Kamla Ki Maut


Kamla Ki Maut is a 1989 Hindi drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film set in Mumbai, deals with issue of love, pre-marital sex and relationships in modern India. It stars Pankaj Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Roopa Ganguly, Irrfan Khan, Mrinal Kulkarni, Asha Lata, Ashutosh Gowariker.
At the 36th Filmfare Awards the film won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Basu Chatterjee. In 2013, to commemorate 100 years of Indian cinema, National Film Development Corporation of India in partnership with Shemaroo, released a digitally re-mastered print of the film under "Cinemas of India" label.

Plot

The film is set in a lower middle class chawl, an apartment building in Mumbai, a 20-year-old and unmarried Kamla, unable to handle the news of her pregnancy commits suicide. This makes her neighbourhood examine their own secrets and the choices they have made in their own lives. The neighbour's family Patel's are badly shattered by the death of Kamla as Sudhakar Patel also has two young daughters as same age to Kamla, Geeta and Charu studying with Kamla in college also have boyfriends and some secrets unknown to the family. As Sudhakar and his wife Nirmala comes to know that premarital pregnancy is the reason of Kamla's suicide, they went to flashback, remembering their mistakes made during younger days.
Nirmala in her teenage fell for her tutor, who was already married and not interested in any relation with his teenage student. He rejected Nirmala's proposal. After Nirmala's suicide attempt, her mother confronts her, as no one knows the truth Nirmala's family fixed her wedding with Sudhakar. At present Nirmala realised that suicide attempt was wrong, as a mother she never want any of her daughters to choose such option.
Years ago young Sudhakar meets Anju, they were attracted to each other and decided to get married. They got intimate, resulting in pregnancy. Anju asks Sudhakar to marry her,but Sudhakar convinced her to abort the child. After abortion, Sudhakar disappeared from Anju's life. Sudhakar relocated to a new place where he finds new love in village girl Chameli. One day Sudhakar and Chameli caught red handed while making love. Villagers and Chameli's father ask Sudhakar to marry Chameli as no one will accept her. Sudhakar initially agrees but later got scared because of Chameli's aggressive fiance and threat given by him. Sudhakar disappears from Chameli's life also. Sudhakar gets a new job at new place. There, he becomes friend with Prakash and his beautiful wife Lakshmi, they spend good time together. When Prakash goes out of City for office tour Sudhakar and Lakshmi get closer and developed relation. The night Prakash returned, he caught Sudhakar at his house in half naked condition, Prakash beat Sudhakar hard. Later, Sudhakar married Nirmala and had two daughters.
Years later when Sudhakar visited his village with his family, he saw Anju also got married and had children, they meet like long lost friends.
At present, Sudhakar discussing with Nirmala that Anju, whom they met once, also got pregnant before marriage like Kamla, but Anju hide her secret and decided to move on from her mistake and lived a happy life later. Sudhakar tells Nirmala that Kamla's mistake was not getting pregnant before marriage, but her mistake was suicide as there is no life left for her to correct it or forget it.

Cast

The film was shot at Gopal Bhawan, a residential building at Mangalwadi in Girgaum, besides Natraj Studio and R. K. Studio in Mumbai.