Anand (1971 film)


Anand is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language drama film co-written and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with dialogues written by Gulzar. It stars Rajesh Khanna in the lead role, with a supporting cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Sumita Sanyal, Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo. The film won several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 1972. In 2013, it was listed in Anupama Chopra's book 100 Films To See before You Die.
This film is counted among the 17 consecutive hit films of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two-hero films Marayada and Andaz to the 15 consecutive solo hits he gave from 1969 to 1971. It was a box office superhit and was the 3rd highest Bollywood grosser of 1971.
It has gained a cult following, and is also remembered as the first film starring the two greatest actors of Indian cinema- Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. It is considered to be the first hit movie of Amitabh Bachchan. Indiatimes has listed it among the 25 must watch films before you die. Anand is also one of the only two films that Khanna and Bachchan have co-starred in - the other being Namak Haraam, which was also directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

Plot

Bhaskar, an oncologist, treats the poor for no charge, but is often disheartened by the fact that he cannot cure all the ailments in the world. He becomes pessimistic after seeing the suffering, illness and poverty all around him. He is straightforward and won't treat the imaginary ailments of the rich. His friend, Dr. Kulkarni follows a slightly different path. He treats the imaginary illnesses of the rich and uses that money to treat the poor.
One day, Kulkarni introduces Bhaskar to Anand, who has lymphosarcoma of the intestine, a rare type of cancer. Anand has a cheerful nature and despite knowing the truth that he is not going to survive for more than six months, he maintains a nonchalant demeanour and always tries to make everyone happy around him. His cheerful and vibrant nature soothes Bhaskar, who has a contrasting nature and they become good friends.
Anand has rare quality to attract people and befriend them. In one of such encounter he makes Isa bhai, a theater actor, played by Johnny Walker his friend. They enjoy each other's company and create an emotional bond.
Anand's condition gradually deteriorates, but he does not want to spend his remaining time in a hospital bed; he instead roams freely and helps everyone. He discovers that Bhaskar has strong feelings for Renu, whom he treated previously for pneumonia. He helps Bhaskar to express his love and convinces Renu's mother to bless their marriage. He tells Bhaskar that everyone should remember him as a lively person and not as a cancer patient. His end comes and he dies amongst his friends and everyone remembers him as a vibrant and lively person. Bhaskar becomes more philosophical and continues to help the helpless with more empathy and maturity.

Cast

Anand was originally supposed to star actors Kishore Kumar and Mehmood in lead roles. One of the producers, N.C. Sippy, had earlier served as Mehmood's production manager. The character Babu Moshai was to be played by Mehmood. Mukherjee was asked to meet Kishore Kumar to discuss the project. However, when he went to Kishore Kumar's residence, he was driven away by the gatekeeper due to a misunderstanding. Kishore Kumar had done a stage show organized by another Bengali man, and was involved in a dispute with this man over financial matters. He had instructed his gatekeeper to drive away this "Bengali", if he ever visited the house. The gatekeeper mistook Mukherjee to be this "Bengali", and refused him entry. The incident hurt Mukherjee and he decided not to work with Kumar. Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well. Both Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were offered the lead before Rajesh Khanna.
Film expert and musicologist Rajesh Subramanian says that Mukherjee shot the film in 28 days. The screenplay of Anand was written by Gulzar, Bimal Dutt, D.N. Mukherjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
The character of Anand was inspired by Raj Kapoor, who used to call Mukherjee "Babu Moshay". It is believed that Mukherjee wrote the film when once Kapoor was seriously ill and Mukherjee thought that he may die. The film was dedicated to Kapoor and the people of Bombay. Later, Anand was remade in Malayalam, with the name Chitrashalabham, starring Jayaram and Biju Menon.

Music

The musical score and songs were composed by Salil Chowdhary. The lyrics were written by Gulzar and Yogesh. Gulzar wrote the poem "Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai", which is narrated by Amitabh Bachchan.
Before confirming Chowdhary for songs, Mukherjee approached Lata Mangeshkar to get the songs composed, as she had already worked as a music director in Marathi films under the pseudonym of "Anandghan". She, however, politely refused the offer and decided to sing the songs in the film rather than composing them.
No.TitleSingerLyricistDuration
1"Kahin Door Jab" MukeshYogesh05:52
2"Maine Tere Liye"MukeshGulzar03:09
3"Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli"Manna DeyYogesh03:30
4"Kahin Door Jab" Lata MangeshkarYogesh03:48
5"Na Jiya Lage Na"Lata MangeshkarGulzar03:22
6"Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai"Amitabh BachchanGulzar00:47

Although Kishore Kumar had become the voice of Rajesh Khanna since the success of Aradhana, in this film, the composer Salil Chowdhury insisted on having Mukesh as he felt that the latter's voice would give the required pathos to Anand's character. Rajesh Khanna readily agreed to the suggestion. Once when asked which song was his favorite, Rajesh Khanna said it was Mukesh's song "Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye" from Anand.

Awards

;National Film Awards
;Filmfare Awards
Numerous DVD editions entered the market by companies like "Digital Entertainment inc.", Shemaroo Entertainment and "Eagle Home Video". These were released as non-restored, non-re-mastered editions and bare bones, devoid of supplementary features.

Blu-ray release

Eagle Home Video came out with a restored edition of this movie, preserving the original aspect ratio in 4:3 pillar box and a DTS Master Audio in 2.0.
The restoration took place in Shemaroo studios.

Trivia

Till the time of release of Anand the star of the film Amitabh Bachchan was not publicly recognized. Sharing the incident on Twitter, a fan reminded him how he got recognition from the film. On the release day of the film Bachchan went to a petrol pump to fill up the tank of his car and no one identified him. But after the release of the film in the evening, when he went to the same petrol pump for refill public started recognising him. Bachchan posted on Twitter, "this is a true happening.. it was the petrol pump at Irla, on SV Road."