Adapted from Malayalam film, Razzaq's,'Perumazhakalam' ( Monsoon season ), this beautifully shot movie is set with arid & beautiful Rajasthan as the backdrop .
Zeenat ( Gul Panag ) , a self-reliant Muslim lady, travels from Himachal Pradesh to Rajasthan on a desperate mission to get Meera ( Ayesha Takia ) a cloistered Hindu-haveli-bahu , to sign a ' maafinaama ' that will stay her husband's execution in the Middle East .
Zeenat is so tranquil that her composure belies her precarious situation while newly-widowed Meera flits around in the background of her in-laws' haveli like a fragile shadow .
Apart from the major themes of forgiveness , friendship & other philosophies , the most riveting one was of the dark tentacles of exploitation creeping up around a financially dependant widow , illustrated by Meera's father-in-law, Raghubir ( Girish Karnad ) , a seemingly dignified , mustachioed patriarch, who , inspite of all his external appearances turns out to be a weak , sleazy man who secretly agrees to barter the lovely Meera to lascivious factory owner Chopra ( Nagesh Kuknoor ) for financial recompense .
One of the most arresting scenes was of Raghubir seizing Meera by her elbow , who inspite of her vulnerability & powerlessness , calmly orders Raghubir to let go of her arm since she granted the right to touch , only to his son , ( her dead husband ) & not to Raghubir .
Apart from Ayesha Takia's fragile-as-dried-rose-petals & yet hard-as-crystal, portrayal of Meera & Gul Panag's self - reliant yet vulnerable grace of Zeenat , other notable roles are rendered by Uttara Baokar ( the widowed Dadima ) & Shreyas Talpade, a charming, petty thief who accompanies Zeenat on her journey.
A poetic & moving film.
Zeenat ( Gul Panag ) , a self-reliant Muslim lady, travels from Himachal Pradesh to Rajasthan on a desperate mission to get Meera ( Ayesha Takia ) a cloistered Hindu-haveli-bahu , to sign a ' maafinaama ' that will stay her husband's execution in the Middle East .
Zeenat is so tranquil that her composure belies her precarious situation while newly-widowed Meera flits around in the background of her in-laws' haveli like a fragile shadow .
Apart from the major themes of forgiveness , friendship & other philosophies , the most riveting one was of the dark tentacles of exploitation creeping up around a financially dependant widow , illustrated by Meera's father-in-law, Raghubir ( Girish Karnad ) , a seemingly dignified , mustachioed patriarch, who , inspite of all his external appearances turns out to be a weak , sleazy man who secretly agrees to barter the lovely Meera to lascivious factory owner Chopra ( Nagesh Kuknoor ) for financial recompense .
One of the most arresting scenes was of Raghubir seizing Meera by her elbow , who inspite of her vulnerability & powerlessness , calmly orders Raghubir to let go of her arm since she granted the right to touch , only to his son , ( her dead husband ) & not to Raghubir .
Apart from Ayesha Takia's fragile-as-dried-rose-petals & yet hard-as-crystal, portrayal of Meera & Gul Panag's self - reliant yet vulnerable grace of Zeenat , other notable roles are rendered by Uttara Baokar ( the widowed Dadima ) & Shreyas Talpade, a charming, petty thief who accompanies Zeenat on her journey.
A poetic & moving film.