Masoom

I wanted to acquaint a young niece with the song Lakdi Ki Kaathi - so we ended up watching Masoom. Here Naseer and Shabana vied for equal honors - he as the "weak philandering and then unable to stand up for what is right" man, she as the hurt and retaliating spouse. Caught in the mix were three children. This was probably the first realistic portrayal of children in Hindi cinema. Urmila Matondkar as the older sister, I forget the name of younger and cute as a button sister, but of course the unforgettable kid was Jugal Hansraj - oh that Masoomiyat was to die for. As the wife was building wall upon wall between herself and the husband, the kids were breaking barriers and bonding as only children can. Shabana - she was a goddess fighting for the rights of her family with not one false note in the entire film. Naseer had just the right amount of weakness and regret to tell you that he was a man with clay feet. Sayeed Jaffrey was a tiny bit loud but then he was supposed to be a loud Punjabi type. These people lived in real houses in a real city and went to work and shopped and played just like us. Masoom had excellent music too - Huzoor is Kadar, Lakdi Ki Kaathi, Tujhse Naaraz Nahin. A perfect 10 from me for this perfect film.

The script and dialogues my Sampooran Singh Gulzar are just mind blowing. It is truly challenging to present the tensions in the family along with the innocence of the children Gulzar and Sekhar Kapoor (the director) delve deeply into the psychology of the adults and the children. Urmila excels as a child artist (she was barely 10 years old!), so did Anuradha and Jugal Hansraj.

The camera work in the movie is simple and artistic. Rahul Dev Burman's haunting score couldn't be any more apt. It is really striking, he used variations of a single tune as the background score for the entire movie! Wow! That is not the best part, you don't notice that! That's the best part.

Nasseruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, who are known for their extreme potential and they have played their roles to perfection.

I would say this is Sekhar Kapoor's best. There are several scenes in the movie where the characters convey their feeling by a simple "act" which would otherwise need 1000 words and not-needed melodrama. That is clearly his directorial genius. When the characters actually "speak" they convey their feelings equally well...Thanks to the genius and maturity of Gulzar and Sekhar Kapoor.

The movie is funny, beautiful, tense, moving, complex..... However, I have one complaint with the script.

Warning: If you plan to watch the movie do not read beyond this point!



The open question remains as to what is really the punishment to a man who made a mistake as big as adultery. We know the man is good, loves his kids and wife and his work. He did make a mistake. The situation in which he made the mistake, no matter what, cannot be justified. He made a mistake. That's it.

The kid has no fault of his and he is lonely and helpless and feels deprived of everything. Does he have to suffer because the adult made a mistake? No. So, what is doing justice to this kid? Keeping him along with your kids? If that is the case, what is the punishment to the father? If you send him away as

punishment, the kids will all be fatherless and the wife will have the burden of taking care of them alone.

So, as shown in the film...the correct punishment is the one that makes him remorseful and the correct thing to do with the kid is to bring him up along with the others. OK, so far so good but this soln. has a problem too. What happens when the kids grow little older. They know their "brother" made no mistake, they will learn that their father...about who they were so proud..has let them down. This will certainly effect them for life! Even if we assume their family friends can forgive his mistake, the kids cannot. Not at least these kids.. may be some kids who are in a family that is used to adultery!

Well, one could argue that the father indeed made a mistake and the kids would have to simply face the truth..there is no other way out, so they rather stop worrying about it..and of course they don't to need to worry about punishing his father if the objective is to make him remorseful.

I have watched this movie 3 or 4 times, and I am impressed with the subject matter and the way with which Gulzar has written it and Shekhar Kapur has directed it. Usually I find that most Indian movies have plots that have such one dimensional characters, but in this movie you see the evolution of the characters. For those who watch Indian movies for the lyrics as well and you haven't seen or heard the songs of Masoom, then you are truly missing something. You can't expect anything less than the best (in terms of the lyrics) from Gulzar. The music by R.D.Burman is also very touching, and appropriate for the scenes. Kudos to Naseruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi for portraying their characters with such passion. After watching this movie I felt that it is human to make mistakes, and you don't find many movies providing such moral lessons. Highly recommended to lovers of cinema.

