Saaransh (English: The Gist [1] ) is a 1984 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Anupam Kher, Rohini Hattangadi, Madan Jain, Nilu Phule, Suhas Bhalekar and Soni Razdan.

The film begins with B.V. Pradhan waking up early in the morning to write a letter to his son, Ajay, who lives in New York.

Due to the death of their son, Pradhan has no source of income, so they rent out a room of their Shivaji Park (Mumbai) apartment to a budding Bollywood actress, Sujata Suman.

An emotionally disturbed and enraged Pradhan forcibly enters the office of the main head of the customs department and explains that he has come only to pick up his son's ashes and not any other material possessions.

Realising the futility of his painful life, Pradhan tries to commit suicide by diving under a speeding car, albeit unsuccessfully.

When all else fails, Gajanan, through Vilas (who is unaware of his father's intentions) traps Pradhan in a fake scam of aiding and abetting a prostitution ring (involving illegal marked bills).

immediately calls up the Commissioner of Police, the Remand Home where Sujata is being held in custody and demands Gajanan Chitre be produced to ensure that justice is rightfully served.

When Parvati says that they should both consume poison together, Pradhan refuses, saying that he has realised that the Saaransh of his life is in her beautiful wrinkles, and they have both done a good deed in helping Sujata's baby survive despite the problems she faced.

Made after his critically acclaimed Arth (1982), this film carried forward his venturing into the genre of confessional cinema.

[3] Initially Anupam Kher, originally from Shimla and a National School of Drama alumnus, was chosen to play the lead role.

The scene was shot at an office space in Film City, Mumbai, and was completed in a single take, without rehearsals or use of glycerine.

[5] Saaransh explores how the couple copes with the loneliness and anxieties of old age and the utter aimlessness of life after the death of their only son, a victim of arbitrary violence.

[7][8] Other themes it touches on are through Pradhan's interactions with custom officials and police — corruption, politics-crime nexus and bureaucratic delay, rampant bribery and red-tapism.

[10] Chander Uday Singh of India Today wrote ″Although Bhatt has used artistes with little cinematic experience (barring Hattangady and Phule) he draws superb performances from them.

Devoid of cheer and falsehoods, Saaransh is armed with a leading man like Anupam Kher who single-handedly enriches its story into an experience so personal, poignant and profound, only the callous can stay unmoved.

[17] Encyclopædia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" described Saaransh as Mahesh Bhatt's "finest film – moving, mellow, and mature – as the viewer feels the pain and despair of an elderly couple..." [18] In 2016, on the occasion of India celebrating its 70th Independence day, news agency NDTV compiled a list called "70 Years, 70 Great Films" and Saaransh was among those chosen.