“Anand” inspires due to its eternal message of Humanism
Inspiration is the greatest influence on any life and mine too is no exception. While I love umpteen number of great films from “Pyaasa”, “Mother India”, “Mughal-e-Azam” and “Gunga Jamuna” to “Dil Ek Mandir”, “Hum Dono”, “Dosti” and “Guide” that have deeply impacted my soul, it is Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s effervescent “Anand” which inspired me with profound truths of life. Undoubtedly, “Anand” had a great story, screenplay, lyrics and music besides commendable direction and acting, but it is the film’s deeply spiritual message of humanism that resides within me till date ever since I first saw it at Mayur cinema in Jaipur on 14th March 1971. I must admit that the film’s story as well as the peculiar circumstances of that moment helped me adopt “live-love-laugh” as my life mantras forever.
It so happened that in a freak accident in July 1970, I lost the eyesight of both my eyes. For nearly six months, besides suffering the horrifying blackout as well as hundreds of painful injections in the eyes, I was engulfed by an abyss of silent misery behind the bandaged eyes. My teenage agony was compounded by the helplessness of my loving family members who grieved silently without shedding tears. Like them, I too put up a brave front of smiles, even consoling them that things would turn for the better, though I was riddled with fears of an uncertain future. Subsequently, owing to prayers of my family, a divine intervention led to a miraculous restoration of eyesight that was nothing short of a fairy tale. So, when doctors announced a complete recovery, I merrily proceeded to witness “Anand” with my newly gained “insights”.
Reliving the joy of witnessing a film, “Anand” also made me aware of how lucky I was to be alive and thriving. The story of the do-gooder, happiness spreading cancer patient made me realise life was a transient bubble that could go bust any moment. So, for me, Rajesh Khanna spread not just cheer and smile on screen but also lit an everlasting flame of joy within my soul; his screen persona taught me “life should be big and not long” and that spreading of joy is better and greater than owning riches of the world. Think of it, how many screen characters seriously inspire us to realise our potential or change our perspective of life? Of course, numerous wonderful male and female characters move us to tears and laughter with their enactments but only a miniscule few inspire us to a gigantic vision.
Endearing character
“Anand” was a defining character who exhorted and motivated viewers “to do unto others what they wanted others do to them.” Under Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s no-nonsensical baton, Rajesh Khanna became an endearing fountain of love; teaching service and devotion were synonyms of love to bring forth hope and smile to all. Not allowing any of his three personas as writer-editor-director to overshadow the other, Hrishikesh Mukherjee delivered a film of everlasting appeal for cinegoers of all ages and all times.
The hallmark of a great film is a story well etched out on screen so as to grab attention as well as emotion of the audience while leaving a sublime imprint on our conscience. If the end product is also finely strung with some excellent acting, music and stage craft, it leaves not just a lasting impact but also an impetus for other image makers to learn and do better. What astounds is how Hrishikesh Mukherjee makes the viewers aware of their personal shortcomings, goads them to change yet never offends or arouses their ire. And he does that with ease with his incredible screenplay whereby his film characters become part of us and yet not one of us; we aspire to be like them without a trace of envy or hostility that we are unequal to them in their greatness! Carving an eternal nest in our memories, the taut screenplay (written by Mukherjee along with Gulzar, D. N. Mukherjee and Bimal Dutt) inculcates the importance of human actions better than what is prescribed by the best of religious texts. In a certain sense, “Anand” is the perfect and ultimate essence of ethics of human existence and if one were to follow its message of being a harbinger of happiness, this planet would be a much better place to live!
If Rajesh Khanna is the cynosure of action, Amitabh Bachchan as Dr. Bhaskar is an apt foil as a normal person given to worldly fears, attachments and heartaches. The interaction between the two is akin to Krishna’s lesson to Arjun through the epic of Geeta. Like Arjun, Bhaskar is vulnerable and unsure on the battlefield of life (Mahabharat) but learns a lesson in living and giving through the noble actions of “Anand” who, like Lord Krishna, stands as the ultimate symbol of pure, untainted eternal joy. The crux of the engrossing drama is Bhaskar’s gradual development of affection as well as frustration of being a mute witness to the oncoming death of his patient who, nevertheless, “lives” despite death!
While these two characters radiate extreme fulcrums of sombre and sublime, method and spontaneity as well as logic and intuition, other personas too add to the colour and interest of the narrative. Apart from several worthwhile supporting characters, Mukherjee also deftly juxtaposed the secular fabric with some interesting characters in the form of the Muslim stage actor Johnny Walker, the Punjabi wrestler Dara Singh and the Christian nurse Lalita Pawar, thereby lending grace and charm to the proceedings on screen. Along with the camerawork by Jaywant Pathare, what also helps endure the alluring magic of the film are its wonderful songs that were delightfully woven by Salil Chowdhary. While “Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye” and “Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli” by Yogesh in Mukesh and Manna Dey’s voices are perennial favourites till date, Gulzar’s “Maine Tere Liye” also creates magic for ears!
Frankly, “Anand” is wisdom’s diktat to do good as that is the intrinsic design of nature for all of us. The more we give of ourselves, the more we receive and since our lives are inter-twined, we do need to nurture happiness for the sake of our souls as well as prosperity of future generations.
There couldn’t be a better and more incisively meaningful interpretation of this all time classic movie! The analogy with Gita is interesting. Was pained to know about your vision impairment at an early age. But thankfully God has been really very kind to you.🙏
You’re blessed with impressive writing skills which provides for good reading and deep appreciation. Congratulations and best wishes!
Sheila Rai
Immensely Humbled by your profuse appreciation. Sincere thanks and gratitude.
Very True & Even the New Generation of Selfies should try to Understand by Seeing this Film Multiple times to Find Wisdom and Eternal Joy of Giving
Very well said. It is a storehouse of wisdom.
In the journey of life, there are numerous encounters which impact our lives. Some make us ‘happy’, others ‘aware’, still others ‘spiritual’, and some ‘more kind’…
The film Anand to me, was just a nice movie. Watching it as a pre-teen, it carried a different meaning, compared to watching it years later on doordarshan as a seventeen (odd) year old. And in between, there were other great cinema from all over the world, courtesy VHS.
With so much cinema available with a click of a button, there was a plethora of inspirational movies.
However, for me, what is unique about Anand, is that it becomes better at each viewing. All the characters, (Johnny Walker, for instance) add more to the story. Screenplay, direction, acting, and the story; all are still evolving.
True. The beauty of a great piece of art is that it is relevant for all eras and ages besides, of course, providing multifarious insights of life
Very True message for life.Gita encapsulated. Good interpretation of “ANAND” movie which was liked by most.
Touched! Thanks a ton.
True
One of the best moovi i have seen in my life
Yes, agree wholeheartedly.