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{{Infobox film<br />
| name = Daayraa<br />
| image = Daayraa_DVD.jpg<br />
| director = [[Amol Palekar]]<br />
| writer = [[Timeri N. Murari]]<br />
| screenplay = Timeri N. Murari<br />
| producer = Dharampriya Das<br>Pravesh Sippy<br>Timeri N. Murari<br />
| starring = [[Nirmal Pandey]]<br>[[Sonali Kulkarni]]<br />
| cinematography = [[Debu Deodhar]]<br />
| editing = [[Waman Bhonsle]]<br />
| music = [[Anand–Milind]]<br />
| studio = Gateway Entertainment<br/>Saarth Productions<br />
| distributor = Blue Dolphin Films (UK)<br/>Avanti Films (France)<br />
| released = {{Film date|1996|9|12|[[Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]|1997|6|13|United Kingdom|df=y}}<br />
| runtime =<br />
| country = India<br />
| language = [[Hindi]] <br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''''Daayraa''''' ([[translation]]: ''The Square Circle''; sometimes spelled as '''''Daayra''''') is a 1996 [[Bollywood]] film, directed by [[Amol Palekar]], starring [[Nirmal Pandey]] and [[Sonali Kulkarni]]. The screenplay was by award-winning journalist and novelist, [[Timeri N. Murari]]. Exploring themes such as male-female relationships, preconceived notions of love, and social attitudes toward them, the plot involves a romantic relationship between a [[Transvestism|transvestite]] dancer and a [[gang raped]] woman who begins to dress up like a man.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chopra |first1=Anupama |authorlink1=Anupama Chopra |title=Daayra, daring and original, uses humour to tackle serious issues |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19970115-amol-palekar-daayra-emotional-and-physical-voyage-of-discovery-but-out-of-iffi-panorama-831695-1997-01-15 |website=[[India Today]] |access-date=8 November 2018 |language=en |date=15 January 1997 |archive-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108144441/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19970115-amol-palekar-daayra-emotional-and-physical-voyage-of-discovery-but-out-of-iffi-panorama-831695-1997-01-15 |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to its sensitive themes, the film was not released theatrically in India.<ref name="ht">{{cite web |last1=Chopra |first1=Anupama |authorlink1=Anupama Chopra |title=Amol Palekar's Daayraa is a daring, original road movie |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/amol-palekar-s-daayraa-is-a-daring-original-road-movie/story-qQtTcf8As4unqA7sqTVLqO.html |website=Hindustan Times |access-date=8 November 2018 |language=en |date=25 April 2015 |archive-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108105354/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/amol-palekar-s-daayraa-is-a-daring-original-road-movie/story-qQtTcf8As4unqA7sqTVLqO.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was the first in Palekar's trilogy on sexuality; ''[[Anahat (film)|Anahat]]'' (2003) and ''[[Quest (2006 film)|Thaang]]'' (2006) followed it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Amol Palekar has no regrets |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/amol/20060913.htm |website=Rediff |access-date=8 November 2018 |date=13 September 2006 |archive-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108105338/http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/amol/20060913.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
''Daayraa'' was received well by critics upon its DVD release. [[Anupama Chopra]] wrote, "The film challenges gender roles and traditional ideas of love through witty and moving performances." She added, "Daayraa also has terrific music by Anand-Milind. However, you will have to get past some clumsy direction, terrible background music and glaring lapses in continuity."<ref name="ht"/><br />
<br />
The ''[[Time (magazine)|Time magazine]]'' called ''Daayraa'' one of the best films of 1996, saying: "The Indian musical at its delirious best. On the eve of her marriage, a young woman is abducted by a brothel madam and escapes into the arms of an out of work male Diva. He dresses as a woman, she as a man in Amol Palekar's song-and-dance comic melodrama."<ref>{{cite web |title=Show BUZZ -- Time and Daayara |url=http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19961227/36250172.html |work=The Indian Express |access-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970423000045/http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19961227/36250172.html |archive-date=23 April 1997 |date=27 December 1996}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Synopsis==<br />
Set on the northeastern coast of India, this Indian film includes Bollywood song-and-dance elements in a plot about social issues in India, focusing on women's status in Indian village society, cross dressing, rape, and the history of Indian folk song. The film uses folk songs to tell the story, including one scene parodying Bollywood-style musical numbers.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}<br />
<br />
==Cast==<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Character Name<br />
!Played by<br />
|-<br />
| The Transvestite<br />
| [[Nirmal Pandey]]<br />
|-<br />
| The Girl<br />
| [[Sonali Kulkarni]]<br />
|-<br />
| Madam<br />
| [[Faiyyaz]]<br />
|-<br />
| Bar Owner<br />
| [[Rekha Sahay]]<br />
|-<br />
| Widow<br />
| [[Neena Kulkarni]]<br />
|-<br />
| Garage Owner<br />
| [[Haidar Ali]]<br />
