FILMS | What is so special that went unnoticed in the film Damini ?

The filmmaker, known for terrifying violence in his directorial debut Ghayal (1990) suddenly changed his approach to violence. Rajkumar Santoshi's next film Damini (1993) too had a violence. But, what went unnoticed is the element of mental violence in the film. Santoshi very subtly devised a few scenes that are more appealing for their psychological terror than physical violence. 

Recall that sequence when Damini escapes from the mental asylum. Five goons chase her. This whole sequence posed mental stress to Damini. Rather than getting killed, the nightmare of getting grabbed by the goons was more terrible.  On the run, she dramatically meets a drunkard passerby and appeals to him to save her. He happens to be Govind, a former and frustrated lawyer. Surprisingly, Damini loses all her hopes when Govind indicates the five goons to take her back. However, in a flow of strategic actions, Govind strikes just two of goons, who get to the ground because of the severe strokes.

Actually, as a popular appeal, Govind could thrash all the goons. However, the filmmaker chose to strike down just two goons and its fear effect on other goons. He has achieved more impact through conceptual violence rather than physical. One needs to watch Damini carefully to understand mental violence spread all over the film including the famous dhai kilo ka haath and tarikh pe tarikh sequences.

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