Lakshmi - 2014

Story

Lakshmi is a true story of heroism and untold courage.

Lakshmi is a beautiful 13 year old girl whose life takes a tragic turn. Snatched away from the security and love of her family, Lakshmi is thrown into a life of trauma and terror, a violent nightmare for any woman. And Lakshmi is just a child.

Lakshmi is kidnapped and separated from her father and sisters, and sold to the Reddy brothers, the dangerous front men for a nexus in human trafficking. Being a child, she is separated from the other girls and taken to the elder Reddy?s house, where she is lulled into a false sense of security, and then violently raped by Reddy. Then she is sent to a brothel owned by the brothers.

At the brothel Lakshmi meets Swarna, a pragmatic, tough, spunky girl and Jyoti, the "tough love" madam who runs the brothel for the Reddy brothers. Swarna and Jyoti attuned to the realities of the brothel and having been institutionalized teach Lakshmi the ropes. As Lakshmi?s roommate, she helps her cope with the degradation of being of a prostitute. But Lakshmi is not ready to be enslaved. She refuses to make peace with the horror of her fate.But her repeated attempts at escaping only serve to remind her of the futility of her situation - that there is no escape, and nowhere to escape to!. Dejected, she accepts her fate.

Lakshmi makes the brothel her home. The child Lakshmi fades away, lost in the hustle-bustle of the flesh market. She turns to alcohol, and the other girls for support, to endure the burden of her life.

Final y, there comes a ray of hope with Uma- a social worker who periodically brings relief to the girls in form sweets, necessities, medication, sympathy and love. She tells Lakshmi she has found her family. Her hopes rekindled, Lakshmi decides to escape again. But this time she is caught by the younger and far more ruthless Reddy brother.

One such ?customer? is Mohan. As part of an NGO against women trafficking and working with Uma, Mohan organizes a sting operation to rescue the girls. Al they need is a witness, just one woman who will speak against the Reddy brothers in the court - they don?t find one!

Lakshmi is the story of a frightening reality that haunts women from deprived backgrounds. But it is also the true story of a child whose spirit could not be broken. A hero in a land filled with cowards, whose courage and determination finally triumphs over evil.