Star Cast :
-
Super Star Rajesh Khanna as Anand Sehgal
-
Amitabh Bachchan as Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee a.k.a. Babu Moshai
-
Sumita Sanyal as Renu
-
Ramesh Deo as Dr. Prakash Kulkarni a.k.a. Dost
-
Seema Deo as Suman Kulkarni
-
Lalita Pawar as Matron
-
Durga Khote as Renu’s mother
-
Johnny Walker as Isa Bhai
-
Asit Sen as Bhaskar’s patient
-
Dara Singh as Pahalwan
Other Film Crew’s :
- Directed by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
- Produced by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee & N.C. Sippy
- Written by Bimal
Dutta, Gulzar, D.N. Mukherjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee & Biren
Tripathy
- Music by Salil
Choudhury
- Cinematography
by Jaywant Pathare
- Edited by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
- Distributed by
Digital Entertainment & Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd.
- Release date : 5
March 1971
- Language : Hindi
- Country : India
Introduction :
Anand
(English: Bliss) is a 1971 Indian drama film written and directed by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It stars Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan in
lead roles, with Khanna playing the title role. The dialogues were
written by Gulzar. The film won several awards including the filmfare
award for best film in 1972.
Summary :
The
film begins with a felicitation ceremony arranged for Dr. Bhaskar
(Amitabh Bachchan) who has just written a book titled Anand. Bhaskar
is a cancer specialist and after the congratulatory speeches, he
reveals that the book is not a work of fiction but taken from his own
diary and pertains to his experiences with a real person named Anand.
In
flashback, Bhaskar is shown as an honest and committed physician who
is happier dealing with genuine suffering than with the rich and
their imagined ailments. He is blunt to a fault and does not conceal
a patient’s true predicament from him or her, regardless of the
seriousness of the condition. Dr. Kulkarni, his friend, introduces
him to Anand (Rajesh Khanna) who is dying from intestinal cancer.
Bhaskar is struck by Anand’s good cheer and is shocked to learn that
Anand is aware of his true condition.
Anand
and Bhaskar become fast friends and Anand decides to bring happiness
into Bhaskar’s life. Bhaskar had once cured Renu (Sumita Sanyal) of
pneumonia. He fell in love with her but was unable to propose to her.
Anand decides to bring Renu and Bhaskar together, and the two are
together when Anand finally dies.
Production :
Anand
was originally supposed to star famous Bollywood 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 (himself a Bengali) 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 misunderstood 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, and new actors Rajesh Khanna
and Amitabh Bachchan, were signed up.
Film
expert and musicologist Rajesh Subramanian says that Hrishikesh
Mukherjee shot the film in 28 days.
The
character of Anand was inspired by Raj Kapoor, who used to call
Hrishikesh Mukherjee “Babu Moshay”. It is believed that
Mukherjee wrote the film when once Raj Kapoor was seriously ill and
Mukherjee thought that he may die. The film is dedicated to “Raj
Kapoor and the people of Bombay”.
Later,
Anand was remade in Malayalam, with the name Chitrashalabham (which
means butterfly), starring Jayaram and Biju Menon.
Music Sound Track :
The
musical score for the film was composed by Salil Chaudhary. 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 Chaudhary as the film’s music director, Mukherjee
approached Lata Mangeshkar for the job 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.
S.No. Song
Title Playback Singer(s) Lyricist
- Zindagi
Kaisi Hai Paheli - by Manna Dey & Lyrics by Yogesh
- Kahin
Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye - by Mukesh & Lyrics by Yogesh
- Maine
Tere Liye Hi Saat Rang Ke Sapne - by Mukesh & Lyrics by Gulzar
- Na
Jiya Lage Na - by Lata Mangeshkar & Lyrics by Gulzar
Although
Kishore Kumar had become the voice of Rajesh Khanna since the success
of Aradhana, in this film, music director Salil Choudhury insisted
that Mukesh’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
1971 : Best Feature Film in Hindi : Hrishikesh Mukherjee & N.C. Sippy
Filmfare
Awards :
-
1972: Best Film : Hrishikesh Mukherjee & N.C. Sippy
-
1972: Best Actor : Rajesh Khanna
-
1972: Best Supporting Actor : Amitabh Bachchan
-
1972: Best Dialogue : Gulzar
-
1972: Best Editing : Hrishikesh Mukherjee
-
1972: Best Story : Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Johnny Walker
