Even if it
belonged to what is referred to by Indian cineastes as the parallel cinema
movement (or the art-house genre), it would be unfair to pigeonhole Ijaazat (1987), whose soundtrack
continues to be popular.
A Gulzar verse –
rendered by Asha Bhosle – went, “Chhoti
si kahaani se, baarishon ke paani se, saari waadi bhar gayi” (A short
story, and rain water, have filled the whole valley).
The film
released during composer R D Burman’s lean phase. So while music aficionados
appreciated the song, it did precious little to salvage his career, which was
in freefall.
