36 Years of Sadma. (08/07/1983)

36 Years of Sadma. (08/07/1983)

Sadma is a romantic drama film, written, directed and filmed by Balu Mahendra. It stars Sridevi and Kamal Hassan in the lead roles. Songs by Ilaiyaraaja and Gulzar.

The film tells the story of Nehalata Malhotra (Sridevi), a young woman who regresses to childhood as a result of retrograde amnesia after suffering a head injury in a car crash. Lost, she ends up trapped in a brothel before being rescued by Somu (Haasan), a lonely school teacher who falls in love with her.

The film was a remake of Mahendra’s own 1982 Tamil film Moondram Pirai, which also starred Sridevi and Hassan. Sadma was widely acclaimed by critics for its direction, screenplay, music, and performances. Sridevi’s performance as an amnesiac woman was widely praised and is considered as one of the finest performances in Indian film history.

Although a commercial failure upon release, Sadma over the years has gained a cultural following and cult status and is considered to be one of the finest Indian movies to be ever made.

At the 31st Filmfare Awards, Sadma received three nominations: Best Actress (Sridevi), Best Actor (Hassan) and Best Story.