Anand

ANAND (1971)
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Major Characters:
Rajesh Khanna: Anand Saigal / Jaichand
Amitabh Bachchan: Dr. Bhaskar K. Bannerjee
Sumita Sanyal: Renu
Ramesh Deo: Dr. Prakash Kulkarni
Seema Deo: Mrs. Suman Kulkarni

Movie Outline:
One of the most eye-opening movies of all time in the Bollywood film industry, this story begins with Dr. Bhaskar K. Bannerjee, a cancer specialist, winning a literary award for his first novel about a patient called Anand. Dr. Bannerjee is asked to give a speech about his motivation behind this novel. The movie is a flashback of Dr. Bannerjee’s tale of a terminally ill patient named Anand. Anand, the title character, is in his last stage of a disease called Lymphosarcoma of the intestine. Prior to the introduction of Anand, the movie is truly gloomy and depressing. Dr. Bannerjee is frustrated with life as a doctor because of the disparity in Bombay in terms of accessibility of basic amenities such as health-care. Dr. Bannerjee is so caught up with this frustration that he completely detaches himself from the rest of the world. He seems to have lost desire towards everything in life such as marriage, food and friendship. The jovial character of Anand completely changes the mood of the movie. Anand knows that he has only months to live, and therefore wants to extract as much joy and happiness during this short lifespan. He puts matters in perspective for Dr. Bannerjee and says that a long frustrated life is much worse than a short happy life. Anand’s theory is that a great life is much better than a long life. The audience and the rest of the characters in the movie fall in love with Anand and his philosophy of life. This philosophy that one should live life to the fullest extent is really the basis of Anand. Through Anand last few months, the movie asks the modern, fast-paced audience to reflect on what is really important towards leading a great life. -Gaurav Gharti-Chhetri