Then there was Sharmila Tagore carrying the concept of the pristine prostitute to the peaks of sublimity in Shakti Samanta's "Amar Prem".
With time, the concept of the prostitute with a halo has lost its sheen. Virginity and sexual sacrifices are no longer the sacrosanct commodities they once used to be.
"Rajjo" tries hard to create empathy - or is it sympathy - for the prostitute on the path of rehabilitation. Years ago, we had Anil Dhawan trying to give a home and a sense of security to call girl Rehana Sultan in "Chetna". In "Rajjo", we have a newcomer Paras Arora trying very hard to look like the guy that the distressed prostitute can depend on. The older woman's sexual seduction was far more sincerely done recently in "B.A. Pass".
"Rajjo" is a losing battle all the way. Not only does the callow youngster (said to be 21 in the script but looks 16) seem ill-equipped to give "Rajjo" a new life, the script itself seems in desperate search of a life. It meanders from an intended plot of self-righteous nobility to a domain of absolute absurdity and crudity.
