Zakhm (1998)

Amidst religious riots, a son deals with his mother's life-threatening injuries, and her last request.

Director:

Mahesh Bhatt

Writers:

Mahesh Bhatt (screenplay), Mahesh Bhatt (story),

Stars:

Ajay Devgn, Pooja Bhatt, Sonali Bendre

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ajay Devgn	...	Ajay
Pooja Bhatt	...	Mother
Sonali Bendre	...	Sonia
Kunal Khemu	...	Young Ajay
Akshay Anand	...	Anand
Avtar Gill	...	Isa
Sharat Saxena	...	Jr. Inspector Pawar
Ashutosh Rana	...	Subodh Malgaonkar
Madan Jain	...	Anwar Hashmi
Saurabh Shukla	...	Gurdayal Singh
Vishwajeet Pradhan	...	Sr. Inspector Yadav
Amardeep Jha
Namrata Dhamija	...	Raman's wife
Zafar Karachiwala
Nagarjuna Akkineni	...	Raman Desai (as Nagarjuna)

Storyline

Mrs. Desai is a Bombay-based widow and lives with her singer son, Ajay, his pregnant wife Sonia, and a second son, Anand, who is currently involved in a right-wing organization run by Subodh Malgaonkar. Things take a turn for the worst when militants storm the Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh and demolish it. Anger runs high amongst the Muslim community which lead to riots, even in far-off Bombay. The Bombay police move quickly and a curfew is imposed in the more sensitive parts such as Mohammed Ali Road, Jogeshwari, and Dharavi. It is on this day that Mrs. Desai goes to offer prayers at her usual place of worship, and it is here that she will be attacked by militants, set ablaze, admitted to the Holy Family Hospital with more than 80% burns, and virtually no chance of surviving. Ajay must now deal with conflicts with Sonia, who wants to leave India, and re-locate to England, where she wants to give birth to her child without any constraints as to religion and caste, on one hand, and on ...

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Plot Keywords:

muslim | hindu | one word title | loss of mother | mother son relationship | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

15 December 1998 (India)

Also Known As:

Wound

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pooja Bhatt Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on Mahesh Bhatt's own tragic life and the relationship he shared with his mother.

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Goofs

In the opening scenes, Ajay is composing on a piano, but we hear no piano music, even when he "plays" a tune for his wife.

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Soundtracks

"Hum Yahan Tum Yahan Dil Jawan
Performed by Kumar Sanu
Lyrics by Anand Bakshi
Music by M.M. Keeravani

User Reviews

Intensely involving and deeply moving

Zakhm is, by and large, the finest work of Mahesh Bhatt of the 1990s, a decade throughout which he made some disastrous movies with little substance. Zakhm is a lifelike, wonderful story, which unfolds in two time-lines. The first is the present-day turmoil happening in the life of a young music director named Ajay. He is in a hospital where his mother is lying in a critical condition as a result of recent communal riots in which she was burned by a group of Islamists. The second time-line is presented through a flashback which recounts Ajay's childhood when he lived with his mother and recently-born brother. His father did not live with them and would only come to visit them from time to time. He never married Ajay's mother because he was a Hindu and she was a Muslim. Yet, she kept hiding her Muslim faith because of her involvement with a Hindu man, disguising as a Christian for the rest of her life.

Zakhm works because it feels very much a documentation of a true and personal story, and it actually is, from what I understand. It is deeply moving and absorbing, and in this regard is reminiscent of Bhatt's efforts during the 1980s, like Arth, Saaransh and Kaash, some amazing, hard-hitting pictures known for realistically portraying complex relationships and lifelike struggles. Zakhm is not as great as these films, generally speaking, and technically too it could have been better, but then it is definitely a special film in many ways. Bhatt's direction is very good. He tackles a delicate subject which is always relevant and presents a sincere and brutally honest account of communal strife, even if it's faulty and preachy at times. The portrayal of Ajay's childhood and his relationship with his mother is beautiful and heart-touching. Bhatt captures the mind of a troubled child with excruciating authenticity.

To achieve the right amount of credibility, the casting was very crucial. And well, no one disappoints. Ajay Devgan is excellent in his first great role. His performance is incredibly heartfelt and intense, and it's memorable more because most of it is internal and non-verbal. His devastated expression of anguish and grief is haunting, to say the least. Pooja Bhatt has never looked more beautiful. She is brilliant as the loving mother and suffering wife, who is tormented by her everyday struggle of raising her kids all alone, hiding her religious identity, and living in distance from her husband. This is certainly her best performance. Child actor Kunal Khemu is quite amazing as the young Ajay, who is a smart kid and a loving son. Sonali Bendre is beautiful and provides good support. Zakhm is not a flawless movie, but it is definitely a moving and riveting movie experience which remains in the mind for a long time.