Gulzar’s Unreleased Masterpiece Will Soon Be Showing At A Cinema Near You

It is neither an explicitly provocative film, neither is it a film professing radical ideologies. It is rather a story about theatre director Sudhir (Naseeruddin Shah) and his actor wife Seema (Shabana Azmi) whose life appears picture perfect, but appearances can often be deceptive in the world of showbiz. However, this film titled Libaas; which was directed by Gulzar in 1988 never saw the light of the day then, but is all set to hit the big screens by the end of this year. This announcement was made by Zee Classic on Friday, to mark the prolific lyricists and director’s 83rd birthday.

The film which is based on Gulzar’s own short Seema from his Ravi Paar Collection has been lying in the archives of the Directorate of Film Festivals. Zee Classic with its brand proposition Woh Zamaana Kare Deewana on Friday announced the theatrical release of the movie.

Libaas was held back for so many years because of a spat between the producer and the director. According to a report in Scroll, “Libaas’s absence is blamed on censorship, but it’s not of the kind imposed by the Central Board of Film Certification. Its producer wanted a far stronger say in the way the story shaped up, especially its conclusion, and countered the filmmaker’s refusal to back down with his counter-refusal to release the movie.”

Libaas was first screened at the International Film Festival at Bangalore in January 1992, followed by the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa after a huge gap of 22 years on November 22, 2014. It explores subtle nuances of adultery and superficial male-female relationships. The movie also features Raj Babbar, Sushma Seth, Utpal Dutt, Annu Kapoor and Savita Bajaj and the music has been composed by RD Burman.

The film was produced by Vikas Mohan, whose dream will realised by his sons Amul Vikas Mohan and Anshul Vikas Mohan, reported The Indian Express. “I’m lucky to be a part of this project. It couldn’t be released at that time for some reason. This was my father’s life-long dream and I’m happy it’s finally coming true,” Amul Vikas Mohan told PTI.

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