Leela - 2002

Story

Leela is the story of Leela (Dimple Kapadia), an aware, liberal woman who struggles with the true meaning of independence. It is also the story of Krishna (Amol Mhatre), born of Indian parents in America but uncomfortable with his hyphenated existence. Leela is a universal story of two paths that cross each other and pause a moment before moving on.

After the death of her mother, Leela, a Professor at Bombay University, loses purpose. She welcomes the opportunity to teach in the U.S., leaving her "perfect" life in India behind. A product of a single parent environment, KRIS (born Krishna), an eighteen-year old Indian American, is uncomfortable in his own skin. With a hovering mother Chaitali (Deepti Naval) and a father-of-convenience Jai (Gulshan Grover), Kris turns away from his milieu. He takes Leela's South Asian history class. On learning of dark secrets his mother has kept from him, Kris finds comfort in his friendship with Leela. They develop a strong bond as Leela opens Kris to a world beyond black and white. In turn, Krishna pushes Leela to crystallize the grays in her own life. She begins to scrutinize afresh her crumbling marriage to world-renowned poet, Nashaad (Vinod Khanna). Nashaad's philandering ways have slowly worn down Leela's love for him.

Things come to a head when Nashaad suddenly flies in from India. Nashaad and Krishna realize that they are essentially battling for the same love. In the final showdown, both Kris and Leela learn lessons of life.