Ijaazat ...

It was one of those mornings where the atmosphere was simply too inviting to sit down to serious work. The sound of the leaves of African Tulip tree rustling briskly in the breeze together with the bright sunshiny day made me want to sit quietly and enjoy the morning rather than read and write documents. After chatting with a friend for a while, I thought I would watch this movie I was told I would like – an old Hindi movie called Ijaazat circa 1987 directed by the immensely talented Gulzar based on a Bengali story Jatugriha by Subhodh Ghosh. It had some of my favourite actors in it and so I got myself a cup of tea and began to watch the movie.

The movie starts with Mahender (Naseeruddin Shah) alighting from a train on a rainy day and running to the first class waiting room where there are a few other people. A woman starts with shock when she sees him and tries to hide behind a magazine she holds up. It is only later that he spies Sudha (Rekha) and looks at her awkwardly. They are meeting after five years.

The scene then shifts to one set years ago showing Mahinder, who is a successful photographer visiting his grandfather (Shammi Kapoor) and being told quite firmly that his extra-long engagement of five years was simply unacceptable and that he would be married the following month as decided upon by his grandfather. Mahinder is quite unhappy over the development as he has been living with Maya (Anuradha Patel) and loves her deeply. She wasn’t interested in marriage however and was a spirited fairy-like creature whose feet never touched the ground. She would come and go as she pleased – lavishing affection on him and behaving in the most unexpected manner possible at other times. She was unpredictable, ever-changing and beautiful – a very exciting combination. And she loved him fiercely.

Mahender approaches Sudha whom he is engaged to and tells her about his dilemma. He doesn’t want to antagonize his grandfather – would she back off from the wedding? She smiles and tells him to think over it and do only the right thing. He goes back home in search of Maya and doesn’t find her – she has left him only a few verses – she was capable of disappearing for months and he grew frantic with the realization that he wouldn’t be able to find her. Eventually he gives up and marries Sudha as arranged.

They are shown living together happily enough except for the spectre of Maya hovering between them always. Sudha is a good wife, who runs the house exceptionally well and takes care of her husband’s needs perfectly. She is also traditional and cannot help be possessive especially when she sees the look on her husband’s face as he talks about Maya. He was never intentionally insensitive but to Sudha, there was too much of the unconventional Maya in their house. Every where she turned she would see some vestiges of her stay – her letters which Mahinder hoarded, her pictures in out of the way places or her clothes – the ones that she left behind. Mahinder loves his wife and tries hard to make her understand that he’s been perfectly honest with her and that he was indeed trying hard to get on with his life. Sudha was never demanding or questioning but the tangible presence that Maya left behind gnaws at her soul and erodes it slowly so that she feels very lost.

The interplay of emotions between the absent Maya and the couple is portrayed so well that one almost feels that the marriage is a weird bringing together of three people rather than two. Mahinder is tugged both ways. Sudha moves from stoic acceptance to disgust and misery when she suspects Mahinder of reviving his relationship with the electric Maya. Unknown to her he had spent time with Maya because she was in the hospital following a suicide attempt. She sees her poetry in unexpected places. Deep inside her she knows she is an ordinary woman who could not match the alluring Maya. Mahinder tries to get Maya home so that he can explain things and the two women can meet. Sudha is adamant that she would not have that woman in her house. He tells her its his house too and goes off to get her later in the evening but having heard Sudha’s anger over the phone, Maya leaves again for parts unknown with no warning and a frustrated Mahinder returns to find that Sudha has left him – he cannot take the shock and gets a heart attack. After spending a month in the hospital, he gets back home where Maya moves in to take care of him.

When Maya is with him, he still thinks that Sudha will return some day and looks forward to it. Its almost as if he cannot make up his mind which craves for Maya when he is with his wife and longs for the care and stability of his mature wife when he is with the crazy temptress. One day he receives a letter from Sudha saying she is willing to let him go free so he can marry Maya and not to reply to her because she was leaving for parts unknown. He is so upset that Maya realizes that he wants very badly to get his wife back. The hopelessness of her situation hits her. She runs off saying she would bring her back and Mahinder loses his temper saying she would for once, stay out of it or he would personally strangle her. Late that night he wakes to the sound of Maya starting the motorcycle and dashing off at reckless speed. He follows her but cannot reach her in time – she has had a horrible accident when the ends of the scarf wound round her neck get entangled in the bike wheels and she is strangled to death.

Most of the movie is shown as a flashback interspersed with scenes in the waiting room where Mahinder and Sudha reach an uneasy truce and pass the night in a surreal mockery of the domestic bliss they had once known. As the night passes, their awkwardness melts away till he unfolds the entire story of what happened to him in the years since she walked out on him. She bursts into tears at the mention of Maya’s death and busies herself getting his things together since it is almost time for their trains. He is about to ask her about herself when her husband (played by Shashi Kapoor) rushes in grateful to see her alright after spending an uncomfortable night due to her train’s last minute cancellation. He so obviously adores her and chatters away happily apologizing because he couldn’t get there earlier. He follows the coolie out with her luggage while she lags behind and tells Mahinder “ Five years ago I left you without seeking permission – I am asking you now – may I leave?” He looks at her searchingly and wishes her joy and a happy life. She sobs and touches his feet which perplexes her husband till he guesses who it might be. They leave and the movie ends.

The story by itself is beautiful and touches you at all the right spots. The actors were all perfect for their rules. But it is in the untold lines that the true spirit of the movie lies – those suggested moments between the protagonists unburdened by a graphic depiction – that is what made the movie very special to me. The songs too underscored the storyline and blended in very naturally.

My favourite scene in the movie was possibly I think the one that epitomized the warring emotions and complexity of the three main relationships. Sudha finds some expensive clothes of Maya’s and asks Mahinder to return it to her. He looks at her quietly while she hurriedly says she has no problem with them being in the house except that maybe Maya would be in need of those articles. Mahinder says he will send them with their servant and she asks him to take it himself – he refuses. The next scene shows the two of them coming home late at night from some outing when the servant hands them a telegram from Maya. It was actually a whole letter sent telegraphically. He takes it to Sudha and says “This then is Maya...” – he then reads out the poem ...which moves Sudha to tears leading her to rue the act of sending back Maya’s things. The poem is “Mera kuch samaan” and the words are stunningly evocative of a love that is so intense that it leaves an indelible mark – some things can be returned and yet how does one get back the beauty of a shared night or a moment of laughter that one has left behind?

Do watch this movie if you haven’t before or even if its been years since you watched it. Its like a perfectly polished cinematic jewel with every facet reflecting one more layer of complexity and yet having all the facets come together to create an object of unsurpassed loveliness.