From ‘Ijaazat’ To ‘Jalsa’: 5 Bollywood Films, Series That Show Divorce Isn’t The End

Bollywood loves making films with love stories and happy endings. Both society and Bollywood also need to talk and show more about how the ending of a relationship can be a new beginning. Break-ups and divorces are about moving on and being free and it shouldn’t be a hush-hush topic anymore.

Here are five Bollywood films revolving around divorces.

Ijaazat

The 1987 Gulzar-directed Hindi film Ijaazat starring Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, and Anuradha Patel was way ahead of its time. The poetic portrayal of a topic like a divorce in this film is one of the reasons it became a classic. In this film, the divorce is not put as good or bad, rather, it is shown as none of their faults. The divorce did not stop them from succeeding in life- while Rekha continues teaching in a school, Shah continues with his campaigns in the hills like they both used to.

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We Are Family

The 2010 Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal starrer Hindi drama film We Are Family is another example of one of the rare films that focused on divorce. It is an official remake of the 1998 American comedy-drama film that narrated the struggles of co-parenting.

Thappad

The 2020 Anubhav Sinha-directed Taapsee Pannu starrer Thappad was one of the most talked about film of the year. It released during the pandemic lockdown when several women across the world were subject to domestic violence. And the film sent the message that domestic violence or abuse is not a one-time mistake and women should walk away from a marriage and stand up for themselves, no matter how difficult the road might seem.

Decoupled

This R. Madhavan and Surveen Chawla starrer Netflix series Decoupled was a fresh take on the topic of divorce in Bollywood. The series revolved around a misanthropic writer (played by Madhavan) who is married to a startup-founder (played by Chawla) and how they juggle their impending divorce with the absurdities and annoyances of life in their affluent world. They throw a party on the occasion of their divorce and call it ‘decoupled’.

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Jalsa

Though the recent Netflix film Jalsa starring Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah in the lead is a thriller, the story also revolves around co-parenting. Maya (played by Balan) is divorced from her husband but they co-parent their child Ayush without any drama, which should be normal.