Search - Ijaazat on DVD

In the realm of the delicate

Naima Rashid | Lahore, Pakistan | 09/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ijaazat captures a moment in time whose reality is construed by memories of times gone, some forgotten, some remembered. The movie explores the intricacies of a love triangle in which sincerity , love and fidelity are as if doomed by the triangular pattern. All characters have the sincerest of feelings and the best of intentions but remain helpless before the irony of their situation. The subtlety of the film matches the delicacy of the subject it approaches, as it meanders through moments of intimacy to depict emotions that loom like invisible giants: unsaid, unexpressed but keenly felt and haunting. All characters are as distinct as they are remarquable : Maaya(Anuradha Patel), the intractable and independent free-spirited girl evasive as the morning breeze and like it, always lingering behind; Suddha(Rekha), the composed Indian wife with a quite and docile Eastern beauty. Mahinder (Naseerudin Shah) caught between on one hand, his devotion for his wife and on the other, his strange attraction for Maaya. The action revolves around Suddha's unannounced decision to leave home after learning of her husband's repeated contacts with Maaya. Five years from the day she leaves and unknown to her, Mahinder suffers a heart attack, they accidentally meet in a railway station. Smoothly and unconsciously, each glides into his former role, he the careless husband and she the wife, bringing order with her touch, now as before, his better half. In the one night that they spend together waiting, each grapples with a past that had long since remained dormant. One questions and the other explains, one narrates and the other mourns. They journey through a host of memories more vivid perhaps in the recollection that they were in the living. It's a trail of tears and laughter, of joy and sorrow, of anguish and ecstacy. Conjuring up from the past some figments they lived together and others they missed out upon, they tie up all the ends left loose - almost. Nothing can prepare the reader for the final irony of the movie. By the most relentless of criteria, the movie qualifies as sublime - the acting, songs, music, poetry, the story-line as much as the conception - all is top-notch."

A Classic - Must have

malnaik | Ann Arbor, MI United States | 03/06/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This would definitely be one that you have to add to your collection if you are true Hindi Movie buff, especially classic movies. The songs are chillingly effective to keep you interested. It takes you back to the beautiful parts of India and at the same time deals with the issues surrounding true love and social/cultural values.A very simple depiction of complex situations with relationships and harsh realities of life. Some excellent direction with great outdoor photography.Top notch performances from stalwarts, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha and Anuradha Patel. Being an older movie, the quality is not DVD grade, but it gives you the older rustic print taking you back in time."