Veena Godh

Rajnigandha, released in 1974, follows the story of Deepa, a soft-spoken and thoughtful young woman living in Delhi, whose life takes a sudden twist when her past and present collide in the most unexpected way. She’s all set in her relationship with Sanjay, a sort of laidback, cheerful guy who isn’t exactly Mr. Perfect, but he tries his best. Then, out of the blue, Deepa has to go to Bombay for a job interview, and—bam—she runs into Navin, her ex. Now, Navin’s the polar opposite of Sanjay. He’s serious, ambitious, a bit of a mystery, and brings out all sorts of old feelings Deepa thought she’d buried. Suddenly, Deepa’s stuck at this emotional crossroads, her heart pulling her in two completely different directions. Sanjay’s comfortable, familiar, sometimes even annoyingly so, but he’s real. Navin, on the other hand, is all about what could’ve been—he’s like this symbol of a different life, a path not taken. The film leans into all those little details—awkward silences, small smiles, the tension of choosing between two possible futures. It doesn’t go for melodrama or big, over-the-top moments. Instead, it’s all about those everyday feelings people don’t talk about, the quiet confusion of growing up and figuring out what you actually want. Veena Godh has a role in this film, blending into the world of Rajnigandha, which is all about choices, nostalgia, and those messy, very real emotions that come with love and life’s curveballs. The movie’s a subtle, relatable slice of ‘70s India, honest and unpolished, just like life.