Sadma

Plot synopsis:
Nehalata (Sridevi) is a young, modern girl who meets with an accident. The parents are concerned as their daughter is unable to recognise them. The doctor diagnoses her with retrograde amnesia that leaves her with the memory and intelligence of a six or seven-year-old. Circumstances lead her into prostitution, and in the brothel she meets Somu (Kamal Haasan). He realizes that she has been tricked into the trade. He rescues her and takes her to his home in Ooty where he lives with his grandmother and begins to take care of her. He knows Nehalata as Reshmi, which was the pseudonym given to her at the brothel. Reshmi reciprocates Somu's care as they spend several months together sharing an amazing and innocent relationship that treads the tender line between affection and love. The sub-plot of the film follows the wife of Somu's boss who is attracted to Somu, though Somu doesn't reciprocate her feelings. It depicts how the outside world succumbs to carnal desires which have no place in Somu and Reshmi's relationship. Somu takes Reshmi to the village's medical practitioner who cures her and brings her back to sanity as she regains her memory up to the point of her accident. She boards a train that day back home with her parents. When Somu comes to meet Reshmi later that day, she is unable to identify or remember him. Despite his efforts to make her understand that he was the one who had taken care of her for several months, she is indifferent to him and leaves Ooty for her hometown, thus abandoning Somu and the life and relationship that she once had with him.

Tags: tragedy, romantic

Review:
How heart-breaking it can be when a dreamlike experience becomes a never-been....
Sadma has one of the greatest and most unusual stories ever in an Indian movie.
The film has bits of comedy, drama, but it is better described as a realistic, enjoyable and beautiful journey which remains keepsake-less.
I'm obviously talking about the climax scene which is so touching that nothing can be good enough to explain what you feel about it.
It can be really difficult when an experience of a lifetime, a story of love and a relationship of pure humanity are gone with the wind as if they had never been.
Don't know where the writer had taken his inspiration from to write this extraordinary story and this fine script, but Balu Mahendra must be applauded for handling it so well on-screen.
Kamal Haasan and Sridevi are nothing short of spectacular and superb in their respective roles.
As the caring and worldly school teacher Somu, Haasan plays his role with depth and visible understanding of his character, and his final scenes are of the film's strongest.
Sridevi, in one of her most memorable roles, plays a young woman, who, as a result of a head injury loses her memory and is in a mental state of a five-year old girl's.
That means she actually has two roles to play (which this actress has done plenty of times).
As the conscious woman before the accident, she is graceful and beautiful, but it is the other role that marks this performance.
To play a little girl trapped in a young woman's body must be very difficult for any actor, but Sridevi does it with incredible ease and conviction, making her character both funny and moving.
After reading all the above comments I also felt like to comment on the film that I grown up watching.
I watched this film when I was just 8yrs.
old and one scene that still fresh in my mind is the climax.
It is so heart wrenching and sad that you just can't stop the tears blow out of your eyes.
Though I watched the film several more times but you can understand the magic of this film which left a strong impact in 8 yrs' old boy's mind.
Kamal Hasan and Sridevi are at their best in the film.
Film's music also out of the time and goes pretty well with the film's each and every scene.
It is one of the most heart-rending movies that I have seen till date.
And the final scene would make most cry - and you wouldn't be sure whether you are crying for the character or for yourself or for something that can't be explained in words but only felt in the deep recess of our hearts.
For most it might be just another good movie that makes you feel very sad and depressed.
But for anyone who has ever loved and doted on anyone as if she was your child, lover and mother all rolled into one; loved so deeply that her presence is what helps you breathe and her absence shatters your world - he would be able to feel what Kamal's character really goes through..
A great movie about the complex human relations and emotions..
Well, especially for the western readers i must say that if u have not seen this movie yet(ofcourse u didnt...!) then its just like missing out "One flew over the cuckoo`s" nest of urs...yes it is one of the greatest work Indian cinema has ever produced.
