It’s easy to paint Indu as a villain when she lashes out at a child for no fault of his own (especially one as adorable as a young Jugal Hansraj). But Azmi’s performance lends an interiority to Indu, never letting you lose sight of her profound hurt over her husband’s actions. It’s worth noting that while DK does apologise for cheating on Indu, it appears to come more from a place of regret that his past unexpectedly caught up to him years later. He places the onus of forgiveness and acceptance solely on Indu. Meanwhile, Azmi compels you to feel sympathetic to her plight. Her behaviour towards Rahul, difficult as it is to digest, feels justified. Indu’s careful distance from Rahul is a means to safeguard her peace, and perhaps the only way she sees to hold her husband accountable.
The stepmother in Masoom is as much a victim as her stepson. The film gives Indu the space to work through her emotions without imposing upon her an unconditional, unrealistic, maternal instinct. Indu forbids Rahul to call her ‘Mother’, demands that DK take him away, and rages at the child when he runs away from home. “Aren’t you ashamed? You are a guest in somebody’s house,” she rebukes him when Rahul finally returns. “We’re doing so much for you. Instead of being grateful, this is what you do,” she says to him. Then an interesting thing happens. With beautiful subtlety, Azmi pushes Indu’s tirade from a vicious rant that would widen the rift between Indu and Rahul into something more desperate. “I’ve been in and around the house searching for you. What would we have done if you’d been harmed in any way?” she says, tears flashing in her eyes. For a moment, Indu is transformed into a worried mother, a role that she’s refused to play for Rahul so far. Her anger acquires a tinge of distress as she paces back and forth. By the end of the film, Indu has made her decision. She may not have fully forgiven DK for his infidelity, but her love for Rahul eclipses every other feeling. Once she comes to terms with this, Indu wholeheartedly welcomes her stepson into her home.
