In this weekly column, we revisit the gems of Hindi cinema’s golden years. This week, we have a look once more at Anari, which launched in 1959.
After watching many fashionable movies of the Fifties by the Bollywood Rewind collection, it’s clear that the filmmakers of the time had been Emphasized the quickly rising hole between the wealthy and the poor. Another recurring component we see in lots of of those movies is that an individual’s financial standing and ethical values are sometimes proven to be inversely proportional – if one goes down, the opposite goes up. This component of wealth and morality grew to become the primary battle of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1959 movie Anari.
Starring Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Lalita Pawar and Motilal, Anari was the second directorial enterprise of famous filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who was already a longtime editor in Hindi movies on the time. Raj performs the position of Rajkumar, which is an extension of his character. Awara And Mr 420. He is misplaced in life, unemployed, and pissed off by an unjust world favoring the wealthy. Rajkumar loses his job at a restaurant as a result of he believes patrons mustn’t eat meals that comprises bugs, his supervisor thinks in any other case.
When Raj fortunately will get 1000 rupees to color an image, his palms begin trembling. The scene the place he’s caressing the word and taking a look at it with vast eyes makes you respect his humility and when a number of seconds later, he offers that invoice to Nutan’s character, assuming that he wants greater than her. Need, it makes you tear up, just a bit. Even although he hasn’t stored that cash for himself, there’s a lapse in his transfer as a result of for the primary time in ages he has the possibility to be sort to another person. as he sings “Kisi ka dard mil sake to le udhaar, Jeena isi ka naam hai,” It forces you to re-evaluate your priorities in life.
Anari’s opening wrestle begins as a comedy of errors. As Rajkumar and Aarti, performed by the charming Nutan, are falling in love, she tells him about her wrestle with poverty, which could not be farther from the reality. Nutan’s Aarti is the niece of a rich pharmaceutical businessman who additionally occurs to be Rajkumar’s boss. When Raj learns the reality, he feels cheated and as he sings the traces “Sab kuch seekha humne, na seekhi hoshiyari. Sach hai duniyavalo ki hum hain anari”. He realizes the extent of his innocence and his place in a world the place the wealthy cannot get sufficient of their plans.
Aarti’s betrayal breaks Rajkumar’s coronary heart into items as he sings “Sach hai duniyavalo ki hum hain anari.”
The movie’s ethical dilemma is oddly well timed. Here, the world is within the midst of a flu outbreak that may be deadly, until handled. So when Seth Ramnath’s (Motilal) firm decides to ramp up manufacturing of the drug, it’s with the hope that the illness will unfold far and vast. These scenes appear a bit tasteless, and never solely due to their content material, but in addition due to their continuous method in making an attempt to satanize the wealthy.
The movie enters a well-recognized Hrishikesh Mukherjee territory when Raj has to pay the worth for Seth Ramnath’s immoral actions. Seth Ramnath is the closest to the movie’s villain right here, so when Arti accuses him of being dishonest due to his monetary situation, he instantly says that it isn’t cash that has modified his morals, however it’s for him to take action. Love has compromised. his honesty. This scene is maybe one of many few from this period that gives little nuance to the ‘wealthy haven’t any morals’ generalization that was typically seen in films on the time.
Anari was one of many largest hits of the 12 months. The movie rests on the shoulders of Raj Kapoor and Nutan. Raj, by this time, was all set to play such a personality, so we do not see something that we’ve not seen earlier than. For Nutan, she brings a type of freshness that elevates Anari. Here Motilal’s appearing should be famous as his character goes from white to black to grey so quick that it’s troublesome to place him in a field.
Anari was a kind of musical hits the place a complete album could be loved without delay, and 62 years later its affect stays the identical. Apart from “Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai” and “Hum Hain Anari”, different timeless gems from the album embody “Woh Chand Khela Woh Taare Hanse”, “Dil Ki Nazar”, “Ban Ke Paanch Gaye Pyar Ka Tarana”, “Tera Jaana”. ” – All musical works composed by Shankar Jaikishan, lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri.
Anari does not work as successfully because it did six many years in the past. The movie’s ethical conundrum nonetheless raises some fascinating questions nevertheless it appears a bit simplistic to look at in 2021.
Bollywood Rewind | Chaudhvin Ka Chand | Boot Polish | Do Bigha Zamin | Devdas | Baiju Bawra | Shree 420 | Pyaasa | CID | Madhumati | Naya Daur | Awara | Sharada | Do Aankhen Barah Haath | Bandini | Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
Annari is streaming on YouTube, ZEE5.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
