Thodisi Bewafaii

About the film

Thodisi Bewafaii (lit. 'A little indiscretion') is a 1980 Bollywood romantic drama film directed by Esmayeel Shroff and produced by Nand Mirani. It stars Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi in the lead roles. The film is noted for impressive performances by the cast and Khayyam's music with lyrics written by Gulzar.

Upon release, Thodisi Bewafaii performed well commercially and emerged a hit as well as one of the highest grossing films of 1980.

Plot

Arvind Kumar Choudhary is an elderly, wealthy businessman whose wife is dead and who lives in a palatial mansion with his only son, Arun. He remarries with another woman, Sujata, a widow with two daughters, Veena and Seema. Arun assumes that the new woman in his father's life is a floozy and a gold-digger. He does not respect his new step-mother and refuses to even speak with her. Arun meets Neema Deshmukh and they fall in love with each other. With the approval of their respective families, they get married.

At work one day, Arun accidentally breaks a valuable diamond while daydreaming about Neema. He and his father are required to pay for the loss of value, and as a result, the Choudharys lose all their savings, building, vehicles and property. They are compelled to move to a shanty apartment. Arvind passes away from the trauma of seeing his life's work destroyed. Arun takes over the reins of this family, and it is necessary for him to interact with his stepmother to settle various legal matters. He finds that she is a noble, forgiving lady with a generous heart and he develops respect for her. Around this time, Neema gives birth to a baby boy and they name him Abhinandan.

Misunderstandings occur between Sujata and Neema, they escalate, fueled by some gossip from neighboring women, leading to arguments between Neema and Arun (who is now reconciled with his step-mother and takes her side). One day, Neema's brother Mahendra sees Arun with another woman. This is Dr. Karuna, a family friend who has no interest in Arun or vice versa. Mahendra informs his sister, who packs her things, picks up her son in her arms and simply walks out of the house without making any effort to ascertain the facts. She goes back to her father's house to live with him and Mahendra. She then approaches the courts and secures custody of Abhinandan. The situation is that Arun is only allowed one brief visit a week, at 4 PM every Sunday. Arun, who is completely innocent of the charge of adultery, is extremely unhappy with this humiliation, especially after Neema makes problems and nuisance even during the few minutes every week when he is allowed to meet his son. He decides to wait until his son is 14 and then take him home.

Soundtrack

All the songs were composed by Khayyam with lyrics written by Gulzar.

"Hazaar Rahen Mud Ke Dekhin" was listed at #23 on Binaca Geetmala annual list 1980.

Awards

Best Lyricist – Gulzar for "Hazaar Rahein Mudke Dekhi"

Best Male Playback Singer – Kishore Kumar for "Hazaar Rahein Mudke Dekhi"

Key details