J Neelam
- Real Name: Jaspal Neelam
- Primary Cinema: Hindi
Producer and director Jaspal Neelam—or J Neelam as she is better known—is one of the only women directors who made ‘sensual’ films of the so-called C-grade variety. Known for small-budget entertainers of the thriller and horror genre, she has films such as Main Hoon Kunwari Dulhan (2001), Sadhu Bana Shaitan (2004) and Tadapti Jawani (2005) to her credit. She also appeared onscreen in Daku Ganga Jamuna (2000), as well as in the web series Cinema Marte Dum Tak (2023) which focuses on four directors who shot micro-budget movies through the 1990s and early 2000s.
She started her career in films as the associate director of the films Jai Bhavani (2000) and Daku Ganga Jamuna (2000). Jai Bhavani, directed by Kishan Shah, was an action genre film starring Sapna Sappu, Amit Pachori and Rajni Chandra. The plot revolved around Ganga and Amit - a local inspector - who love each other. Their parents decide to get them married. At their marriage, the inspector is killed by Mahakal, a dreaded dacoit. Ganga goes on to become a dacoit and swears to seek vengeance against Mahakal for her husband’s death. Daku Ganga Jamuna was also from the action-crime genre. Directed by Kanti Shah, it starred Sapna Sappu, Amit Pachori and Durgesh Nandini. It depicted a police-versus-bandits story, with women on both sides of the law on a rampage for revenge for the past killings of their fathers.
She made her debut as a producer with Ganga Dacait in 2000. Directed by Kishan Shah, it starred Sapna Sappu, Amit Pachori and Ishrat Ali. The film depicted a tale of revenge extracted by Tejaswini, a brave woman inspector, who masquerades as a dacoit to avenge the suffering of her father, a police inspector.
Her production Daku Dilruba (2000) was directed by William Hunt and starred Arvind Jaiswal, Satnam Kaur and Yamini. An action genre film, it was a tale of revenge and love of a village girl. After the girl, a teenager, is brutally raped by a few men of the village, she becomes a dacoit - Daaku Dilruba - and kills all the rapists.
Paanch Khiladi (2000), which she produced, featured Hemant Birje, Satnam Kaur and Arbindo Jaiswal. It was directed by Sunny Kapoor
She debuted as a director with Main Hoon Kunwari Dulhan (2001), a drama thriller with a star cast comprising Satnam Kaur, Durgesh Nandini, Anil Nagrath, Junior Jagdeep, Munir Khan, Vinod Tripathi, K K Goswami, and Brij Gopal.
In 2003, she directed the horror film Duplicate Jaani Dushman. The film told the tale of a thakur who kills newlywed brides on their wedding nights but nobody is aware that he is the culprit. Starring Poonam Dasgupta, Brij Gopal and Aman Sagar, the film was inspired by the 1979 film Jaani Dushman.
Sadhu Bana Shaitan, which she directed in 2004, was a thriller starring Aman Sagar, Sainora and Shabnam.
The following year, she directed Tadapti Jawani (2005), a thriller starring Poonam Dasgupta, Rajesh Sabharwal and Aman Sagar. It depicted the story of Kaajal, whose husband has to join the army as war is about to start. Meanwhile, Kaajal develops feelings for Manohar who saves her from an accident. There is also Maya and Kamini fighting for Manohar's affection and things get more complicated when Kaajal's husband returns.
J Neelam featured alongside Vinod Talwar, Dilip Gulati and Kishan Shah - directors of the ‘golden age of B-movies’ – in the documentary Cinema Marte Dum Tak (2023). The web series, directed by Vasan Bala and Kulish Kant Thakur, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of these directors’ films.
References
https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc59d4290
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2399466/
Image courtesy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H3jzbt1Qcg
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Filmography (1)
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Dangerous Night 2003
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