''Leipaklei'' () is a 2012 Manipuri film directed and produced by

Aribam Syam Sharma Aribam Syam Sharma is an Indian filmmaker and composer from Manipur. He debuted in the first Manipuri film '' Matamgi Manipur'' as an actor. In 1974, he directed his first movie '' Lamja Parshuram''. It became the first Manipuri film to run for ...

. It stars Leishangthem Tonthoi in the title role. The story of the film was written by Arambam Samarendra and screenplay by Arambam Ongbi Memchoubi. ''Leipaklei'' was screened on the inaugural day of 5th Guwahati Film Festival 2012. It was also screened at the 18th

Kolkata International Film Festival The Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is an annual film festival held in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1995, it is the third oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organized by the West Bengal Film Centre under the W ...

and 14th

Jeonju International Film Festival Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, ) is an Asian film festival based in South Korea. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival seeking to introduce independent and experimental films to the general public and focusing ...

(JIFF) held at

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The film won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Manipuri The National Film Award for Best Manipuri Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kama ...

at the

60th National Film Awards The 60th National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2012 in the Indian cinema. The ceremony was held on 3 May 2013 and was host ...

Synopsis

The film ''Leipaklei'' tells the story of Leipaklei, a woman named after a Manipuri flower. Like the flower whose habitat is the hard ground, she is surrounded by hard trials and ironies of fate: separation from the one who loved and is still loved by her, abandonment by her husband, the trials of being a single parent, the violence of the gaze of men who sees her as fair game. Not unlike the flower ''Leipaklei'', which hibernates beneath parched grounds – dreaming for a spring past, the protagonist dreams of the return of her beloved. He returns.

Cast

* Leishangthem Tonthoi as Leipaklei *

Lairenjam Olen Lairenjam Olen is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Manipuri films Manipuri may refer to: * something of, from, or related to: ** the modern-day Indian state of Manipur ** the historical Manipur (princely state) * Manipuri cuisine * ...

as Ibotomba * Gurumayum Kalpana as Tamurei * Thingom Pritam as Thoiba * Gurumayum Priyogopal as Khura * Sundari as Mandon * ''Baby'' Rainy as Meme

Accolades

''Leipaklei'' won the

at the

. The citation for the National Award reads, "''A simple story told in a straight-forward simple narrative highlighting social reality''".

References

{{Reflist 2010s Meitei-language films 2012 films Films directed by Aribam Syam Sharma