Masoom is one of the best Hindi films of the 1980s, a decade known to be disastrously terrible for Hindi films. The directorial debut of the supremely talented Shekhar Kapur, whose work with amazingly distinct film genres during his career has been striking, this one really was a gem. The film is about a happily married couple, DK and Indu. They have two girls, Pinky and Minni, and their life seems to be quite perfect until one day DK informs Indu that he has a little kid from a woman who he had an affair with many years ago and who is no more. He brings the kid named Rahul home, and there starts the struggle. His wife is still shocked to know that she was betrayed and the presence of the kid only worsens the situation. While watching the film, the viewers may certainly feel pity for the little cute boy, who bears the brunt of his father's mistake. He has done nothing wrong, and here we see where the film takes its title from.

Masoom is moving, poignant and involving. The film is beautifully narrated and is extremely fascinating to watch. One must note the brilliant portrayal of the urban India of its times. The lifestyle of modern people in the big city is executed with impressive precision. The characters, the dialogues, the situations, are strikingly realistic and lifelike, and they give the film an engaging sense of everyday routine which is really missing in Hindi films. The film never goes overboard, it does not resort to any clichés whatsoever and is not overly emotional - it is simple, authentic and real. That's what makes the emotional effect on the viewer even more powerful and the story so easy to relate to. Due credit goes to Kapur's amazing direction and Gulzar's brilliant writing, which are aided by a great technical crew, fantastic acting and a very memorable soundtrack composed by R.D. Burman. How can one forget such beautiful songs as "Tujhse Naraaz Nahin Zindagi" and "Do Naina Aur Ek Kahani"? Soulful, ear-pleasing and classic.

Naseeruddin Shah's portrayal of DK, a complex role that has a mixture of guilt feelings, love, regret and responsibility, is outstanding. I can hardly see another actor create the character of DK with the sincerity and sensitivity with which he did. Shabana Azmi is exceptional as Indu. In a role requiring both toughness and vulnerability, Azmi displays anger and rage, despair and indifference, and ultimately remorse and compassion, skillfully. The film is also known for having some of the greatest appearances by child actors, and it's easy to see why. Urmila is great as the serious Pinky. One could easily foresee the talented actress that she could possibly grow to become seeing her natural acting here. Aradhana is also adorable as the peppy and bubbly Minny, but it is Jugal Hansraj who makes the greatest impact. It may be because the entire story revolves around him, but he is just one of the cutest kids I've ever seen in a film. He is supposed to be the 'innocent' this film deals with, and, indeed, this is perfectly done through his endearingly naive eyes, sweet diction and touching simplicity. You really feel for this boy throughout the film.

All in all, Masoom is a must-watch, and it should provide a treat to anyone. The only regret I had is that there wasn't enough of Indu and Rahul's positive interaction. I wish Kapur had extended more into their relationship after the heartbreaking "Sorry Aunty" scene, which is the film's best moment (see the film to understand what I mean). Anyway, Masoom is a film that anyone would enjoy watching, and many many times. It is both entertaining, heart-warming and moving. Whoever and wherever you are, if you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend you to do so.

Of course this movie is not even remotely comparable to any of the silly drivel that Bollywood produces. But this is also unlike any other well publicised Bollywood movies in that it doesn't try to cater itself to the western audience by portraying situations and events in any more cheery or gloomy light than they actually are. It just relies on pure warmth of feelings to grab you, not smart camera angles or lighting.

The family portrayed in the movie is extremely adorable. The acting is just phenomenal by everyone, especially the lead cast of Nasruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. The music is amazing and contributes to the pace of the movie rather than impeding it. One has to appreciate the fine effort everyone has put in. It will make you cry in the end for sure.