"Threshold (Dawn)"
1981
Directed by Jabbar Parel

In her best-known screen role, Smita Patil plays Sulabha, the wife of a progressive lawyer (Girish Karnad) who sullies the character of a rape victim in order to benefit his client, the accused rapist. Outraged, Sulabha goes to work in a women's home. When she returns, she discovers her husband has taken a mistress, and determines to leave her home and make a life for herself. Based on an autobiographical work by Shanta Nisal, the film was given a feminist value by Patil's performance and by her use of the film in women's rights campaigns. Also known as "Umbartha/Subah" Marathi/Hindi with English subtitles.