The perfect family. A beautiful home. And a twist. ‘Masoom’ unravels what happens when an ‘ideal’ family is confronted with an accidental little moment from the past. DK’s discovery of a son from a past affair threatens to shatter his family and marriage. A chance phone call from distant Nainital and DK is told he has a son. His life turns upside down as he confesses to his wife Indu about the momentary lapse in marriage. His son Rahul, now nine, has lost his mother and has no one to go to. Despite a completely hostile Indu, devastated with her husband's infidelity, DK brings the boy home till he figures a plan of action. The children bond but Indu can't bear the sight of the innocent Rahul, a live breathing reminder of DK's betrayal. How the family comes to terms forms the rest of the story. Shabana Azmi as Indu a young mother juggling home and family vociferously defying her maternal feelings for Rahul is stellar. Her monologue in an opening scene, as she unpacks her shopping and tends to her home is so familiar, you almost see your own mother in her. Naseeruddin Shah handles his flawed character, his longing for his son and pining for acceptance with rare sensitivity and sheer stature. In one of the film’s most heartbreaking scenes Indu sings her daughters to sleep while Rahul, alone and scared in this alien home, watches longingly at them from outside, missing his own mother. The milieu is so real you feel it’s a slice from life. You know these people and become part of their crisis. And you realize we all live with our own flaws in the quest for acceptance and love. Shekhar Kapoor inspired by the 1980 Erich Segal novel "Man, Woman and Child" helms his first film with dexterity. Tempered with a lyrical screenplay by Gulzar and heart-warming music by R.D. Burman, the film is nuanced and pitch perfect with natural acting. The sound track enthrals, from the soulful "Tujhse Naraz” and “Do naina” to the playful “Huzur Is Kadar" and the song that stole every child’s heart in the 1980s "Lakdi Ki Kaathi". A film of this calibre and sensitivity has rarely been seen again on Hindi screen. . Shekhar Kapoor’s, “Masoom”, 1983, National Film Archives of India