Sold

Sold is a 2014 drama film directed by Jeffrey D. Brown based on Patricia McCormick's novel Sold. The film is executive produced by Emma Thompson and produced by Jane Charles. The script was written by Joseph Kwong and Jeffrey D. Brown. Plot Lakshmi, a young girl, lives in a mountain side village in rural Nepal with her mother and disabled, unemployed father. She wishes to work and save enough money to buy a tin roof for the house, while her mother encourages her to finish her schooling. A period of heavy rain causes the rice fields to become swamped and damages all remaining crops, leaving the family without a source of income. While attending a village festival, Lakshmi meets Bimla, a foreign woman who entices her with stories of the city and offers her a job in India as a maid. Lakshmi's mother rejects the proposal, but her father reveals that he has already agreed and accepted money from Bimla, out of desperation. Lakshmi and Bimla pass the border without incident and arrive at their destination, a building known as 'Happiness House', which is a brothel run by a woman named Mumtaz. Unaware that she has been sold into sexual slavery, Lakshmi mingles with the other girls at the brothel, including Shahanna and Anita, who she befriends; and the temperamental Monica. Later that night, she is dressed and prepared for Varun, an important and high-paying customer who has a preference for virgins. Resisting his advances, Lakshmi bites Varun and uses the ensuing chaos to escape the building. On the street, she blindly runs for help but is caught and beaten by Mumtaz's workers, who subsequently lock her in an isolated room. While looking out of the window, Lakshmi is spotted by Sophia, an American photographer who has arrived in India to work with an anti-trafficking organisation, Hope House. Sophia takes pictures of Lakshmi, but she is noticed by a brothel worker, Suren, who breaks her camera. After recovering the photos, Sophia becomes determined to save 'the girl in the window', and requests help from Hope House manager Mrs. Tripathi, and her investigators Vikram and Sam.