Anand (film)

Anand is a Bollywood movie written and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and released in 1970. It starred Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. One of the greatest movies of the period, this film beautifully captures some of the greatest philosophies of life. Every frame of the film oozes life. The dialogues written by the master craftsman Gulzar renders great warmth and substance to the film. The film marks the beginning of the golden era of the Hindi Cinema (the 70s).

Plot outline

The movie tells the story of Anand (Rajesh Khanna), a terminally ill patient under the care of Dr. Bhaskar (Amitabh Bachchan). Despite knowing that his days are numbered, Anand endeavours to make the lives of the people around him happier - till his death. The story is told in flashback - Dr. Bhaskar narrating it at a felicitation ceremony when he won an award for his book based on Anand's life. The first 20 minutes (before the entry of Anand) of the film confronts with the dark realities of life. This is the section where one will find the choicest dialogues of the film.

The movie works very well, thanks to a very power-packed performance by Rajesh Khanna, a very controlled one by Amitabh Bachchan. And, not the least, the moving musical score by Salil Chaudhary loaded with slushy lyrics by Gulzar (Maine tere liye, Na jiya jaye na Based on Raga Malgunji) and the poem Maut tu ek kavita hai) and Yogesh (Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye and Zindagi kaisi hai paheli).

Trivia

*Anand was remade in Malayalam, with the name Chitrashalabham (butterfly) starring Jayaram and Biju Menon.
*The movie is dedicated to Raj Kapoor and the people of Bombay.

Cast

*Anand Saigal: Rajesh Khanna
*Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee: Amitabh Bachchan
*Renu: Sumita Sanyal

External links

*IMDB Entry for Anand