Kamli (2006)

Kamli is a Lambada woman whose life is shaped by poverty, tradition and the men around her. The film follows her struggle to hold on to her self-respect and her hopes within a community whose customs leave women little say, and in a wider society that exploits tribal people. Director K. N. T. Sastry, a film critic who turned to filmmaking, tells the story in a realistic, unhurried style far from mainstream Telugu cinema, with Nandita Das in the title role and Tanikella Bharani in a key part. The film was made with festival audiences in mind and is valued as one of the few Telugu films to depict the Lambada community from within.