Jab Khuli Kitaab

Comedy Drama Family Hindi

When Anusuya confesses to her husband, Gopal, that she cheated on him with another man a few months into their five decade-long marriage, all hell breaks loose. Angry and hurt, Gopal decides to seek divorce while he struggles to keep the rest of the family oblivious to his and Anusuya’s blistering secret. What follows is an impassioned, often hilarious deep-dive into the lives of Gopal and Anusuya while they manoeuvre the rocky roads of their relationship, rediscovering the meaning of love and togetherness.

Cast:	Pankaj Kapur, Dimple Kapadia, Aparshakti Khurana, Manasi Parekh, Samir Soni, Nauheed Cyrusi
Director:	Saurabh Shukla
Writer:	Saurabh Shukla
Editor:	Kunal Walve

Guild Reviews

Image of scene from the film Jab Khuli Kitaab

Pankaj Kapur, Dimple Kapadia Anchor an Imperfect but Moving Portrait of Marriage

Rahul Desai | The Hollywood Reporter India

Fri, March 6 2026

Saurabh Shukla’s sweet film stars Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia as an old couple going through a crisis of trust.

It’s comforting to watch something like Jab Khuli Khitaab. It’s a bit like going to a small circus in the age of curated theme parks. It’s clumsy at times, you can see the strings, some of the treatment is dated, but there’s an old-fashioned goodness seeping through its veins. Based on his play of the same name, Saurabh Shukla’s film opens with a 70-something man, Gopal Nautiyal (Pankaj Kapur), going about his morning routine with his wife Anusuya (Dimple Kapadia). He catches her up on the news, helps her get dressed, jokes around, and discusses their adult children who are now visiting them at their family home in the mountains. They’ve been together for ages. Except this is a one-way conversation: Anusuya has been in a coma for two years. He misses her; all she can do is listen. The story kicks into gear when Anusuya suddenly wakes up from her coma, and her husband’s unconditional care guilts her into confessing to an affair 50 years ago. The rest revolves around a mopey Gopal wanting a divorce, Anusuya resisting, even as they try to keep their ‘spat’ a secret in the busy household.