Giddh

Giddh is a 1984 Hindi film directed by T.S. Ranga starring Smita Patil, Om Puri and Nana Patekar among others. The film won Special Jury Award for in-depth depiction of the helplessness of people struggling against the Devadasi tradition.

Plot

In a remote village at Karnataka-Maharashtra border in India, the poor residents follow Devadasi tradition according to which young girls are given up in the service of Goddess Yellamma. The landlords, priests and other men take advantage of these young girls and pimps like Veerapppan take them to brothels in Bombay. Bhashya, a laborer and his wife Hanumi lead an attempt at awakening against the practice by deciding to save Laksmi from becoming a Devadasi with the help of Masterji, going against the powerful feudal lord Desai.

Cast