| Anand | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
| Written by | Screenplay: Bimal Dutta Gulzar D.N. Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee Biren Tripathy Dialogues: Gulzar |
| Story by | Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
| Produced by | Hrishikesh Mukherjee N. C. Sippy |
| Starring | Rajesh Khanna Amitabh Bachchan Sumita Sanyal Ramesh Deo |
| Cinematography | Jaywant Pathare |
| Edited by | Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
| Music by | Salil Chowdhury |
| Distributed by | Digital Entertainment Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi[1] |
| Box office | ₹1.7crore (equivalent to₹81 crore or US$9.6 million in 2023)[2] |
Anand (transl. Joy)[a] is a 1971 IndianHindi-languagedrama film co-written and directed byHrishikesh Mukherjee, with dialogues written byGulzar. It starsRajesh Khanna in the lead role, with a supporting cast includingAmitabh Bachchan,Sumita Sanyal,Ramesh Deo andSeema Deo.
The film won several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 1972. In 2013, it was listed inAnupama Chopra's book100 Films To See Before You Die.[3]Anand is counted among the 17 consecutive box office successes of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, adding the multistarrersMaryada (1971) andAndaz (1971). The film was a modest success at the box office.[4] It has since gained acult following, being hailed as one of the greatest Hindi films ever made.Indiatimes listed it among the "25 must watch films Bollywood movies".[5]Anand is one of the only two films that Khanna and Bachchan have starred together– the other being the 1973 filmNamak Haraam, which was also directed byHrishikesh Mukherjee.[6][7][8]
At an award ceremony inMumbai for his first book, 'Anand', Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee is asked to speak about the book. Bhaskar says that the book has been written based on his diary excerpts when he met Anand and narrates to the audience his experience with him.
Bhaskar, anoncologist, 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 will not treat the imaginary ailments of the rich. His friend, Dr. Prakash 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 haslymphosarcoma of the intestine, a rare type ofcancer. Anand has a cheerful nature and despite knowing that he is not going to survive for more than six months, he maintains a nonchalant demeanor and always tries to make everyone around him happy. His cheerful and vibrant nature soothes Bhaskar, who has a contrasting nature and they become good friends. Anand has the rare quality of attracting people and befriending them. In one such encounter, he makes Isa Bhai, a theater actor, 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 days in a hospital bed; he, instead, roams free and helps everyone. He discovers that Bhaskar has strong feelings for Renu, whom he had treated previously forpneumonia. He helps Bhaskar 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. It is also discovered that he loved a girl back inDelhi who is now married to someone else because of Anand's illness. The day she got married, Anand came to Mumbai from Delhi to move on from her but kept a flower in his book in her memory. Anand becomes sicker with time and is now bound to the house. He records Bhasker saying a poem and himself delivering dialogue and both of them laughing together on tape. He is counting his last breaths as his friends gather around him but Bhasker is gone to bring medicines for him. He shouts for him and dies. Bhasker comes back just a few minutes later and begs Anand to speak to him. Suddenly, the tape starts playing with Anand's voice and his friends cry for him. A couple of balloons are seen flying away in the sky as Anand leaves the world and flies away in the sky.
Mukherjee was loosely inspired byIkiru, and initially consideredShashi Kapoor and his brotherRaj Kapoor for the lead role in the early 1960s.[9][10] The character of Anand was inspired by Raj Kapoor, who used to call Mukherjee "Babu Moshay".[10] 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.[11][12]
Later, Mukherjee thought of making the film inBengali language, withUttam Kumar as Babu Moshai.[9] When this plan also failed, he consideredKishore Kumar andMehmood (as Babu Moshai) in lead roles.[13][9] One of the producers,N. C. Sippy, had earlier served as Mehmood's production manager. 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 aBengali) was involved in a financial dispute with a Bengali event manager over a stage show. He had instructed his gatekeeper to drive away this "Bengali", if he ever visited the house. The gatekeeper mistook Hrishikesh Mukherjee to be this "Bengali", and refused him entry. The incident hurt Mukherjee and he decided not to work with Kumar.[13] Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well.[14] According toDharmendra, he was also considered for the lead role before it went to Rajesh Khanna.[15] As aplayback singer, Kishore Kumar had become the preferred voice for Khanna by this time, butAnand did not have any song by him.[9]
Mukherjee initially signedSanjeev Kumar for Babu Moshai's role, but Khanna did not want to work with Kumar. On Khanna's insistence, Mukherjee replaced Kumar withAmitabh Bachchan.[16]
Hrishikesh Mukherjee shot the film in 28 days.[11] The screenplay ofAnand was written byGulzar (who also wrote the dialogue and the lyrics of a few songs), Bimal Dutt, D.N. Mukherjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee.[17]
Later,Anand was remade inMalayalam, with the nameChitrashalabham.[18]
The background score and songs were composed bySalil Chowdhury, with lyrics byGulzar andYogesh. Gulzar also wrote the poem 'Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai,' which is narrated byAmitabh Bachchan.
Before confirming Salil Chowdhury to compose the songs, Mukherjee approachedLata Mangeshkar, as she had previously worked as a music director in Marathi films under the pseudonym 'Anandghan.' However, she politely declined the offer to compose and chose to sing the songs in the film instead.[10]
One of the songs, 'Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye,' was originally composed 20 years earlier as a Bengali song titled 'Amay Prashna Kore Neel Dhrubatara,' and was sung byHemant Kumar.[19]
The background music used in the emotional scenes of the film is based on the tune of the song "Koi Hota Jisko Apna" fromMere Apne, which was released later the same year. The music for both films was composed by Chowdhury.
Anand was one of Rajesh Khanna's few films that do not feature his longtime collaboratorKishore Kumar in their soundtracks.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kahin Door Jab (Male)" | Yogesh | Mukesh | 05:40 |
| 2. | "Maine Tere Liye" | Gulzar | Mukesh | 03:09 |
| 3. | "Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli[20]" | Yogesh | Manna Dey | 03:30 |
| 4. | "Na Jiya Lage Na" | Gulzar | Lata Mangeshkar | 03:22 |
| 5. | "Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai" | Gulzar | Amitabh Bachchan | 00:47 |
| Total length: | 16:28 | |||
Till the time of the release ofAnand, the star of the film,Amitabh Bachchan, was not recognized in public. Sharing the incident on Twitter, a fan-Aashish Palod reminded him of 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 recognized him. But, after the release of the film in the evening, when he went to the same petrol pump for a refill, the public started identifying him. Bachchan posted on Twitter, "this is a true happening .. it was the petrol pump at Irla, on SV Road."[21][22]
most of the writers working in this so-called Hindi cinema write in Urdu:Gulzar, orRajinder Singh Bedi orInder Raj Anand orRahi Masoom Raza orVahajat Mirza, who wrote dialogue for films likeMughal-e-Azam andGunga Jumna andMother India. So most dialogue-writers and most song-writers are from the Urdu discipline