The Kamal hassan and Sridevi are at their best and so is director balu.
The movie is all about a girl in her early twenties who after meeting an accident lost her memory as well as senses...well not exactly senseless but no better than a six year old.
Kamal met her in a brothel and After meeting her, he just couldnt stop thinking about her and somehow managed to flee her from the hell..now its all about how he brought her at his home and how he treat her like a child, without getting diverted in terms of human instincts, cosidering the beauty she is..
and then the climax is superb and the most watchable part of the movie...Kamal`s performance of life...you just cant come out of the theater witout some drops...!then the music score by Illyaharaja is as touching as the movie itself...All the complexities of life with emotions flowing all over, movie is a great experience...
Sdama is the story of an idealistic young man Somu (Kamal Haasan) who rescues an amnesiac young girl, Reshmi (Sridevi), from a brothel and takes charge of her life.
She has the mental age of a five year old and her parents are looking all over for her.
But when memory returns will the memories of Somu fade from Reshmi's mind?
Here he is young, very good looking and absolutely perfect as the idealistic school teacher who decides to rescue a girl in trouble.
Stalked by Silk Smitha, he also get ample opportunity to flex his dancing skills in a fantasy item number!
Sridevi is very good as the five year old trapped in a young woman's body.
Maybe there is exaggeration in the acting, but I can see her as a hyperactive 5 year old.
One wonders how good some of today's anorexic leading ladies would look with those curves!
The ultimate tragedy of the film leaves one in shock and mourning for what could have been while at the same time Reshmi's return to normalcy is celebrated.The film is well directed and the camera work is extremely beautiful.
Kamal still has traces of his South Indian Hindi accent, but is miles ahead of his Ek Duje ke Liye days.
Yes you will be saddened by the story but the beauty of the film is a joy that must be experienced..
I haven't seen a movie like that.It is a special movie that will attract every sensible person.If you see this movie,a sad feeling will come in your heart.I will advise those who have not a strong heart that they should not see this movie.The end is so sad that all the night , you will think about the movie.The performance of Kamal Hassan and Sri Devi is outstanding..
The best movie.
This is one of the best, or rather the best movie I have ever seen.
Seeing this movie is like being there for the time.
The photography and the locations are absolutely fabulous, would remind of some time in your life.
The facial expressions on Kamal's face are quite realistic.
In one sequence the heroine is lost and Kamal has searched all around the village for her and not been able to find her.
The end scene would fill anyone into big time thoughts.
Only downside is that silk smita has helped this movie to get Adult certificate and some boring song sequences..
Well-done yet heart-wrenching.
An extremely well-done movie (although not terribly intellectual), both lead actors do an excellent acting job with good material.
Very simply, the plot focusses around the relationship between a single man and a girl he takes in, who has lost her memory.
I was recommended this as an Indian film that is very non-Bollywood, and that is certainly true.
(The unbelievably improbably coincidences are kept to a minimum, and there is no long-lost twin brother or dying mother or any of the inevitable Bollywood cliches.)Be warned though, after watching this you might feel vaguely depressed for the rest of the evening..
Whether anyone likes,appreciates,admires this movie or not it will still stay true to be one of the best movie genuinely made for actors portrayed.
Well most of the South Indian movies are story based and increasingly character(actors) based.
This one was just made to match the wits and acting skills of Kamal and Sridevi.
Personally one of the saddest ending scene seen in films (Yes it includes international movies too).
Plot revolves around the relationship between a single man and an amnesiac girl in a hill station and how things turn out in the end against the lead actor.
Just a Classic Master Piece 10/10 from my side....All Kamal needs is one good role in a International movie to show the world what are the standards set for Indian actors in Indian movies(not just Bollywood).
I write this review when I hear the sad news of Sridevi's demise.
She announced her stupendous acting potential with this classic of a movie as early as 1983.
