''Rihaee'' (

Devnagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ancient '' Brāhmī'' script. It is one of the official scripts of India and ...

: रिहाई, English: Liberation) is a

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood". The industry, producing films in t ...

directed by Aruna Raje, starring

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. Recognised as a style and fashion icon, he wa ...

Hema Malini Hema Malini Dharmendra Deol (born 16 October 1948; ) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2 ...

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

and

Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MBBS ...

in lead roles. The film dealt with the

promiscuity Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

of male

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

s to urban India, and also the sexuality of women, left behind in the rural regions. Hema Malini received a nomination for the

Filmfare Best Actress Award The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the female performer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1 ...

for her role in the film.

Plot

The story is set in a remote village in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. Menfolk here, like in many other villages across India go to the cities to work, leaving behind their families. Mansukh (

) after working for a long time in Dubai, returns to his native village. This is the village where all the men have gone to work in the cities. The lonely women of the village are all excited with the arrival of Mansukh and many are after him. Especially Sukhi (

Neena Gupta Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television along with few Malayalam films. She has received several awards including three National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and two ...

). Taku (

), wife of Amarji (

) is a woman with an attitude. She is an independent and strong woman, who is different from the group. Mansukh becomes interested in her and he goes after her. After his persistent attempts he succeeds and they start having a relationship. After a while, Mansukh leaves the village. The women Sukhi and Taku later find out that they are both pregnant. How they deal with their pregnancies is the subject of the movie. This is a staggering movie that shakes some of the fundamental rules of Indian society. It talks about equal opportunity to females in all aspects. The movie starts with the introduction of the village characters through a postman (

Harish Patel Harish Patel (; born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu and the MCU ...

). Later, the movie targeting the men folk on their attitude towards women, hooks them with a common man's dream story. A man in a village filled with longing women. Then it slowly turns and develops through various threads to tell how women is differentiated in the eyes of the society, what a baby means to a woman and what is real manliness. Jhumkhu (Ila arun) for example, loses her son in a fire accident and is forced to do the funeral without her husband, as he is not able to come to the village. She goes through that trauma all alone. She almost becomes insane on that loss, this character is later used to convey the message that whether it is an accident or an abortion, the trauma of losing a child for a woman is the same. Like Jhumku, there is a story behind every female character, and they have one problem or the other because they are women. The movie puts the double standard followed for men and women through various village characters. Mansukh's father in the panchayat blames the women of the village to be punished, without saying anything about his son who was responsible for everything. The movie also points out the hypocrisy of the society which says it is okay to hide the truth rather than reveal it openly.

Cast

as Amar Ji *

as Taku *

as Mansukh *

as Sukkhi *

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...

as Jhumku *

Reema Lagoo Reema Lagoo (born Nayan Bhadbhade; 21 June 1958 – 18 May 2017) was an Indian theatre and screen actress known for her work in Hindi and Marathi cinema. She began her acting career in the Marathi theatre, after which she became a household na ...

as teekhibai *

as Narrator *

Aditya Lakhia Aditya Lakhia is an Indian character actor. He did his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer and graduation from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. He began his acting career in 1988 playing small roles and worked as an assistant director in '' A ...

* Sangeeta Naik *

Pallavi Joshi Pallavi Joshi (born 4 April 1969) is an Indian actress, writer, and film producer who works primarily in Hindi films and television. In a career spanning across films and television, Joshi is the recipient of such accolades as three National Fi ...

* Hilla Sethna * Robin Gupta *

Aditya Bhattacharya Aditya Bhattacharya (born 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, most known for his feature film, (1989), starring Aamir Khan and Pankaj Kapur, which garnered three National Film Awards. He is the son of film director Basu Bhattach ...

... Special Appearance

Music

#"Delhi Mein Mera Dil Na Laga" -

Udit Narayan Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Nepali and Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil ...

Anupama Deshpande Anupama Deshpande is a Bollywood playback singer who has won the Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award for Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, Best Female Playback Singer for her folk music, folk song "Sohni Chenab De" in the film ''Sohni Mahiwal (1 ...

Kavita Krishnamurthy Kavita Krishnamurthy (born as Sharada Krishnamurthy), is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded numerous songs in various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Odia, Marathi, ...

#"Mitti Mein Mil Jaana Re Bande" - Arun Ingle #"Puchhe Parvati Sawal Jag Mein Kyu Hai" -

, Arun Ingle #"Teri Meri Bairan Raat Ladi" -

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0259541, Rihaee 1988 films 1980s Hindi-language films Indian drama films Films about sexuality Films about women in India Films about adultery in India Indian feminist films 1980s feminist films 1988 drama films Hindi-language drama films