Ijaazat

i rarely watch hindi movies. i usually avoid them unless they belong to the category of 'Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi' or 'Arth' or 'Omkara' and maybe a handful more.

Today was no special day till about three hours ago. i came home after another hard day's work, after getting stuck in another traffic jam and after having listening to Bono being played over and over again in the car.
As i sat infront of the TV later in the night i wondered how long would i stay put infront of this today before i get bugged of the ads, unimportant news, fancy looking sadhus predicting how my next day gonna be and run to internet again.

Browsing through the various channels, i stumble upon one which shows Naseerudin Shah, in his early years and i decide maybe just for the sake of enjoying his retro look, fuzzy curly hair and broad check shirt...its worth staying on this channel for sometime.

It took me sometime to understand the story( partly because i started watching it from the middle). i gather that the film is about a couple, maybe now estranged who have a chance encounter in the waiting room of an isolated railway station on a rainy night. The story proceeds in flashback, which is skillfully intercut with the real time of the rainy night. As the night proceeds, Mahendra (Shah) and Sudha (Rekha) become equally interested in knowing about each other’s life. After initial hesitation, they start reminiscing about their past.
Through a series of flashbacks, you get a hint of their broken relationship. The plot seems to resemble a typical Jhumpa Lahiri setting....like in her stories no one makes obvious attempts to salvage their broken relationship, yet you feel that there exist this feeling of instant connecting, the feeling of being comfortable in each others presence and yet being lonely.

Without getting into the details of the plot....i saw the entire movie....wondering which movie was i watching. Wondering how could i not know a movie like this, of a song like "mera kuch saman" and of a brilliant female actor Anuradha Patel(who also made her debut through this film). How could i not know that this one of Gulzars best movies and that it won two national awards.

i cant help by attach this scene below where Maya recites 'ijaazat'



i am completely awed by it, and this goes down in my list of all time favourite movies!