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". "Anand" is counted among the 17 consecutive box office successes of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, adding the multistarrers "Maryada" (1971) and  Andaz (1971). The film was a semi-hit at box office. But it has since gained a cult following and is hailed as one of the greatest Hindi films ever made. "Indiatimes" listed it among the ""25 must watch films Bollywood movies"". "Anand" is one of the only two films that Khanna and Bachchan have starred together– the other being the 1973 film "Namak Haraam", which was also directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Plot. At an award ceremony in Mumbai 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, 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 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 freely and helps everyone. He discovers that Bhaskar has strong feelings for Renu, whom he had treated previously for pneumonia. 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 in Delhi 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 keeps a flower in his book in her memory. Anand becomes sicker and 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. Production. "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 (himself a Bengali) had done a stage show organized by another Bengali man and was involved in a financial dispute with this man. 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. Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well. Both Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were offered the lead before Rajesh Khanna. Hrishikesh  Mukherjee shot the film in 28 days. The screenplay of "Anand" was written by Gulzar (who also wrote the dialogue and the lyrics of a few songs), 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 Mumbai. 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. 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". DVD release. 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 (HD) in 2.0. The restoration took place in Shemaroo Studios. Trivia. The Role Was First Offered To Dharmendra. Till the time of the release of "Anand", the star of the film, Amitabh Bachchan, was not recognized in public. Sharing the incident on Twitter, a fan 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 happenstance .. it was the petrol pump at Irla, on SV Road."