I just finished watching this beautiful movie 10 minutes earlier,and I hardly have any words to describe how wealthy I am feeling right now.First of all,I must tell you that I am an avid,self proclaimed movie-freak,but I must admit I never thought highly of old Hindi movies,even if they have been showered with numerous critical acclaims and awards et al.But Asit Sen's wonderful masterpiece "Khamoshi" and "Anand" have proved me wrong miserably.This movie was intense and left me immensely depressed and crying buckets in the middle of the night.It might well have been the best movie by the director-par-excellence Hrishikesh Mukherjee,of whom I've been hearing of for the last 20 years of my rather uneventful life.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee used the to-be very popular phrase "Babumoshai" in this flick of his.Raj Kapoor,another legend in Indian cinema,used to address Hrishikesh Mukherjee by the same gesture.Rajesh Khanna lovingly uses this phrase throughout the movie to call Amitabh Bachchan,sometimes to tease him,he other times in a serious tone.
That's where the unorthodox beauty of this movie lies.Anand Saigal(played in an unparalleled way by Rajesh 'Superstar' Khanna) is a happy-go-lucky man suffering from an incurable disease.He keeps other people happy.Bhasker Bannerjee(Amitabh Bachchan) is the doctor who's taking care of Anand in his last stages,and is spell-bound by the energy Anand still oozes and the zeal with which he's accepted his current living moments,that are soon to vanish.The story revolves around these two characters who give a new dimension to acting in serious cinema.
"Anand" won the national award for being the best picture of the year 1971.This was far before Amitabh became a mega-superstar.He displays some magical moments in this movie.Rajesh Khanna is mesmerising as the main protagonist.He seriously could act,brought tears to anybody who saw this amazing motion picture.The last scene deserves special notice,and I am not going to spoil the party for the people who might see this movie after reading this review of mine,by revealing it."Anand" is a movie that could only come once in a lifetime and it left me speechless.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee used the to-be very popular phrase "Babumoshai" in this flick of his.Raj Kapoor,another legend in Indian cinema,used to address Hrishikesh Mukherjee by the same gesture.Rajesh Khanna lovingly uses this phrase throughout the movie to call Amitabh Bachchan,sometimes to tease him,he other times in a serious tone.
That's where the unorthodox beauty of this movie lies.Anand Saigal(played in an unparalleled way by Rajesh 'Superstar' Khanna) is a happy-go-lucky man suffering from an incurable disease.He keeps other people happy.Bhasker Bannerjee(Amitabh Bachchan) is the doctor who's taking care of Anand in his last stages,and is spell-bound by the energy Anand still oozes and the zeal with which he's accepted his current living moments,that are soon to vanish.The story revolves around these two characters who give a new dimension to acting in serious cinema.
"Anand" won the national award for being the best picture of the year 1971.This was far before Amitabh became a mega-superstar.He displays some magical moments in this movie.Rajesh Khanna is mesmerising as the main protagonist.He seriously could act,brought tears to anybody who saw this amazing motion picture.The last scene deserves special notice,and I am not going to spoil the party for the people who might see this movie after reading this review of mine,by revealing it."Anand" is a movie that could only come once in a lifetime and it left me speechless.