''Rukmavati Ki Haveli'' (

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

) () is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

. The film is directed by

Govind Nihalani Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema, particularly the movement of parallel cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Aw ...

and is based on

Federico Garcia Lorca Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Arts and language * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ * Federico Aguil ...

's Spanish play ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' () is a play (theatre), play by the Spain, Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding (play), Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as the Rural Trilogy. García Lorc ...

''. The screenplay is written by Nihalani himself.

Plot

Nihalani's screenplay transports Lorca's Spanish setting on to a Rajasthan village. Rukmavati, a domineering matriarch has five daughters Savitri, Damayanti, Chandra, Mumal and Padma, all unmarried. The domineering woman has inexorable control over her daughters placing them all in a repressive setting where they don't have any social life of their own outside their home. The frustrated and angry daughters respond in their individual ways to their mother's cruelty leading to a tragic ending. Nahar Singh starts courting the eldest daughter Savitri but the youngest daughter Padma falls in love with him. He also responds to her. This makes Mumal jealous of her. One night as Padma goes out with Nahar, Mumal follows them leading to a confrontation. Rukmavati fires at Nahar. Padma commits suicide. Rukmavati, shaken but unbending still, has only to say, "My daughter died a virgin."

Cast

Uttara Baokar Uttara Baokar (5 August 1944 – 12 April 2023) was an Indian stage, film, and television actress. She acted in several notable plays, such as Padmavati in ''Mukyhamantri'', Mena in ''Mena Gurjari'', Desdemona in Shakespeare's ''Othello'', t ...

as Rukmavati. *

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...

as Savitri. *

Kitu Gidwani Kaushalya "Kitu" Gidwani (born 22 October 1967) is an Indian actress and model. She has starred in several films and serials on Indian television. Kitu played the role of Svetlana in ''Swabhimaan'' which brought recognition for her. Then she ...

as Mumal. *

Pallavi Joshi Pallavi Joshi (born 4 April 1969) is an Indian actress, writer, and film producer who works primarily in Hindi films and television. In a career spanning across films and television, Joshi is the recipient of such accolades as three National Fi ...

as Padma. *

Jyoti Subhash Jyoti Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi film, television and theatre industry. She is best known for her works in Marathi films like '' Valu'' (2008), ''Gabhricha Paus'' (2009) and Bollywood films like '' Phoonk'' (2008) and '' ...

as Dhapabai. *

Sohaila Kapur Sohaila Kapur is an Indian actress, journalist, television personality, theatre director and playwright. Early life Sohaila was born in a Punjabi Hindu family to Kulbhushan Kapur and Sheel Kanta Kapur. Her father was the physician to Fakhruddin ...

as Damayanti. * Suneeta Sengupta as Chandra. * Shikha Diwan as Bhanwari. * chandrima bhaduri as Nanisa.

Awards

Ajay Munjal and A.M. Padmanabhan won the

39th National Film Awards The 39th National Film Awards were presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1991, with the cere ...

for Best Audiography and

Samir Chanda Samir Chanda (1957 – 18 August 2011) was an Indian art director and production designer across Indian cinema, including Hindi cinema, Hindi, Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam and Tamil cinema, Tamil, most known for hi ...

for

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

for the film.

References

External links

* 1991 films Indian films based on plays 1990s Hindi-language films 1990s Indian films Films directed by Govind Nihalani Films whose production designer won the Best Production Design National Film Award Films that won the Best Audiography National Film Award Doordarshan television films {{1990s-Hindi-film-stub