It’s raining heavily and Mahinder (Naseeruddin Shah) is forced to spend the night at the waiting room of a desolate railway station. There he meets Sudha (Rekha) his estranged wife. And then begins a night of dialogue resplendent with nostalgia, remorse and realization. Pitter patter the raindrops and the emotions remind you of the recently released Raincoat. In fact, Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat seems to be inspired heavily by Gulzar’s Ijaazat. However, while Ghosh’s storytelling was beautifully simple, Ijaazat is splendoured by the complexities of its three protagonists: Mahinder, Sudha and Maya (Anuradha Patel).
Mahinder and Maya loved each other but their love does not culminate at the altar of marriage. Why? Because Maya is temperamental much like Rebecca and Madame Bovary. She disappears and then returns. In fact she had never left Mahinder’s house. Her presence haunts the ever compassionate Sudha though she’s never seen her and when she does return Mahinder is never really able to say good bye.
Ijaazat is an emotional journey that takes place over one night. It is compelling in its emotional thrust and makes one look inwards. Gulzar takes a poignant view at relationships. RD Burman’s music, Gulzar’s lyrics and cinematography by Ashok Mehta are the backbone of this movie.
The best part about Gulzar’s direction here is that he does not allow the performers to take over the characters they are portraying. Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, and Anradha Patel get into the skin of their roles with ease and conviction.
Brilliant!