She thereafter ruled Bollywood at a time when there were non-actors in female leads other than maybe Jaya Prada and Meenakshi Sheshadri and did so until the arrival of the likes of Madhuri and Juhi.
The movie in question is one of my all time favourites, it is a beautiful narrative with a heart-breaking climax, reaching the peak of cinematic brilliance.
The writer deserves all accolades for writing such a heart touching script and the director for making so realistically.
The climax is so non cliché, it just hits the rights chords.Kamal haasan is absolute genius, how wonderfully he has performed.
Sridevi is as always great.The movie takes you through a journey of two people, how they come together and how they affect each other's lives.
I am giving away all ten for the climax of this movie.
Good, Absorbing, Funny, Poignant, Well Acted.
Sadma is the story of Rashmi (the very good and very pretty Sridevi), who gets into a car accident and not only has amnesia but reverts to a six year old.
Samu, played by the versatile Kamal Hassan, gets taken to a brothel by his best friend and finds her there.
The film is about how Rashmi responds to things as a six year old, her child like ways.
She smiles, giggles, looks sad and frightened, often in a very short time.
In the hands of lesser actors, this would be a very tough film to stay with, but with Sridevi and Mr. Hassan you grow to care so much about them and to appreciate their relationship.
Also in this film in a more seductive role, though its not as a main character, is Silk Smitha.
However, this is Sridevi's film, her big beautiful eyes expressing all of the emotions/feelings she has.
Recommended for the story itself, but more recommended for Sridevi and Kamal Hassan, who are both talented and make an engaging pair..
Intriguing performances by Kamal Hassan and Sridevi create the magical Sadma.
It is heart wrenching for anyone who watches Sadma.
The movie will leave you with nothing but an indescribable pain that lasts for a long time.
Balu Mahendra's Sadma is an incredibly made movie for the masses who will easily relate to the characters and the plot.Sadma narrates the story of Nehalata/Reshmi and Somu.
Nehalata becomes Reshmi after she meets with an accident which leaves her with a head injury which regress her into childhood.
Circumstances lead her into a brothel from where she is rescued by the kind hearted teacher Somu.
Somu takes care of her and will eventually fall in love with her.
The treatment brings her memory back only to make us realize that she does not remember anything after her accident, including Somu.
The movie ends up leaving us devastated with the fact that Nehalata has left her entire past with Somu and she has headed towards her hometown.Sadma is a beautifully narrated movie that will leave you with just one thought; Somu should not have treated her.
The script and direction by Balu leaves you in tears by the end of the movie and emotionally awed.
Kamal Haasan was already a terrific actor and he proved it again being Somu.
Scenes wherein he enacts monkey for Reshmi and the whole song of Surumaee Akhiyon Mein will leave your heart completely fallen for Somu.
Kamal's performance in the final scene deserves a special mention as that is the scene that leaves any viewer totally crashed.
Kamal proved to be an ultimate actor and the movie, in Tamil, won him his first National Award.Sridevi is equally flawless in the movie and her situations will make you empathize with the character.
Her character cannot be hated even at the end of the movie as you realize that she is not at fault.
Her transformation as the matured Nehalata to the five year old minded Reshmi is not really an easy task.
But Sridevi portrayed it as a cake walk for her as she smoothly transforms into both the roles.The music of the movie, by the legendary Ilaiyaraaja, is an all time treasure.
Aye Zindagi, Yeh Hawa Yeh Fiza and others are still in the list of classics.If you have not watched Sadma, you are missing the experience of watching one of the best movies of Indian cinema..
A young woman who regresses to childhood after suffering a head injury in a car crash..
Sadma, directed by Balu Mahendra, is perhaps the film that best captures the tragedy of loving unconditionally and losing everything in the end.
Sadma means trauma in Hindi, and the film is about Nehalata (Sridevi), who has suffered a head injury in a car crash.
As a result of this, she loses her memory and regresses to childhood.
She is trapped in a brothel, and is rescued by K Somprakash (Kamal Haasan).
