Kalpana Lajmi deserved much more recognition: Raveena remembers 'Daman' director

"Daman" established Raveena Tandon as a powerhouse performer, and remembering director Kalpana Lajmi, the actor says the filmmaker deserved much more recognition than she received.

Lajmi, who was suffering from chronic kidney disease and liver failure, passed away Sunday morning. She was 64.

"Daman", which released in 2001, touched upon topics like domestic violence and caste divide. The film also won Raveena her first National Film Award for Best Actress.

"For me there is a lot that I learnt from her as she was a pioneer in making women oriented films 25 years ago when it was a challenge to make these kind of movies and see them through.

"But she picked up the challenge and brought out women issues strongly and in a way, she was working towards women empowerment. She deserved much more recognition than what she got," Raveena told PTI.

The actor says, even though Lajmi was strong-headed filmmaker, she always respected the individuality of the artistes.

"As a director she gave actors freedom to react the way they wanted to. She would give a situation and ask 'how would I react to it?' she would tell me to react as per the demand of the character. She captured our individuality."
"She never got nervous. And that was a great quality in her. The climax of 'Daman' was shot during Durga Puja."