Namumkin (1988) A mystery thriller associated with celebrated filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, explores the experiences of an Asian family displaced from Uganda during the expulsion of Asians under Idi Amin's regime. The screenplay was written by Bidhu Jha, who later entered public life and served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Canada.

Although Mukherjee was officially credited as the film's director, deteriorating health during production prevented him from completing the project. Consequently, he entrusted actor Vinod Mehra with directing significant portions of the remaining shoot.

The narrative centres on Ashok Saxena (Shriram Lagoo), a wealthy Indian businessman based in Canada, who marries Shobha (Zeenat Aman), a woman considerably younger than himself. On the night of their wedding, Saxena falls from his penthouse to his death after allegedly consuming large quantities of alcohol. The incident attracts the attention of Sunil Kapoor (Raj Babbar), who recognizes Shobha from a newspaper photograph. He recalls that she was once engaged to his friend Shakti Kaul (Vinod Mehra) in India but had mysteriously disappeared following the persecution of Asians in Uganda.

When Shakti arrives in Canada, he joins Sunil in an effort to locate Shobha and uncover the truth behind her disappearance. Their investigation reveals that Shobha has no known family connections in Canada. Further suspicions arise when they learn that Ashok Saxena was a lifelong teetotaller, despite an autopsy report attributing his death to excessive alcohol consumption. As Sunil and Shakti delve deeper into the circumstances surrounding Saxena's demise, they encounter numerous inconsistencies and unanswered questions. Their search for answers eventually leads them to Saxena's old friend, Joseph D'Souza (Sanjeev Kumar), whose revelations add further layers to the mystery.

Filmed entirely in Winnipeg, Canada, Namumkin faced considerable production challenges, many of them stemming from Mukherjee's declining health. Repeated delays hampered the project's progress, and by the time the film was finally released in 1988, it struggled to attract audience interest. The film performed poorly at the box office, suffering substantial financial losses. Its commercial failure stood in marked contrast to the year's major Hindi cinema successes, including Tezaab, Shahenshah, and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

For Zeenat Aman, Namumkin represented an opportunity to collaborate with one of Hindi cinema's most respected directors. Following his successful work with her contemporary Parveen Babi in Rang Birangi (1983), Mukherjee envisioned casting Aman in a role that would move beyond her established glamorous screen image and showcase a different dimension of her acting abilities. Aman reportedly welcomed the opportunity, but the film's failure ultimately prevented the collaboration from achieving the artistic and commercial impact both had hoped for.

Namumkin also marked one of the final chapters in Mukherjee's distinguished directorial career. He subsequently directed Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate (1998), starring Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, which would become his last completed feature film as director.

The film's soundtrack featured music composed by R. D. Burman, with lyrics by Anjaan. The songs were rendered by some of Hindi cinema's most celebrated playback singers, including Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, and Anuradha Paudwal, contributing a melodic dimension to an otherwise sombre and suspenseful narrative.