Masoom

This movie is based on "Man, Woman, and Child" by Eric Segal. While this had the potential to fall into silly Bollywood antics, this movie, instead, is elevated to one of the most entertaining and well crafted movies I have seen. It helps that the setting is a relatively conservative India. The boy in it is absolutely adorable, as are the daughters. And of course, who could forget the great acting of Shabana Azmi and Naseerudin Shah as the husband and wife. Yes, there are musical moments, but nothing that is in bollywood excess. If you are a non-indian, you will love this movie. Definitely a hidden gem!

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.

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.

A very sensitive movie very well done by Shekar. Needless to say Naseerudhin and Shabana come out with their best performance. The surprise is the kid jugal. His performance moves you to tears..he brings out the feelings of a lost,orphaned innocent kid beautifully. RDB music was apt and Gulzhars lyrics were exceptional. But i felt that Supriya pathaks character was not projected well. The relationship between Naseer and Supriya lacks depth. Climax scene could have been handled differently

Probably one of the most sensitive films ever made in India. Its sensibility is very contemporary and unaffected by "Bollywood". The performances are surprisingly real and one can easily relate to them. Naseer plays the role of DK beautifully, I feel its his most sensitive performance till date. DK is a very real character, he is a man who is not ashamed to cry. Its very apparent he loves his wife a lot, but the emotion he shows for Supriya Pathak, (the woman he met during the school reunion, from whom he has a son but did not know till now)is also very real, very real and honest. Even though it has the feel of a one night stand, and even DK himself would rather believe and tell his wife that, but its pretty clear he liked her when he met her and felt genuine emotion for the girl. Bhavna (Supriya Pathak) decides to bring up the child alone and not tell DK about it because she knows that he has a family of his own.

DK is a very rare character in an Indian film, men in Indian films are not sensitive like him, they don't break down while talking to their wives, they don't show helplessness. DK is so humane that its difficult for him to not touch and affect you in some way. Personally, the character that Shabana Azmi, Indu – DK's wife, does not move me too much. Its probably true that her character gets to grow only towards the end when her love for Bhavna's boy(Rahul) begins to overpower her hatred for the act that her husband had committed years ago. Her hurt also comes from the fact that when DK had this affair with Bhavna she was expecting their first child.

Indu is not shown to have any extraordinary characteristics in the beginning. She is just jealous of Rahul's mother and feels disgust for the deeds of her husband. Any one would feel like that. Her character gets some respite when she begins to see the boy Rahul for what he truly is – his mother is dead and he does not know who his father is – he is truly alone and orphaned. Its love and sympathy for him that raises Indu above the normal jealous, hurt wife. She is a mother of two girls herself, she cannot help but feel motherly love for this boy who is sweet, nice natured and so lonely.

The kids also act very well, Jugal Hansraj is wonderful as Rahul. The film wins in the end it seems because of him… you feel so much for this boy. It wins also because of DK (Naseer) and his surprisingly natural love for his lost, so far unknown son. He feels pride when Rahul plays a good ball of cricket… and it surprises him. Just goes to show that feelings of love are not conditioned, developed, they just "are". Indu's feelings for the boy can be seen almost visually growing… and that is a beautiful thing. She is the one who gets him back home in the end.

A must watch for anyone who loves Naseer and Gulzar. It's a film that doesn't disappoint. I have it on DVD and watch it again and again and again!!