Ijaazat

Ijaazat () is an 1987 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Gulzar, based on a Bengali story, Jatugriha by Subodh Ghosh. Starring Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah and Anuradha Patel 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, and won two National Film Awards in the music category. The movie is based on the 1964 Bengali movie Jatugriha. 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 (Rekha), 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) 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 (Anuradha Patel). 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.