''Ijaazat'' () is an 1987 Indian Hindi-language

musical romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

, based on a Bengali story, ''Jatugriha'' by

Subodh Ghosh Subodh Ghosh (14 September 1909 – 10 March 1980) was a noted Indian author of Bengali literature and a journalist with the Kolkata-based daily newspaper '' Ananda Bazar Patrika''. Born at Hazaribagh on 14 September 1909, now in Jharkhand, he s ...

. Starring

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fi ...

, Naseeruddin Shah and

Anuradha Patel Anuradha Patel (born 30 August 1961) is an Indian actress of the famous Ganguly family. Early life Anuradha was born in Mumbai. Her maternal grandfather is the Hindi veteran actor Ashok Kumar and her grand-uncle is Kishore Kumar. Personal li ...

in leading roles, the film followed the story of couple who are separated and who accidentally meet in a railway station waiting room and discover some truths about their lives without each other. The film belongs to the art-house genre in India known as

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

, and won two National Film Awards in the music category. The movie is based on the 1964

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

movie ''

Jatugriha ''Jatugriha'' is a 1964 Bengali social drama film directed by Tapan Sinha and produced by Uttam Kumar based on the novel of the same name by Subodh Ghosh. The film was produced and released on 20 March 1964 under the banner of Uttam Kumar Films ...

.''

Plot

The film is narrated as a present-day encounter between a divorced couple interwoven with flashbacks of several instances in their marriage. Mahender ( Naseeruddin Shah) gets off a train and makes his way to the station waiting room just as it starts to rain heavily. His ex-wife, Sudha (

), is already sitting in the waiting room but he fails to notice her. Upon seeing him, Sudha tries to hide from him but later they accidentally run into each other. In the first of many flashbacks, Mahender meets Sudha's father figure (

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor for ...

) who urges him to consider keeping his vow of marrying Sudha. He had been engaged to Sudha for 5 years but always made an excuse to delay their wedding. Sudha's father figure has already fixed the wedding date and urges Mahender to show up. Mahender meets with Sudha to discuss his ongoing relationship with Maya (

). Sudha asks Mahender to bring Maya to her (Sudha's) father figure and reveal his intention of marrying Maya instead. Mahender returns to his place for Maya but finds that she has left, leaving him a letter. Later, Mahender marries Sudha and has an amicable relationship with Maya simultaneously. Mahender often speaks with Maya as a friend but wishes to get over her and pursue a normal, married life with Sudha who remains wary of Maya's presence in her marriage. When Maya attempts suicide, Mahender feels guilty and starts spending more time with her. Sudha, not knowing about Maya's suicide attempt and believing that Mahender is being unfaithful to her, feels that her marriage was a mistake, and questions Mahender about his intentions. He then tells her strongly that he is going to bring Maya home to talk to her. Sudha is opposed to this but Mahender leaves nevertheless to bring Maya. However, Maya overhears Mahender and Sudha's arguments on the phone and she leaves before Mahender reaches to pick her up. Returning home without Maya, he finds that Sudha has left as well. Mahender, unable to bear the shock, suffers from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Maya nurses him back to health while Sudha stays out of contact with Mahender and continues as a teacher in

Panchgani Panchgani, called Paachgani (पाचगणी in Marathi), is a hill station and municipal council in Satara district in Maharashtra, India. Panchgani attracts tourists throughout the year. It is also known for having many residential educat ...

. Later, Mahender feels the that it is time to bring Sudha back home. However, just then, he receives a letter from Sudha stating her intentions to abandon the marriage and cut off all contact with Mahender. After an argument with Mahender, Maya feels estranged at this abrupt change in their relationship and rides off on her motorcycle early in the dawn. Mahender rushes to follow her in his car to stop her. Maya's scarf gets entangled in the rear wheel of the motorcycle, which derails her off the vehicle and she dies from the injuries. In the present day, after finding out about Mahender and Maya's fate, Sudha is deeply saddened. Just as Mahendra approaches her to ask about her life, her new husband ( Shashi Kapoor) enters the room to pick her up. As Sudha's husband leaves the waiting room with her luggage, Mahender asks her to forgive him. She touches Mahender's feet as a plea for his forgiveness and for his permission (Ijaazat) for her to leave him—saying that this was something which she had not received the last time they had separated. Sudha's husband returns to see what is holding her up, recognises Mahender, and smiles at him. Sudha and her husband leave the waiting room and the platform while Mahender hangs back.