|-<br />
| Abductor<br />
| [[Nandu Madhav]]<br />
|-<br />
| Abductor<br />
| [[Nagesh Bhosle]]<br />
|-<br />
| Girl's Parent<br />
| [[Rekha Sabnis]]<br />
|-<br />
| Girl's Parent<br />
| [[Sanjay Sharma (actor)|Sanjay Sharma]]<br />
|-<br />
| Sushila's Husband<br />
| [[Kalyani Karandikar]]<br />
|-<br />
| Jeep Driver<br />
| [[Ganesh Yadav]]<br />
|-<br />
| Rapist<br />
| [[Shezaad]]<br />
|-<br />
| Rapist<br />
| [[Brijesh Singh]]<br />
|-<br />
| Rapist<br />
| [[Rajiv Mohanty]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Production ==<br />
[[Timeri N. Murari]], who wrote the story and screenplay for the film, said it is about "sexual identity", elaborating that it conveys "[h]ow we define ourselves as men or women and how that identity governs the way we live our lives." He further said, "This is the real India, not the version put out by Bollywood", while adding, "This is the India where women are casually molested and many men are male chauvinists".<ref name="tg1">{{cite web |last1=Arnot |first1=Chris |title=Bollywood it ain't |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/nov/10/artsfeatures5 |website=The Guardian |access-date=8 November 2018 |language=en |date=10 November 1999 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101084540/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/nov/10/artsfeatures5 |url-status=live }}</ref> About how he conceptualized the story, Murari wrote, "I can't pin point exactly when an idea is born. I'd like to attribute this film to a pretty girl I saw years ago. She was a villager, herding goats along the roadside near [[Mysore]], in [[South India]]. I was travelling with my wife and sister and got out of the car to take the girl's photograph. Her reaction was startling. She ran screaming and crying to her village and in a moment we were surrounded by her hostile people. We calmed them down and explained the camera, and in return told us why she was frightened. There had been a spate of kidnappings, all girls, who had disappeared forever. No doubt sold into prostitution."<ref name="tim">{{cite web |title=The Square Circle |url=http://www.timerimurari.com/reviewofsquare.htm |website=timerimurari.com |access-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108065845/http://www.timerimurari.com/reviewofsquare.htm |archive-date=8 November 2018}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Soundtrack==<br />
{{Infobox album<br />
| name = Daayraa<br />
| type = Soundtrack<br />
| artist = [[Anand–Milind]]<br />
| cover = <br />
| border = yes<br />
| alt =<br />
| caption = Soundtrack cover<br />
| released = <br />
| recorded = <br />
| venue =<br />
| studio =<br />
| genre = [[Film soundtrack|Feature film soundtrack]]<br />
| length = {{Duration|m=30|s=32}}<br />
| label = [[Saregama]]<br />
| producer =<br />
| prev_title =<br />
| prev_year =<br />
| next_title =<br />
| next_year =<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The duo of [[Anand–Milind]] scored the film's background music and composed its soundtrack. All songs are written by [[Gulzar]]. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Daayraa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Anand-Milind |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/daayraa-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1330485044 |website=iTunes |date=December 1997 |access-date=10 November 2018 |archive-date=10 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110080443/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/daayraa-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1330485044 |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
{{track listing<br />
| headline = Track listing<br />
| extra_column = Singer(s)<br />
| total_length = 30:32<br />
| title1 = Palkon Pe Chalte Chalte (Male Vocals)<br />
| lyrics1 = <br />
| extra1 = [[K. J. Yesudas]]<br />
| length1 = 6:18<br />
| title2 = Bolo Kya Tum<br />
| lyrics2 = <br />
| extra2 = [[Asha Bhosle]]<br />
| length2 = 6:05<br />
| title3 = Chhute Nahin Chhute Na<br />
| lyrics3 = <br />
| extra3 = K. J. Yesudas<br />
| length3 = 6:37<br />
| title4 = Daayi Ankh Bole<br />
| lyrics4 = <br />
| extra4 = [[Devaki Pandit]]<br />
| length4 = 5:15<br />
| title5 = Palkon Pe Chalte Chalte (Female Vocals)<br />
| lyrics5 = <br />
| extra5 = Asha Bhosle<br />
| length5 = 6:17<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Release and critical reception ==<br />
The makers of ''Daayraa'' were asked "some allegedly obscene dialogue and phrases to be deleted" following which an "A" (Restricted to adults) certificate was given to the film by the [[Central Board of Film Certification]] in August 1996.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Palekar |first1=Amol |title=Imprisoning Minds: Amol Palekar on Censorship |url=https://thewire.in/film/imprisoning-minds |website=The Wire |access-date=9 November 2018 |date=9 July 2016 |archive-date=9 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109070934/https://thewire.in/film/imprisoning-minds |url-status=live }}</ref> However, it did not see theatrical release in India. It premiered at the [[1996 Toronto International Film Festival]] and was then screened at the [[BFI London Film Festival|London Film Festival]]. Subsequent releases came in the film festivals of the [[Hamptons International Film Festival|Hamptons]], [[Melbourne International Film Festival|Melbourne]], Copenhagen, Oslo, [[New York Film Festival|New York]] and [[Vancouver Asian Film Festival|Vancouver]].