Ijaazat

Ijaazat (meaning "permission") is an 1988 Indian Hindi film directed by Gulzar, based on a Bengali story, Jatugriha by Subodh Ghosh. Starring Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah and Anuradha Patel in leading roles, the film followed the story of couple who are separated and who accidentally meet in a railway station waiting room and discover some truths about their lives without each other. The film belongs to the art-house genre in India known as Parallel Cinema, and won two National Film Awards in the music category.

Plot

The movie is a powerful story that deals with feminism and patriarchy in the middle class India. It is about the present and past of Mahender and Sudha together as well as separately. The movie starts with Mahender (Naseeruddin Shah) getting down at the railway station and making his way to the waiting room just as it starts to rain heavily. A woman, Sudha (Rekha), is already sitting in the waiting room. On seeing him, she tries to hide from him but later they confront each other.