It was a beautiful Bombay monsoon Sunday. Grey clouds, incessant rains, lots of chai and good sleep. The day went by doing home chores, having long baths, experimenting with skincare.

In the evening, as I was walking back from a grocery store, I noticed that my regular florist had some beautiful Rajnigandha stalks on display. I could not resist and bought a bunch back home to plop in my vase. I use an old pickle ceramic jar as a vase.

Funny enough, I never bought it from a store for its aesthetics, which is a trend these days, I hear. It was lying at home, unused. I am told that my husband’s grandmother used that jar regularly during her active days in the kitchen. I thought we could use it differently now, while also being reminded of her. I admired this woman – teacher, Sanskrit scholar, had a ear for music and a large heart. Humility was aplenty.

While I was arranging the Rajnigandha stalks in the vase, I was reminded of the Vidya Sinha-Amol Palekar starrer movie of the same name. I thought, why not give this movie a chance.

My mum had sent some Vegetable Pulao for us to have over the weekend. I made a quick Chicken Curry to go with it, and there, a bowl of simple joy was served. My Chicken Curry recipe, is to simply go with the flow – stare at the masala shelves for a good 2 minutes, pick any two masalas that you feel good about on the given day (I used Kitchen King and Mutton Masala) and add them to the kadhai full of sauteed ginger-garlic paste, onions and tomatoes. Cut up and add some fresh green chilies and some yogurt. Add the marinated chicken to the kadhai; cook it all together and forget all your stress while the house fills with the smell of curry. 

The film released in the 70’s and it begins with Vidya Sinha on screen draped in a red cotton sari, long plaited hair decorated with fresh Mogra flowers and huge sunglasses that covered her entire face. I loved everything about her look, and I was already invested in the film.

Both protagonists are dating from the very beginning of the movie. They are working and sustaining their lives in Delhi. When Vidya informs Amol that she is likely to get a job in Mumbai, he is quick to say that he will request for a transfer at his job, and they can both move to Bombay. He adds that they may have to settle for a low-budget wedding because Bombay is an expensive city, all of which is so real and relatable even today. Vidya travels to Mumbai for the job interview where her former lover returns in her life.

It is lovely to see Mumbai through Vidya’s eyes. Most of it is shot around Fort and Colaba and it was so special to see old Mumbai on screen. All the coffee meetings are always happening in tall buildings overlooking the ocean. 

Advertisement and film enthusiasts are throwing “house-parties” where they are discussing international cinema while sipping whiskey. We see the couple catch matinee shows at movie theatres where you had to stand in long queues for movie tickets, a forgotten tradition, thanks to BookMyShow.

There’s also Vidya’s friend who is living a rather busy life in Mumbai. When Vidya reaches the friend’s house, the friend tells her to heat the food kept in the refrigerator and have it for dinner because she would be late from work. She warns Vidya that this is how it is in Mumbai. Everyone’s busy!

The couple’s love language is Amol surprising Vidya with Rajnigandha flowers every time they meet. The flowers are depicted beautifully throughout the movie. They bloom during the good days and wilt when the couple is apart.

Two beautiful songs play a pivotal role in the movie. One of them is the title of the movie. Vidya is seen admiring, almost romancing the Rajnigandha flowers. The other song is “Kain baar yun hi dekha hai”. It’s a meaningful song, that plays when Vidya and her former lover are traveling through Mumbai. She is experiencing it all.

She wonders what went wrong between them, she wants to know how he feels about her now, she wants him to hold her hand and confess that he missed her utterly. To her disappointment, he does nothing of the sort, almost as though he has no time for this in his busy life in Bombay.

The movie ends with the two protagonists finding their way back to each other’s hearts. Unlike the 70’s when the general movie trend was angry young men seeking revenge against big bad men, this movie seemed to want to focus on common people, living regular lives, trying to make it big in the busy cities of India, while also managing matters of the heart.

It’s a lovely watch, this one! For everyone who is living a life in Bombay while trying to make it all work, it cannot get any more relatable than this.

– Aishwarya Bedekar