Miss Leelavathi (1965)

Miss Leelavathi (Kannada: ಮಿಸ್ ಲೀಲಾವತಿ) is a 1965 Indian Kannada language film directed by M. R. Vittal and written by Korati Srinivasa Rao. It stars Jayanthi as the protagonist, along with Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath, Ramesh and others. The film won the National Award for second best film in Kannada.

The film was talked about for its bold portrayal of women and was accredited of being the first Kannada feature film showing the leading lady wearing a swim suit. The film was a musical hit with R. Sudarsanam as the composer.

Synopsis

This socially relevant movie explores the darkness of female sexuality on the screen. The lead protagonist Leelavathi (Jayanthi) is shown as a bold girl to a doting father (K. S. Ashwath) who is completely outright in wearing revealing attires and expressing her views about the pre-marital sexual acts. She also comes under many experimental circumstances in her life which makes the rest of the world highly critical about her. She is shown to finally succumb to the moral trappings of the time and her father is also ridiculed for being bringing her up more liberally.

Actors