ''Satya''. ...

as Ratan Sahay *

Suchitra Pillai Suchitra Pillai (born 27 August 1970) is an Indian actress, model, anchor and VJ. A graduate in electronic engineering, she chose a career in arts over engineering. Apart from roles in movies including '' Dil Chahta Hai'' (2001), '' Page 3'' ...

as Michele * Sanjay Taneja as BDO *

Kalki Koechlin Kalki Koechlin (; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in Hindi films. Known for her unconventional body of work, she is the recipient of such accolades as a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Screen Awar ...

Shriya Sharma Shriya Sharma (born 9 April 1997) is an Indian actress, model and advocate who has worked in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She is known for playing the role of Sneha Bajaj in the television series ''Kasautti Zindagi Kay'' which won her the ...

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successfu ...

in a cameo appearance as Dulari Bai

Production

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan ...

was initially approached for the role of Rohan that went to Abhishek Bachchan, and

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...

had earlier been offered the role that went to Konkona Sen Sharma. ''Laaga Chunari Mein Daag'' was Jaya Bachchan's first film since Nikhil Advani's ''

Kal Ho Naa Ho ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (, ), also abbreviated as ''KHNH'', is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Nikhil Advani, written by Karan Johar with dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar, and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars ...

'' (2003). The production of the film gathered some controversy when a lighting crew-member drowned in the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. During a shooting session in

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, Mukerji's bodyguards aggressively moved media people and fans away from the film set. A political and media storm followed, as various groups insisted that Mukerji should have stopped the security guards. The actress then apologized to the media, though claiming the media were trying to get too close to both her and Sen Sharma. Some scenes involving Mukerji and Bachchan were shot in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

, Switzerland.

Music

The film's soundtrack was released on 10 September 2007. Songs such as "Hum To Aise Hain" and "Kachchi Kaliyaan" featured playback singers such as

Sunidhi Chauhan Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of 5 and made her career debut at the age of 13, with the film '' Shastra'' (1996). During the ...

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards ...

and KK. The soundtrack received a 3 out of 5 rating on ''indiaFm.com''.

Release and reception

''Laaga Chunari Mein Daag'' premiered on 12 October 2007 in Mumbai and was released on the same day in North America.

Box office

In an interview with the filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, said: "It was a tight budget film made with 150 million and already on the first week it has made 250 million gross worldwide. In what way we are saying that it is not doing well?" asked Sarkar. "Admitting that the film did take a slow start in the domestic market, he's hopeful it will grow on audiences in the weeks ahead, much in the same way that his debut film ''Parineeta'' (2005) did. " The film earned ₹17.5

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is eq ...

in India and ₹3.17 crore in other territories, for a worldwide total of ₹ 20.67 crore.

Critical response

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, the film received a generally negative critical response, with reviewers criticizing the repetitious and obsolete story line.

Raja Sen Raja Sen (born 10 November 1955) is an Indian film and television director and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the father of actress Rimi Sen. Career Raja Sen first received recognition with ''S ...

of Rediff.com said the movie "takes us back to a kind of cinema we thought we were done with. Indian cinema threw off the ''dupatta'' just a little while ago; let's not shackle it back down".

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...

from ''indiaFM'' said it "stands on a shaky script and has all chances of slipping".http://www.indiafm.com/movies/review/13370/index.html Martin D'Souza of ''Glamsham.com'' noted, "this is a big letdown" from the director of the well-received '' Parineeta'' (2005). ''Hindustan Times'' wrote that, "This one comes out smelling of mothballs, like a wedding dress stored for decades in an attic trunk. Not surprising, since the plot is vintage 1977 from '' Aaina'', and the award-winning Marathi film '' Doghi'' (1995)" (made by

Sumitra Bhave Sumitra ( sa, सुमित्रा, IAST: Sumitrā) is a princess of Kashi in Hindu mythology. The wise Sumitra is the third queen consort of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala, who ruled from Ayodhya. She is the mother of the twins Lakshmana a ...

with Uttara Baokar, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Sonali Kulkarni and Renuka Daftardar). Critical response in the United States was more mixed.

Frank Lovece Frank Lovece () is an American journalist and author, and a comic book writer primarily for Marvel Comics, where he and artist Mike Okamoto created the miniseries ''Atomic Age''. His longest affiliation has been with the New York metropolitan ...

of ''

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of ''Adweek'', ''Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodicals. H ...

'' said that the film put "glossy Bollywood confection" in a historical context, calling it a "good old-fashioned,

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for ...

-style women's weepie ... so universal you could substitute

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

for

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for

Maitland McDonagh Maitland McDonagh () is an American film critic and the author of several books about cinema. She is the author of ''Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento'' (1991) and works of erotic fiction and erotic cinema, as well a ...

of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' found the film "breaks no new ground but is solidly entertaining" while David Chute of '' L.A. Weekly'' said, "The movie works so hard to transform its shocking subject into acceptable material for middlebrow melodrama that it never deals with it". Rachel Saltz of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' termed the film, "A fascinating blend of musical, melodrama and feminist fairy tale".

Awards

53rd Filmfare Awards The 53rd Filmfare Awards organized by Filmfare, honored the best Bollywood films of 2007. It took place on 16 February 2008 at the Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai. ''Chak De! India'', ''Guru'' and ''Om Shanti Om'' led the ceremony with 10 nominations ...

: Nominated *

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

–

* Best Supporting Actress –

9th IIFA Awards The 2008 IIFA Awards, officially known as the 9th International Indian Film Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the International Indian Film Academy honoured the best films of 2007 and took place between 6 – 8 June 2008. The official cere ...

: Nominated *

– Rani Mukherji * Best Supporting Actress – Konkona Sen Sharma 5th

Stardust Awards The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by '' Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...

: Nominated * Star of the Year – Female – Rani Mukherji

References

External links

* * {{Pradeep Sarkar 2007 films 2000s Hindi-language films Films set in Uttar Pradesh Films about prostitution in India Films shot in Uttar Pradesh Hindi remakes of Kannada films Films about women in India Yash Raj Films films Films directed by Pradeep Sarkar