Damini - A Question of Honor

Damini

Hindi, 1993

Genre: Courtroom Drama

Director: Rajkumar Santoshi

Stars: Meenakshi Seahadri, Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Amrish Puri, Sunny Deol

Mohan's Measure ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  ⭐️

A runaway hit from a generation ago, Damini features an extraordinarily powerful performance by Ms. Meenakshi as a young drawn by love into the amoral anf utterly cruel world of the filthy rich.

A trendsetting feminist story, the movie explores issues of rape, misogyny, greed, and the power of the Sacred Feminine.  This at a time when the industry was better known for romantic comedies. 

While Rishi Kapoor has his moments, it is really  Mr. Deol as the down and out lawyer that leaves a mark. His dialogues may verge on bravado, and are often quoted in spoofs today. But he sets precedence in creating an image of an angry anti-hero turned lawyer that continues to be employed in filmmaking today.

But it is in these bursts of hyperbole that this movie weakens, moving away from legal investigation to social criticism. But, sadly it's a criticism that continues well into the 21st Century.