Anjali

Many reviewers have said it's 'To kill a mocking bird'. I feel its story also has lots of E.T in it.

The way the alien is found disgusting, then adorable and then the E.T finds home. So if 'To kill a mocking bird is also included, I'll give only one star. It was entertaining and can be seen as a derivative adaptation and not a copy of the two films, there it scores a 8.

The music is the highlight of the movie, so are the children. Just love all the songs in the movie, has got a lot of nostalgic value.

Raguvaran and Revathy gave a very well nuanced performance as the mom and dad of Anjali, and Shamili as Anjali was outstanding, should congratulate Manirathnam for extracting good performances out of the artists.

It's common knowledge that Mani Ratnam is considered one of India's best directors, if not the best. That reputation has come thanks to films like Anjali. It is entertaining at times and at others, unabashedly poignant to the point of being melodramatic. But, what it never fails to do is make you think. Backed up by a fantastic crew comprising of legends like Ilaiyaraja and the precocious performances of the children, the film is a landmark effort in portraying the trials and tribulations of a family when faced with a totally unexpected development.

A middle-class family is fairly contented until the wife delivers a still-born child. However, with her husband's gentle administration and the antics of her other children, the wife puts her grief behind until one day, she is shocked to discover that her husband is "seeing" another woman, as alleged by her son who happens to spy on a secret conversation while welcoming the New Year with a raucous dance party at midnight. Following a furious argument, the husband is forced to admit that the still-born child is still alive, but in no position to lead a normal life. Struck by autism, the child's days are numbered and the husband (who happens to be a doctor) seeks the assistance of a specialist (who is incidentally the other woman) to revive the child and help it lead a happy life. The wife is undaunted by the traumatizing prognosis and takes the eponymous child home to care for her.

At the apartment, hell breaks loose with the neighboring kids taunting the unwitting child, whose siblings retaliate with force. Fortunately, the child is slowly accepted by the other children, but the adults aren't so accommodating. An ex-convict enters the frame somewhere and hisses venomous threats at the apartment association members. In due course, the child becomes the darling of the block and all seems well.

One fine day, Anjali's elder sister tries to awake her, with no response. The elder brother tries likewise and to his horror, discovers that she won't wake again. Husband and wife are equally devastated but the elder sister won't give up. The film ends up with the elder sister's haunting exhortations for Anjali to wake up from a never-ending sleep.

I was 10 when I watched this film for the first time and I remember bawling my eyes out when it ended. So good were the performances of the three child leads, that they were honored with the National Award for the best child artist. That said, the film raises some uncomfortable questions: would real-life parents sacrifice so much to care for such an ailing child? Would society be kind enough to see beneath the obvious illness and appreciate a child for what it is? Your guess is as good as mine.

An awesome effort.

It seems odd and serves as a good case study when seeing how kids spent their days in the 90s. The story slowly picks up one event after another with frequent songs and terrific dance choreography. The house setup seems odd, with lack of background materials but it works for the mood of the film.

The film making and acting by kids look genuine and flawless. The screenplay takes off in the second half, with people maintaining distance from the estranged kid and conciling with her. Revathi is brilliant and forms the crux of the story. The emotional longing for acceptance is the driving point of this beautiful kids film.

Anjali (1990) : Brief Review -

An underrated gem by Mani Ratnam. If you have heart and emotions in it, i dare you watch Anjali without dropping tears. First, i am very glad that this gem of a film came in my watchlist by chance. Second, i feel pity for those movie buffs who have rated this film less than other Mani Ratnam classics. And especially those duffers who compare it with Hollywood Classic 'To Kill A Mockingbird' just because one or two neighborhood sequence are similar. What about the rest of story? Did those dumb-heads really watch both the film or just making statements without any knowledge? Anjali is mainly about the mentally disabled child and the emotional trauma around her. Did 'To Kill a Mockingbird' had anything like that? Or did 'Anjali' have any court hearing scenes? Then who are those low IQ people who even thought of comparing these two films? Just shoot them dead man. Anyways, i would like to recommend this film to every movie buff whoever loves cinema and understand the social sense of it. In simple words, films like this are important to society and our lives which is not in the case of most of those crime classics of Mani Ratnam. So, if you are among those audience who cares about content more than big stars and heroic images then Anjali is a Must See for you. Anjali is a heartbreaking film with extremely emotional climax. Making a film with child artists is difficult but look at the way they have performed. That little girl in the last 5 minutes has done an unbelievable job, i was shocked to see such a great act by her at this age. Even Revathi, Raghuvaran and other child actors have done wonderful job. I would like to thank Mani Ratnam sir from the bottom of my heart for making this heart melting Cult Film which i will remember for long time. In short, an underrated gem that deserves more praise than other star oriented classics.

RATING - 8.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

There are 2 major aspects of this movie which makes it very interesting - 1. ManiRatnam's unique and brilliant style of movie-making, 2. Children.

The movie actually reminds me of the novel 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'. And the director has done a great job indianising the novel and making a commercial movie out of it.The characters of Jem, Scout and Boo Radley from the novel have been very well depicted in the movie.

The brother-sister relationship (played by Tarun and Shruthi), different kinds of people in the colony, the scarily unseen neighbor(played by Prabhu) who is spied by the kids, how the society discriminates certain people (a mentally retarded sister in this case), how the 2 children take the brunt of their neighborhood kids ridicule and then learn to handle it - have all been very well depicted.

Though the screenplay is not perfect and definitely not as good as ManiRatnam's other movies, we still find it interesting and unforgettable. All the characters have been very well played (Credit goes to the director for getting it out of the kids). And not to forget the great music and great cinematography.

Overall its a 'must watch' movie.