Masoom is Brilliant. Review on Masoom

Sekhar Kapur?s masterpiece, Masoom was brilliant to say the least. Yes, it is just a ?good? film, but somehow since I am too much of a foolish guy- the story touches me and would never leave me. And yes, such realistic creations make me learn lessons. I see them as depiction of a life, which is a not perfect at all but where human gesture from very ordinary human beings, makes life a better place to live.

Masoom is such a well-known film thanks not only to the brilliant performances but also due to the divine sensitive words penned by Gulzar and tunes by the maestro R. D. Burman, that I would not spend words by writing the story down.

But then, the insane mind within me, and the only precious possession of mine- my heart ended up seeing so many things!

DK (Nasseruddin Shah) has done a mistake. A mistake that resulted in a child being born. For a family man who has a wife, two children, a successful social life, it is nothing less than a cheating. But then if he made a mistake once in having a loving moment with another woman- a friend, he did not want to commit another mistake, that is be rude and ignorant to the child- his child from that woman and also he did not want to be dishonest again to his family.

Personally, the old fashioned male that is I do not advocate a fling (though the urban media of the likes of India Today and Hindustan Times are all geared up to promote flings in recent times, with the cheapest of surveys to prove our non-committal and confused mindset), so I don?t want to say anything to justify DK?s act. But as one comes to know of DK through out the film you see how his personal life goes from bad to worse when as he keeps on realizing his mistake. He feels guilty not only towards his family, but also to the illegitimate child of his and he keeps on trying his level best to set things right.

He was anyway what you would call a successful family man, but in times of tests may be caused due to his own actions he grows up as very caring father, a equally sensitive husband, a complete family man who wants to bring back his family?s happiness. And that family includes his illegitimate son too, who has done no fault. One can say, for sure, DK is trying to act all nice when he is the root of all trouble! But then if you have made a mistake then there is always another chance and for that you don?t need to change the people.

You can just be honest to the people who care to care for you. DK?s acceptance of that child is a big thing- because he could have completely denied the existence of that child or hidden the whole fact from his family. DK perhaps breaks from the clichés- he risks his entire happiness to make amend for the mistake he committed. He even puts his career on the risk, to sort his family.

For Indu (Shabana Azmi), forgiving DK was not an easy task and rightly so, I guess. Even if the husband is honest it pains a lot, to tackle breach of trust. Those who breach the trust, for them it is nothing, those whose trust gets shattered they know how much foolish, cheated they feel. Same was for Indu. Her whole anger used to fall on the child who was an unwelcome addition on her family.

On the one hand she loved her family too much to break away from it, on the other she could not accept the fact her husband whom she trusted breached her trust completely. But even then there is call of humanity, which went much beyond than Indu?s anger, or status of being a homemaker, mother of two children in a well-to-do family. That call of humanity went on pricking Indu?s conscience. She could see, how much DK is suffering, she could see the child who was so vulnerable and as if, needs that special care which only she along with DK can provide, she could see her own children who were so unselfish in accepting a new entrant in their household. At times these pricks of humanity makes us do things, which surprises us. And Indu decides to accept the child.

Masoom is an ode to family life. It is not a story of a perfect family. It is not a story of two perfectly divine human beings. It is a story where two people try to go beyond the realms of materialism to a world of absolute human emotions. And if rules, and decisions and common thoughts would have been involved- then I guess howsoever idealist we become and we abuse DK, most of us would not have the guts to trust one?s wife so much that we admit the mistake that has been done and also ask for courage to mend the situation.

And even Indu would have gone the clichéd way to abandon DK in times of his crisis.

But they did not do that, because perhaps the child- Rahul touched their lives as a human being. And for that they could forgo the roots that Rahul carried with him.

Apart from the bit loud background music at times, I can't find any thing negative with this film. It is a film where the actors act more through expressions rather than through dialogues.

A film which makes one cry even though it is so simplistically optimistic. Very few soundtracks have such beautiful lyrics that suits the film completely. Thus the music is a huge asset. If Huzur Iss Kadar, shows the flamboyant DK then, Do Naina depicts a circumstances, If Lakdi ke kathi is childish pranks, then Tujhse Naraz is helplessness.

In a world when everyday we make petty promises to each other only to break them, and later justify them and come back and make them again only to break them again, Masoom comes across to me as a story that can teach us one or two things about finding happiness together in times of crisis.