Rudaali

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Rudaali
DVD cover of Rudaali.
Directed by	Kalpana Lajmi
Produced by	Ravi Gupta Ravi Malik
Written by	Mahasweta Devi (story) Sampooran Singh Gulzar
Starring	Dimple Kapadia Raakhee Gulzar Amjad Khan
Release date(s)	1993
Running time	128 min.
Country	India
Language	Hindi
IMDb profile

Rudaali is a 1993 Hindi film directed by Kalpana Lajmi, based on the short story written by Mahasweta Devi. The title is a reference to a custom in certain areas of Rajasthan where women are hired as professional mourners after the death of a male relative. These women are referred to as a 'rudaali' (roo-dah-lee),literally translated as female weeper[1]. Their purpose is to publicly express grief of family members that are not permitted to display emotion due to social status.

The film is set in a small village in Rajasthan, India. It tells the story of a woman named Shanichari, who was abandoned by her mother shortly after her father's death. Bad fortune follows as she marries an alcoholic, who leaves her with little hope of a brighter future for herself and her son. Throughout Shanichari's lifetime of misfortune she has never cried. This creates great difficulty once she is called to become a rudaali until Bhinkni, an experienced mourner, enters her life[2]. But Shanichari is simply led to more misery that will surely bring her to tears.

Dimple Kapadia won a National Film Award for her role of Shanichari in the film. The film also features Raakhee, Raj Babbar and Amjad Khan in one of his last films. Amjad Khan had died before the film's release and the film is dedicated to him at the beginning of the film's credits.