Sadma

Sadma is a 1983 Indian film directed by Balu Mahendra which stars Kamal Hassan and Sridevi in the lead with music composed by Ilayaraaja. The picture tells the story of Nehalata, a young woman who regresses to childhood after suffering a head injury in a car crash. Lost, she ends up trapped in a brothel before being rescued by Somu, a lonely school teacher who falls in love with her. The film is a remake of the 1982 of Balu Mahendra's own Tamil Film Moondram Pirai, starring Sridevi and Kamal Hassan. Sridevi's autistic child-woman performance brought her nominations in the Filmfare Best actress award category as well as State awards and National Awards. Kamal's performance in the film's climax won him the National Award in the Tamil original. The film flopped at the box-office,but as a film-it achieved cult status and is regarded as an all time classic featuring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi's best performances. Sridevi's role was initially offered to Dimple Kapadia, but she could not accept the role due to other commitments.