The movie brilliantly captures the nuances of Indian middle class in the eighties. After the political turmoil of seventies there was a need to go back to larger issues of our common lives. How should we live together? And how basic human goodness will help us overcome any setback? Rajaram, even though a malleable character, is a true hero. The character is amazingly envisaged by Sai Pranjpe and masterfully depicted by Naseeruddin Shah. I think his agitation on hearing about the need of O -ve blood group for a young boy must go down in the history of Indian cinema as one of the most powerful scenes. His sequences with invalid Bapu are razor sharp, both in conception as well as execution. He will take care of every little need of the week before he lays claim to his right. Self-sacrifice is the hallmark of this unlikely hero of new emerging India. Youcan't miss the fact that Rajaram is modelled on god Rama. Rama is the hero and it's not coincidental that Naseer is Rajaram. Sai Pranjape takes a dig at the ideal man though, who asked his wife to go through a trial by fire. New avatar of Rama goes beyond this qualm. In the same way, Farooq, Vasudev, is modelled on god Krishna. Farooq for me was outstanding. Period. Grreat performance. The way he plays on the insecurities of people is so subtle. Sandhya (Deepti Naval) surrenders it all the moment she's led by Vasudev to say, I'm liberated.
The movie touches on all aspects of life. many layers of man-woman relationship (think about all the different couples in the movie, one by one), social satire (parties, clandestine affairs), celebration of simple life style (parathas, borrowing milk), no glossing over hard realities of our daily lives (water problem and common toilets, for instance). In all this we find life is indeed beautiful. We don't need an overdose of foreign location to be convinced of that fact.
Sai Pranjpe wrote a new epic for the modern India.
