Released · Telugu film · 2006
Kamli
కమలి
- Film release
- 2006 (exact date not on file) · All 2006 films
- Director
- K. N. T. Sastry
- Music
- Isaac Thomas Kottukapally
- Writing credits
- K. N. T. Sastry
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 2006 (exact date not on file) · all 2006 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. It does not name a streaming platform or date; this page says so rather than guessing.
Kamli is a 2006 Telugu social drama directed by K. N. T. Sastry, with Nandita Das in the title role of a young Lambada (Banjara) woman. Developed from Sastry’s own award-winning documentary about tribal women forced to sell their babies, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in Korea and the Asian Film Festival in Mumbai. Isaac Thomas Kottukapally composed the music, with lyrics by Suddala Ashok Teja.
What the story is about
Among the Lambadas, the film says, a girl child is unwelcome and even seen as a bad omen, while boys are wanted because they will feed their parents. Kamli is forced to sell her firstborn daughter. The film follows her life: her marriage to Redya, her search for work, her struggle with an alcoholic husband, and her encounters with contractors and other men who prey on her.
When she gives birth to a son, her baby is swapped in the hospital and a girl is put in his place. Kamli decides to fight to get her son back, and the second half follows that fight, the media attention it draws and her protest. The film takes on two practices at once: the sale of girl children in the community and the swapping of male babies in city hospitals.
Cast and crew
- Nandita Das as Kamli
- Shafi as Redya, her husband
- Tanikella Bharani as Badya
- L. B. Sriram as a police constable
- Roopa Devi as Ramli
- Pavala Syamala as an ayah
- Satyapriya as a doctor
Director: K. N. T. Sastry. Music: Isaac Thomas Kottukapally. Lyrics: Suddala Ashok Teja.
Making the film
Sastry based Kamli on his documentary on “harvesting babies”. He wanted to turn the plight of tribal women who sell their babies for a pittance into a feature film that could reach a wider audience.
Reviews and awards
Radhika Rajamani of Rediff called it a good effort, writing that “on the whole, Sastry’s effort is laudable in bringing out the Lambadas’ grim reality”. Wikipedia’s own plot summary notes that the later portions, with the media hype and Kamli’s protest, are handled in a more melodramatic, stereotypical way. Besides the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, Kamli won the Nandi Award for Best Actress.
Where to watch Kamli
We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Kamli on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.
Sources: the Wikipedia article on Kamli and the review it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.
Cast
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
Source record: Q6358749 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.