K Somprakash is a lonely schoolteacher who is not interested in getting emotionally or physically involved even with a sexually frustrated woman called Soni (Silk Smitha), who attempts to seduce Somprakash at every opportunity.
He decides to take care of Nehalata, who no longer remembers her identity or her past and needs to be taken care of like a child.
Somprakash, at first, gets easily irritated by Nehalata's behavior, but gradually starts getting used to it.
Somprakash knows he must do everything for Nehalata till she regains her memory, and only till then.
He names her Reshmi, and she calls him Somu Balu Mahendra has extracted above-par performances from Kamal Haasan and Sridevi.
Kamal Haasan is perfect as K Somprakash, the lonely schoolteacher whose dull life is lit up and filled with colors by the child-woman's presence.
Somprakash is a mild-mannered, docile fellow, but displays a rare streak of anger when saving Reshmi/ Nehalata from the clutches of Balua (Gulshan Grover).
Kamal Haasan perfected the role of a simple man who falls for the beautiful Sridevi, more through expressions than by way of words.
Sridevi's performance in Sadma is easily one of her finest.
As Nehalata/ Reshmi, Sridevi portrays the character of a child-woman suffering from memory loss with stupefying brilliance.
The childlike manner in which she calls Somprakash 'Somu' will warm your heart first, and then tear it apart when you see how the movie ends.
The best scene in the movie – and one of the absolute best in cinema – is the ending of Sadma.
Reshmi regains her memory and becomes Nehalata again, and remembers nothing about the time she has spent with her Somu.
At the railway station when she is being taken back to where she belonged before her car crash, Somprakash, outside the train, monkey-dances for her before the trauma of losing her hits him and insanity takes over Kamal Haasan is electrifying as the madly-in-love man, frantically trying to make the once-innocent girl remember him and the wonderful time they spent together, to make her realize she belongs completely and only to him.
The story is very captivating, and if the ending of Sadma doesn't break your heart, you should get yourself checked to see if you have one.
Never before or after have heartbreak and trauma been captured in a film this way, so avoid if you're feeling depressed or suicidal!.
SADMA(1983) is one of those superb films which though was a flop at the B.O when released yet is one of the best filmsThe film is a remake of the 1982 of Balu Mahendra's own Tamil Film Moondram Pirai, starring Sridevi and Kamal Hassan.The film is superb, it starts off well with Sridevi having an accident and then loosing her sanity, the scenes between Kamal and Sridevi are simply fabOnly drawback is the forced adult quotient featuring Silk Smitha which could be done away with.Even her sudden cure may not seem believable but the end is simply fabDirection is superb Music is good, Ae Zindagi is the best song rest are decentKamal Hassan is terrific in his role, this was one of his early films Sridevi is simply outstanding in her role without overacting, Am surprised she dint get best actress award, she truly deserved it Silk Smitha is okay, Paintal, Viju Khote and Gulshan Grover are adequate.
A masterpiece of a movie.
The story is so unusual , but also very realistic and magnificently played by both Sridevi and Kamal Hassan.
The entire movie is Sridevi and Kamal Hassan,who rescues Nehalata, aka Reshmi from a brothel where she ended up after being injured in an auto accident and losing her memory and adult senses.
The script is very nicely written and Balu Mahendra did a spectacular job in presenting the story.
The viewer's gets glued to the screen watching the conversation and the events surrounding Sridevi's childlike tantrums and how patiently Shomu ( Kamal Hassan ) tries to maintain his cool and tries to bring her to a normal human being.
As we watch the progress of the film, we become very supportive of Shomu and kind of become passionately in love with him for all his acts of help and support for Sridevi.
One of the many memorable scenes that touches your heart is where Sridevi while talking with Kamal Hassan, lies down on his lap and slowly falls asleep showing the bond of love that has gradually developed between them.
The end of the film is tragic and comes to you has a big surprise as well as a great pain seeing how all that help and support went down and Sridevi even could not recognize Kamal.