Cast

as Sudha * Naseeruddin Shah as Mahendra *

as Maya *

as Mahendra's Grandfather * Shashi Kapoor as Sudha's Husband *

Dina Pathak Dina Pathak (née Gandhi; 4 March 1922 – 11 October 2002) was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). A doyenne of Hindi a ...

as Principal *

Sulbha Deshpande Sulabha Deshpande ( mr, सुलभा देशपांडे; 1937 – 4 June 2016) was an Indian actress and theatre director. Apart from Marathi theatre and Hindi theatre in Mumbai, she acted in over 73 mainstream Bollywood films. She als ...

as Sudha's Mother * Ram Mohan * Rita Rani Kaul * Ashok Mehta * Rajesh Bombaywala * Ashfaq Ahmed * Bhupinder Sharma * Sunil Advani * Monish Prem

Reception

'' Filmfare'' wrote about the film, "One of Gulzar's most sensitive films, it also remains Rekha's most poignant performance as the possessive wife, who gives up her husband (Naseeruddin Shah) rather than share him with another woman (Anuradha Patel). Mera Kuch Saaman … can anyone not be moved by it?" According to Lalit Mohan Joshi, author of the book ''Bollywood: popular Indian cinema'', Ijaazat "recreates the tingling sensation of a mature romance. It looks at an unusual male-female relationship, a subject less often broached in Hindi films." Joshi further notes that the film "exudes a sentimental feeling that seems more touching than the recent teenybopper romance stories." M.L. Dhawan from ''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *'' Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *'' Kokomo Tribune'' *'' Peru Tribune'' * ''The Tri ...

'', while documenting the famous Hindi films of 1987, commended Gulzar for giving "a mature treatment to the eternal love triangle of ''pati patni aur woh'' (husband, wife and the other woman)." He further noted

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

for her "soul-stirring voice

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

left an impact" and the principal cast for their "emotion-loaded performances".

Awards

35th National Film Awards The 35th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1987. Ceremony took place in Apr ...

: *

Best Lyrics Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

–

for "

Mera Kuchh Saamaan "Mera Kuch Samaan" (Hindi: मेरा कुछ सामान, literally: Some of my things) is a popular song from the acclaimed 1987 movie ''Ijaazat'', directed by Gulzar, who also wrote the song. The song was composed by R D Burman and su ...

" * Best Female Playback Singer –

for "

" ;

34th Filmfare Awards The 34th Filmfare Awards were held in 1988, after a 2-year gap. ''Tezaab'' led the ceremony with 12 nominations, followed by '' Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'' with 11 nominations and ''Khoon Bhari Maang'' with 7 nominations. ''Qayamat Se Qayamat Ta ...

: Won * Best Lyricist –

for " Mera Kuch Saamaan" Nominated * Best Supporting Actress –

Music

The film has four songs, all composed by

R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

and sung by

to lyrics penned by

. Burman was widely appreciated for his music in the film and the song " Mera Kuch Saamaan" was a big rage and achieved a classic status over time. Song won both writer and singer several acclodes with Asha Bhosle winning her second National Award for it. In an interview Asha Bhosle mentioned that when song " Mera Kuch Saamaan" was presented to R. D. Burman, he threw the song away calling it Times of India newspaper. Gulzar, who wrote the song and was also directing the movie, sat in a corner fearfully. She herself started humming the song which triggered the melody in Burman's mind and he composed the song in 15 minutes.

References

External links

* {{Gulzar 1987 films 1980s Hindi-language films Films scored by R. D. Burman Films based on short fiction Films with screenplays by Gulzar Hindi remakes of Bengali films Films directed by Gulzar