The story igniting a plethora of feelings of the main characters - sympathy, compassion, guilt, repentance, innocence, sacrifice and self realization through it's narration. What makes the story so relatable is the fact that it never tried to show any of the characters in negative light. It gave ample space for character development and then presented them in a way that made each and every character and their action justifiable from their perspective. Whether it was the loving and caring and typical Indian house-wife Indu who had her life overturned to discover her ever so loving and caring husband had broken her trust and understanding by committing a blunder few years ago in a moment of thoughtlessness that has come to haunt their happy family. The dotting husband and father DK who was oblivious to the gravity of his mistake is weighed down by guilt and driven by a sense of repentance and compassion to take complete responsibility of his mistake and at the same time save his family from breaking down. Two innocent children, one of whom is a bit reluctant to welcome and accept a stranger into their family and the other who heartily welcomes him. How the innocence of children is never clouded by the complexities of the that of adolescence. And finally how a simple and innocent child gets to fight his way through the atrocities and struggles of life at such an early age sometimes all alone.

All these beautifully and intricately woven together by the mesmerizing lyrics and composing of Gulzar and R.D. Burman makes this movie one of a kind that Bollywood will find almost impossible to replicate.

The movie would have been a perfect 9, if not for the rather dramatic Bollywood-esque ending.