आंधी

Aandhi is a classic. A movie based on human emotions - and the struggle of two individuals who meet, fall in love and then drift apart only to meet again after many years. If my memory serves me well, I even believe that the female lead has elements of Indira Gandhi in her. A must-watch in order to understand Indian traditions and politics. Suchitra Sen is a rich politician's daughter who falls in love with a hotel manager, and marries him, against her father's wishes. They start a new life until Suchitra decides to follow her father and join politics, much against her husband's better judgement. The toils and troubles of a hectic political lifestyle results in their daughter's death and their divorce - leading them to pursue different directions in life for many odd years. Finally, the two meet again, after many years. A very sensitive movie - with well crafted lyrics and beautiful performances. I give it a 9.5 due to Sanjay Kumar's performance, the music and the trouble the movie had as it was released during the emergency.

Review By Kamal K

Absolutely , the movie is a piece of gem. Apart form songs , the theme of the film and its superb execution in all respect are unparallel . So far, actings are concerned, sanjeev kumar and suchitra sen are simply superb and at their best. Suchitra sen is known to be the Mahaniaka of Bengali cinema for all times but her performance in this Hindi film, showed her exceptional talent in all kinds of film even in Hindi .

One of the best movie ever made on politics and romance together, Sanjeev Kumar acted so maturely as he do always in his movies. Suchitra Sen hindi accent was in bangali but because of the intense in the movie it's hides the other things.

If not anything, every time I manage to catch a song or a glimpse from "Aandhi"on telly, it makes me stop doing everything and take notice. Every frame of "Aandhi" deserves the "Bible" for acting status. It is next to impossible to judge who was outdoing whom - Sanjeev Kumar or Suchitra Sen. Safe to say, both neatly complimented each other.

Amongst all the movies Gulzar held the reigns of direction "Aandhi" gets the top position. The narrative in the form of flashbacks keeps it crisp and the audience intrigued. I seriously doubt if "Aandhi" deserved the due recognition it deserved when it was released. I surely have read about the reference to Indira Gandhi's political career leading to the ban, but I wonder if fuelled the fire to speculation or worked against it I am not too sure. And another thing, political themes haven't worked quite well owing to the dry subject and the lack of succulence, however Gulzar manages to calibrate it to perfection for the audience without going over-board.

Gulzar/ Hari Bhai/ R D Burman was a winning combination every time they huddled up and "Aandhi" is no exception. Lyrics penned by Gulzar, mystical as usual were elevated to great heights by the music to R D Burman. The composition are still fresh as they were two decades ago.

Noteworthy is the couple's daughter "Munna" who is never shown in the audience and is restricted to a reference in big scheme of things, which in my opinion is the art of fine film-making.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" is reserved fiery delivery in the last frames by Suchitra. Sen. Noteworthy is the ending which cannot be more apt.

Gulzar's most controversial film made. This film was released in 1975 during "The Emergency". Supposedly inspired from the life of India's late prime minister, Indira Gandhi. The film was stuck and also banned by political activists of Indira Gandhi's Party. Suchitra Sen gives a powerful performance as a housewife who marries a common hotel manager (Sanjeev Kumar)against her father's wish. She then joins Politics against her husbands wish. Sanjeev Kumar got the best actor award for this film. So did gulzar. The best scene in the movie and one of Indian Cinema's most touching scene is the scene picturised on the song " Tere Bina Zindagi se Koi..". This is a Classic movie. It is a must see. This movie was a hit when there

were 2 giant movies in competition.. "Deewar" and "Sholay".