Aastha: In the Prison of Spring

This is a Hindi language film starring Rekha and Om Puri. The film is a very mature portrayal of adultery.

The film is how a middle class homemaker gets into the world of becoming a call-girl. While the theme might seem erotic, and there are elements of it in the movie, the handling is very sensitive. The film delves into the mind of the characters, how they react and respond to the situation. All characters sketched are mature and there is no melodrama at play.

Yet, the film's premise is not well set. It is not clear why really the lady chose to get dragged in, even if tricked the first time into a sexual encounter. Apart from that gap, the way she evolves and eventually comes out of it, even by implicitly confessing to her husband, forms the rest of the film.

A good watch for mature audiences.

Aastha review :

Director Basu Bhattacharya's last film featuring Rekha in one of her most controversial role ever. Aastha was offbeat in approach but achieved commercial success only for it's much discussed and debated sex scenes.

Rekha played a middle class housewife who prostitutes herself for materialist reason; its basic theme similar to the 1967 French classic 'Belle De Jour'.

Madame Rekha did some bold scenes with Navin Nishchol who played her client and with a visibly uncomfortable Om Puri playing her unaware husband. It was a difficult role to pull off and only Rekha could make it look so convincing.

After KC Bokadia's Phool Bane Angaaray (1991), Rekha had not enjoyed a satisfactory box office run with resounding flops like Madame X (1994) which didnt last in theatres beyond one show. Aastha was her first solo success after long and in the same year, she won the Filmfare award for her superlative negative role in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996).

Coming back to the film, music by Shaarang Dev blended perfectly with its mood. The pace was little lethargic but necessary to narrate a script of this kind.

In one of his later interviews, Om Puri alleged that Rekha herself directed most of the film particularly the sex scenes. If that is really true, then it is Madame Rekha who deserves all the credit for this movie. No one else!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

I didn't quite understand the intention of the director Basu Bhattacharya for making this film.

The film neither glorifies nor condemns the heroine for what she did. Aastha just shows Mansi (Rekha) as being helpless in front of her desires and materialistic needs. She could have lived a content life with just what her husband earns and there's not enough justification for why she strays.

When she has her first sexual encounter with a rich client, she's not shown to be reluctant to do it neither does she attempt to let go of her desire for materialism.

The ending is deeply unsatisfying as the principal question remains unanswered: whether the husband forgives Mansi or not. I know it was meant to be that way in order to make the audience think, however, it would have been even more thoughtful to give the movie a proper ending.

I clearly doubt Bhattacharya's intentions here, however if you are a huge Rekha fan and want to watch her ooze her sex appeal with just her expressions rather than exposing her body, then give it a try!

Rekha as I never saw before. The scene where she is seduced into prostitution is titillating, not just for its visual appeal but also for the way Rekha does it. She is just as unconventional with other love scenes. Just shows a female movie star in India only comes of age when she comes of age. And that too if she is someone like Rekha, who'd show emotions rather than her cleavage or thighs. A totally Rekha movie, never mind the director, producer, and Om Puri.

Aastha is not your standard 'art film' though it seems like one, specially seeing Om Puri's name in the credits. This is a film that starts out great - brilliant cast, good story line, ok direction - but then it kind of fails to do all that it set out to achieve. Nevertheless it has its moments that you won't forget. My favourite is the scene where Rekha - playing a housewife next door - gives in to the advances of Navin ... who would turn out to be her first customer in a career of prostitution she chose unwillingly. Rekha is wonderful, and so is Om Puri. The only aspect that weakens the film is the story itself. Its not very convincing at the crucial moments, and there are some obvious directorial misjudgments. But its still a film you must watch.