2 Hindi movies of the yesteryears that I love absolutely:
Movie Name: Anand - 1970
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Starring:Rajesh Khanna as Anand Saigal, Amitav Bachhan as Dr Bhaskar aka Babu Moshai
Director:Hrishikesh Mukherji
Small Review: Anand is the story of two friends, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Rajesh Khanna is terminall ill with cancer. When his doctor friend (Amitabh) comes to know of this he marvels at 'Anand's' zest for life. There is no sign of imminent death in him. He laughs and makes everybody laugh.
Somewhere inside, Anand is lonely, he is aware of his fate, but tries to live every moment fully. He brushes off fear and enjoys gifts of nature -- the sun, moon, breeze, twilight and laughter.
It is only in laughter that he breathes his last. The film deals with the inevitable end, death, and yet breathes life in such a morbid subject with lively performances and great songs. Anand is, Rajesh Khanna's best film to date (Shamelessly Copy/Pasted from: ApunkaChoice.com)
What I Like: The Jest for life of Anand, the Songs.
Trivia:
- Dedicated to Raj Kapoor with whom Hrishikesh Mukherjee started his movie career as an editor.
- 'Mehmood' advised Amitabh Bachchan to grab a secondary role alongside the then heartthrob Rajesh Khanna in the film, saying, "All you need to do is feed off Khanna, the rest will take care of itself."
- Originally, Hrishikesh Mukherjee had envisioned Shashi Kapoor, the brother of Raj Kapoor, for the role of Anand. He wanted Raj Kapoor himself, but he had just recovered from his illness and Mukherjee couldn't bear to see him die on the screen, since he had almost died in real life. In any case, Shashi Kapoor was not eager for the role, so Rajesh Khanna got it - it remains his most memorable role with Aradhana (1969) and Amar Prem (1971).
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee brought back Salil Choudhury , whose career had reached a cul-de-sac after spending a term in jail on a murder charge, and Yogesh , a then-forgotten lyricist. Their careers revived significantly after the film.
- The term "Babu Moshai" means "great gentleman." Raj Kapoor often affectionately addressed Hrishikesh Mukherjee with this term, just as Anand addresses Bannerjee.
(Shamelessly Copy/Pasted from: IMDB)
- This is only one of 2 movies where Rajesh Khanna and Amithabh Bachhan worked together.
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Movie Name: Bawarchi - 1972
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Starring:Rajesh Khanna as Raghu (Bawarchi), Jaya Bhaduri as Krishna Sharma
Director:Hrishikesh Mukherji
Small Review: Squabbling Sharma family has a dubious reputation of not having any cook last there for more than a few months. Word spreads out about this family to such an extent that no person wants to be employed as a cook in this household, ironically named Shanti Nivas. Then one day a young man named Raghu offers to work as a cook, and he is hired. Raghu quickly gets a grip on his job and on each of the family members, and soon the squabbles and arguments come to an end. And then the Sharmas find the family jewels and Raghu missing. .....(Shamelessly Copy/Pasted from IMDB)
Trivia:The film has no title cards. Instead the titles and credits are narrated using a voice over by Amitabh Bachchan. (Shamelessly Copy/pasted from : IMDB)
What I Like: It teaches how to live life. Tells you that the real fun is in living every moment of it and without looking out for that greatest happiness which will never come.
