This is a classic. I am sure this movie would have been a great point of inspiration for the making of sanjay leela bansalis "Gangubai khathiavadi". The tone of both the movies feel pretty similar. The another point of coincidence is that alia bhatts mother soni Razhdan plays a major role in this movie (alia bhatt played the lead role in gangu bhai khathiavadi). Shabana azmi is just breath taking in this movie. Her style, her beauty, her natural charisma and screen presence just made me fall in love with her. All the other actors smita patil, nasiruddin shah, soni Razhdan, neena gupta, ila arun and many other actors, all give an amazing performance. Just seeing a whole bunch of talented actors working together itself is such a joy. The set design, the cinematography gives this movie that aesthetics which makes this movie stand the test of time. The writing and staging of scenes are amazing. The climax portions of this movie is amazingly shot, even giving this movie a spiritual perspective. It's so amazing that this movie discusses and shows the topics which are usually considered taboo, and gives it's perspective on sex workers and it's significance in society (remeber the movie was released in 1983)