Anand (1971)

A movie which shows true tradition of India, most of the movies today are made out of liberal minds. There is a reason our grandparents don't watch those, most of the movies are over sexualized and contradictory to tradition of India where we were taught to look other women as our sisters. Aside from this, the movie is very cheerful as well as sorrowful as our life is. The acting's great and cinematography may feel goofy sometimes but the movie is world class.

Fmovies: a masterpiece, though is better appreciated if you've had an Indian upbringing, especially in the kind of life we used to live in the last century. but that should not stop anybody's heart from being moistened by Anand - its that kind of a film which makes you feel that cloudy ball in your throat, a feeling we hardly have today.

i never saw Anand on big screen, i.e. a theater, didn't get a chance to. but seen it countless number of times i have, each leaving me haunted by that epic last scene, and each letting me discover another gleam in its brilliance.

A great story, in fact that storyness of it struck me first, its difficult to come across a character like Anand's (Rajesh Khanna)in real life, laughing his way to the end. it is for souring such larger-than-lifeness one sees cinemas at times. Amitabh as Dr. Bhaskar with wells of life just under his brooding exterior, was a giveaway at such an early stage of his career that he was destined for a place much beyond the ordinary.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee crafted it to perfection. Salil chowdhury excelled with some of the most melodious tunes ever and the co actors could reach the lofty heights the film dared them to.

but finally it was Rajesh Khanna. yes a shade melodramatic, a touch idiosyncratic may be but you can't deny the vivacity with which he demands your attention, slowly takes over your heart and you don't want him to die and when he does your tears tell you that you just been watching a film.

yeah some films can make you do that. not a tear jerker, but a weller-up of them. its not good in a way though, 'cause it makes you search for such standards ever since, and the disappointment is bitter. but then there's always the DVD and the remote!

There are ways of handling the sorrows of life. Anand chooses to live life in the face of death. To smile so much that every frown is gone. He lets the joy of living hide the fear of death. He is hell-bent on living today to forget the past. His life is short. He chooses to share all the love and laughter he can with everybody leaving a deep impression on the minds of everybody. As the line in the film goes, " Anand mara nahin, Anand marte nahin."

Anand fmovies. Excellent performances by Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Both showed maturity and depth in their role. This movie is about a person (rajesh Khanna) who is dying of a dreaded disease but lives every moment of his life to fullest. He entertains others and brings happiness to their life. On the contrary, Amitabh Bachchan is young doctor who is frustrated and angry. Rajesh khanna befriends him and both go well with each other. Amitabh tries hard to cure Rajesh Khanna but in vain. Ultimately Rajesh khanna leaves not before leaving a message of love and happiness. Amitabh Bachchan was at his best. This was the first movie when he was seriously noticed by Bollywood. He exceed expectations. A versatile actor this is one of his many movies where he plays a role of serious, angry young man who hardly smiles. Though it was primarily Rajesh Khanna's movie but it catapulted Amitabh Bachchan into fame ultimately replacing Rajesh Khanna as numero uno. A must watchable for Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh fans.

"Babu Moshai, Zindagi Aur Maut ke Khel Mein Hum Sab Katputhli Hain" An immortal piece of dialog from an immortal movie Anand. Many a Hindi movie starts of well,but falters pretty badly in the climax. Anand was one of the few movies which grips you from start to end. Its one of the few movies which has an unforgettable climax.

Consider this the eponymous character Anand(Rajesh Khanna) lies on the bed dying. Babu Moshai(Amitabh Bachan) enters the room. He cannot bear to see his friend lying still on death bed. He holds him and shakes him up weeping uncomfortably

"Tum Mujhe Aisa Chod Ke Nahin Ja Saakte"

"20 mahine se mein tera bak bak sun raha hoon"

"Baate Karo Mujhshe" And then as if on cue, the tape recorder plays "Babu Moshai, Babu Moshai, Zindagi aur Maut Ki Khel Mein Hum Sab Katputhli Hain, Yahan kya hote hai, na tum jaane na main Sab Upar Wale ki Haath Meiin" The ghostly way in which the voice appears and the equally eerie laughter, creates such a haunting impact, that a shiver runs down my spine every time i watch this scene. It's as if Anand is speaking through his spirit, and even after death he still continues to live.

Anand is a masterpiece of the first order by Hrishida and one of my all time fav movies. Now an interesting thing regarding the dedication of Anand. It wad dedicated to Raj Kapoor and the city of Mumbai.

The Raj Kapoor connection was easy to make out, as he was Hrishida's best buddy in real life. Hrishida got his first commercial success with Raj Kapoor's Anari and Raj Kapoor got the best actor award for the movie. They were as different as chalk and cheese. While Raj Kapoor was the typical loud Punjabi extrovert,,Hrishida was the very epitome of the Bengali Babu with his sober intellectual demeanour. Also Hrishida's movies were aimed at the common man, and pretty sober and minimalist in nature, while RK was a showman par excellence with his penchant for larger than life canvas and huge settings. Hrishida himself admitted that Anand's character was based on RK's and he didn't cast RK as he couldn't bear to see his friend die on screen also. For his part Anand was a movie always close to RK's heart.

Regarding the Mumbai connection, i feel the story of Anand is somewhat linked to that of Mumbai. One could be that Hrishida made his career in Mumbai and i guess this was his way of saying thank you to the city which made him. Most of Hrishida's best movies have been Mumbai centric "Anand", "Mili","Abhimaan","Gol Maal" to name a few. Also like Anand, Mumbai is a city which though beset with innumerable problems like slums, crime, pollution, overcrowding still manages to survive and live every day. Life is not easy for an average Mumbaikar, what with all those overcrowded trains, high prices, crime rate but he/she still has a zeal for life, which is rarely found anywhere else. Its a city which gets back to normal life even after a couple of bomb blasts have destroyed large chunks. Its a city where dreams are made and realized. Its a city where people face a daily struggle and yet have an inexhaustible zest for life,much like Anand, who knows he will die but takes death head on as he says "Babu Moshai, zindag Badi Hone chahiye, Lambi nahin". Mumbai is a city that dies a thousand deaths daily, but never loses its love for life. Anand is a man who knows he is to die, but makes the best of his limited life.

In 1970, Rajesh Khanna was the biggest star and was shooting for multiple movies along with Anand. But it seems he would take some time out from his other schedules would come to Hrishi da and ask him if he could shoot the next scene from Anand. That's how eager and dedicated he was to Anand. Probably he knew that this was the movie that he would be remembered for.

The movie narrates like the pages of a diary of one Dr. Bhaskar Bannerjee and his relationship with Anand Sehgal who he treated for cancer. Despite of such a heavy theme the movie is high spirited just like Anand Sehgal who likes to laugh in the face of death. Special mention should be made for attention given to each character in the movie. All the characters are well etched and everyone has given a truly inspired performance.

The last sequence must be the most dramatic sequence that I have seen in any movie. Music by Salil Chaudhary and lyrics by Yogesh and Gulzar are apt and wonderful. Definitely one of the best movies made in India.