Producer: Dept. of Family Welfare, Govt. of India 
Director: Kalpana Lajmi 
Cast: Raveena Tandon, Sayaji Shinde, Sanjay Suri, Shaan
Music: Bhupen Hazarika
Lyrics: Maya Govind

Finally the film has released even as the controversy over Raveena Tandon winning the national award continues. It is now for us to judge whether she really deserved the coveted award for her potrayal of a battered wife to a sadistic husband in Daman. However, we haven’t viewed the other films to actually and rightly pass the judgment the way the jury did it.

Verdict: Her performance in the film is undoubtedly one of her best to date. However, the film runs short of expectations and looks very alike a Kalpana Lajmi film. Shoddy production values and a slightly confused narrative dims the impact of what could have been a compelling film. Lajmi’s previous National award winner Rudaali effectively captured the pathos of a professional mourner. It made you cry. It made you feel. It made you think. Daman lacks that deep impact.

Daman, meaning domination, is the story of Durga (Raveena Tandon), a young girl with stars in her eyes getting ready for her wedding ceremony, however she has no clue that she is being married off to a sadistic brute Sanjay Saikia (Sayaji Shinde), a tea plantation owner in Assam who takes pleasure in torturing her, not to mention disappearing for nights on end to visit his mistress. Her spirit is shattered when he rapes her one night. Her only emotional anchor is her brother-in-law Sunil Saikia (Sanjay Suri).

Durga is scared to walk out of the marriage because she’s pregnant. She bears a daughter, Deepa (Raima Sen), but her husband refuses to acknowledge her, saying that he will only accept a son. Nothing changes even after the birth of a child, her husband turns even more vicious and even accuses her of having an illicit affair with his brother. Her only support is thus brutally snatched away from her when Sanjay kills his brother in a fit of drunken rage.

The turning point in Durga’s life is when she decides to run away and make a new life for her daughter’s sake. But Sanjay’s greed soon finds them both when Deepa is bequeathed all the property. He tries to kill Deepa, when Durga (like the goddess herself), kills him with the holy Trishul. It's the classic tale of the victim turning into the victor.

Raveena Tandon excels in a tailor made role. She puts her life and soul into the role and there is no faulting her performance. Sayaji Shinde makes compelling viewing as the meanacing husband. Sanjay Suri is aptly cast and delivers a fine performance. Singer Shaan who makes his debut in this film as Raima’s boyfriend is affable but not much of an actor. Likewise with Raima who seems quite ill at ease mouthing long Hindi dialogues.

But overall, the film lacks substance. Director Kalpana Lajmi's intentions are noble, but their execution leaves much to be desired. For starters, she has etched characters that are just not believable because they are so exaggerated. A husband who is lecherous and inanely cruel for no plausible reason, a loony father-in-law who talks to his dead wife, a daughter who goes from simple village girl to hep college babe and her irritatingly cheerful boyfriend (Shaan), an excessively charitable woman who adopts Durga and her daughter... NONE of them ring true.

There are only two reasons one could see the film. One: it deals with a theme that is rarely addressed in Indian cinema. Two: Raveena Tandon, who won a National Award for her role in Daman. She conveys helplessness and desperation with dignity and grace. One only wishes she were given a more convincing backdrop to base her character on. Musically, Bhupen Hazarika's music makes for pleasant listening, but do not expect any earth shaking modern music nor can it turn to tomorrows classics. With Daman, Lajmi has taken a step towards a topic that is rarely brought up though everyone knows it's there. It’s a good start in a fresher field, but there is a lot she has to make it convincing.