<ref name="tim"/> It was first released theatrically at [[Leicester Haymarket Theatre|Haymarket theatre]] in [[Leicester]] on 27 November 1999.<ref name="tg1"/> Prints in the UK were distributed by Blue Dolphin Films, and in France by Avanti Films. Sequences of around 20 minutes involving soundtrack were trimmed in these releases.<ref name="tim"/> It completed an eight-week run in the [[West End of London]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Amol Palekar's Moving Film The Square Circle: Released on DVD this February |url=http://www.asff.co.uk/amol-palekars-moving-film-square-circle-will-released-dvd-february/ |website=Aesthetica Short Film Festival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805091250/http://www.asff.co.uk/amol-palekars-moving-film-square-circle-will-released-dvd-february/ |archive-date=5 August 2016 |date=12 January 2015}}</ref><br />
<br />
The film met with praise from critics upon release. [[Richard Corliss]] of the ''Time'' magazine wrote, "The first 20 minutes of this Hindi- language panegyric packs sufficient incident for a dozen Hollywood movies" and credited the screenplay for the film. He concluded commending the film's "pulse and generosity". Writing for ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine, Trevor Johnston felt that it was the "film's thematic daring that's scintillating, though, as it explores the tension between sexual identity and social circumstance in a staunchly traditional society which offers little room for manoeuvre." He added, "While Kulkarni draws our sympathy, it's Pandey's caring, pragmatic, worldly-wise performance as the resourceful tranny that really draws you into the film's imaginative sphere. Forget your preconceptions about Hindi cinema; this takes us on a touching, witty, always surprising journey through terrain that's unfamiliar and human dilemmas that aren't. Quite an achievement, in any language."<br />
<br />
The reviewer for the ''[[The Observer|Observer]]'' felt the film could be "a blessing and a trap, and that relationships are often forged at the intersection of romance, duty and companionship." [[Derek Malcolm]] wrote that the film was "intriguing" and that "Murari's script is allowed to take wing..." in the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]''. Writing for the [[Financial Times]], [[Nigel Andrews]] said that the "film puts the melos back into melodrama and the sense (and sensitivity) into [[sensationalism]]." The reviewer for ''Asian Entertainment'' called the film "moving and meditative" while adding that it "plays quiet testimony to the talents of filmmakers on the fringes of commercial cinema." ''[[The Independent]]'' commended Pandey for his portrayal of a transvestite in that "it takes an actor of considerable talent to elicit sympathy". The ''[[Gay Times]]'' wrote that the "truth" that the makers were trying to convey were "handled with dignity and conviction".<ref name="tim"/><br />
<br />
== Awards ==<br />
;[[:fr:Festival du film d'aventures de Valenciennes|Festival de Valenciennes]], France<br />
* Grand Prix award<ref name="tim"/><br />
* Best Actor — [[Sonali Kulkarni]]<ref>{{cite web |title=|url=https://x.com/sonalikulkarni/status/1028198584942878721 |website= X.com |access-date= 11 August 2018 |language=en |date=11 August 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Play acting |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/play-acting/cid/532898 |website=The Telegraph |access-date=9 November 2018 |language=en |date=19 October 2008 |archive-date=9 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109070916/https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/play-acting/cid/532898 |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
* Best Actress — [[Nirmal Pandey]]<ref>{{cite web |date=30 April 1997 |title=Nirmal Pandey wins best actress award... |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/19970430-nirmal-pandey-wins-best-actress-award-for-his-portrayal-of-transvestite-in-daayra-831312-1997-04-29 |access-date= |website=india today |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
;[[44th National Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm44thNFAAward.aspx|title=44th National Film Awards|publisher=[[International Film Festival of India]]|access-date=9 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505172151/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm44thNFAAward.aspx|archive-date=5 May 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
* [[National Film Award – Special Jury Award (feature film)|Special Jury Award (feature film)]]<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
* [[Alternative lifestyle]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* {{IMDb title|id=0116002|title=Daayraa}}<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170618082637/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7fd78f71 ''Daayra''] at [[British Film Institute]]<br />
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{{Amol Palekar}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:1996 films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ-related films]]<br />
[[Category:1996 Hindi-language films]]<br />
[[Category:Films directed by Amol Palekar]]<br />
[[Category:Films scored by Anand–Milind]]<br />
[[Category:1996 LGBTQ-related films]]</div>DessieIqj504