Anari

Hrishikesh Mukerjhee, after an above average debut with his three parter Musafir (1957) strikes gold with this Raj Kapoor starrer.

Starring the showman in his classic poor Chaplinsque avatar who falls in a romantic yet fun escapade with a rich girl pretending to be poor (played by Nutan), the film delivers the best of classic Hindi cinematic experience.

The film has such a fine array of actors. From the outside stone cold yet inner loving Lalita Pawar to ethereal Nutan to Raj Kapoor himself and Motilal (one of the most under rated actors of Indian cinema. Many actors have cited him as their influence and he was one of the first to bring in natural acting in Hindi school of cinema. Yet films starring him remain scarce to see in good quality. He isn't the main character here but he lights up every scene he comes in).

I normally dislike and skip most songs in Hindi films, both newer and even older variants. I consider them a weakness. Yet, this is one of the few exceptions where the music elevates the film. From the above average numbers like 'Woh Chand Khila' to 'Nineteen Fifty Six' to the evergreen classic ' Kisi Ki Muskurahaton Pe ho Nissar'; the latter simplistically filmed on a walking Raj Kapoor. Yet the lyrics are so simple and yet so deep that they touch your heart and beautifully rendered by Mukesh. It's a testament to the fact that you don't need an array of dancers and six pack abs to groove to a tune (looks at the mess that modern Film music is). Proper lyricist, composer and singer are all you need.

The director will make many more such slice of life films, namely Golmaal, Anand, Chupke Chupke though they will all be in color. This will be his testament to black and white cinema.

Anari," the 1959 film, served as an unflinching mirror to society, confronting themes that remain unsettlingly relevant even today-innocence in a world of cunning, truth in the face of manipulation, the corrupting influence of greed, and the cruel irony of wealth built upon the suffering of the powerless. Decades later, its questions still echo: Will the romantics-those who value integrity, empathy, and human connection-ever triumph? Or will the world continue to revere the 'smart'-those who commodify every aspect of existence, reducing meaning to monetary value, measuring success solely by wealth, and idolizing fortunes over virtues?

Beautiful. This movie is pure form of art. This movie is pure art. It is beautifully explained and show us the harsh reality of world. It has comedy, drama, music, love, vengeance, regret. This movie is described by one word "beautiful.".

This is another nice Raj Kapoor movie, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

The story is about Rajkumar (Raj Kapoor), an unemployed honest painter who lives in a rented room to Mrs. D'Sa (Lalita Pawaar). He never pays his rent, and though Mrs. D'Sa gets annoyed, she treats him like her son.

On his way to finding a job, Raj bumps into Aarthi (Nutan), who was climbing over a wall to get out of her boring college class. Then he goes to his job interview, which is at a restaurant. He checks the daal (lentils) he finds a roach floating at the top. He reports this by screaming it out to everyone at the restaurant...which makes the manager very annoyed. Raj's honesty wasn't getting him anywhere, he gets kicked out.

He goes home only to make Mrs. D'Sa mad. The next day, he bumps in to Aarthi again (in a chain reaction biking crash lol). Aarthi tells him that her name is Aasha. But Aasha (Shuba Khote) is actually Aarthi's naukrani...even though they're like sisters. Aarthi continues to pretend that she herself is the naukrani. She invites Raj to paint a picture at her "malkin's" house the next day. Raj readily agrees.

The next day, Aarthi keeps on making up stories about her poorness, saying that her mom was really sick, and that's why she's working at the mansion. He gets paid 1,000 rupees for his work, but because of his kind heart, he gives it all back to Aarthi...saying that it would come in handy for her sick mother.

Which makes Aarthi like him all the more.

He goes back home, again with no pay to give Mrs. D'Sa. After a long argument, she gives him a quarter to go eat. When he's outside, Raj is almost hit by the car of Seth Ramnath (Motilal). Raj continues to look for his attani in the dark. To test his honesty, Seth Ramnath drops his wallet in the middle of the road. When Raj notices, he picks it up and wants to give the wallet back to Seth Ramnath...he gets chased by gonads...and goes through a lot ~ but he returns the wallet. Impressed, Seth Ramnath gives him a job in his office.

Raj's life starts going well. He does hard work. Mrs. D'Sa doesn't take his rent, because they basically become like mother and son. And of course he has his dear "Aasha".

But what Raj doesn't know is that Seth Ramnath is the uncle of his "Aasha", and what Seth Ramnath doesn't know is that Aarthi likes Raj. Poor Raj doesn't even know that his "Aasha" is actually Aarthi. He has yet to find out about what's in store for him.

And once he does (in a quite saddening way)...his life is upside down. To make matters worse, Mrs. D'Sa gets the flu.

Another thing that Raj doesn't know: the company he works at sells contaminated medicines sometimes.

How is Rajkumar's life supposed to come back together? Can a poor man ever marry a rich girl? Or ever be given justice? That's the plot. It's a great movie, with emotion as well as entertainment. Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Lalita Pawar, and everyone gave wonderful performances. Nutan looked exuberantly beautiful and matched well with Raj Kapoor.

And my god the music! Shankar Jaikishan once again delivers a perfect sound track. Songs like "Dil Ki Nazar Se", "Kisi Ki Muskarahoton", "Woh Chand Khila", "Tera Jaana" and so many more are just classics. Lata and Mukesh at their best once again. The background score is quite touching too. Helen's dance was a delight as usual.

Hrishkesh Mukherjee's direction is pretty good, and there are many times in the movie where you just have to cry. The relationships between all of the characters just light up the screen. Despite a few extremely sad situations, and some unreasonably evil characters, the direction is very nice. I give this movie an 8.5 out of 10! Watch this classic.

Anari is a most entertaining classic, but what can one expect from Hrishikesh Mukherjee anyway. The film, boasting of high production values, is well written and strongly executed and, needless to say, Mukherjee's direction is very impressive and detailed. True to the style of the 1950s, the sentimentality is much more reserved than what it would become in subsequent decades, and the film is stylish to the core in both costuming, sets, and the multiculturalism and human values it seeks to promote.

The main character is akin to Dostoyevski's Idiot, a protagonist who is as innocent, honest, kind and a little gullible as he is smart and resilient. This type of character isn't new to Mr. Raj Kapoor, who embraced them and always played them with great sympathy. But the 'anari' (idiot) of this film, despite his open heart and pure intentions, is slightly more sophisticated, a little less innocent, a tad more worldly; he does know the ways of the world; he is just too kind to complain, and too optimistic to give up.

Indeed, this mix of a man who is as innocent as he is perceptive, is a refreshing sort of character which goes really well with Mukherjee's style. Mukherjee never succumbed to stereotypes. He was one director who always knew how to tread that line between art and commercial cinema; how to make films that cater to both the thinking audiences and the masses, how to combine entertainment with educative value and realism. This is exactly what he does here and how he portrays the main protagonist, a real, complex character.

Raj Kapoor, normally a world-class filmmaker, restricts himself to just acting this time, and does it so well. He is very easy to relate to, very easy to like, and creates a real man rather just a persona. A beautiful, graceful Nutan is wonderfully natural as his love interest, growing as a character throughout the film like only an actor of her calibre can. By the end of the film, she is an altogether different person, providing some great moments with her typically understated approach. The two form a nice couple.

The supporting cast includes Motilal, an actor par excellence who knows camera and is exceptionally stylish and grounded. Even when his character enters the realm of villainousness, he never veers into caricature. Shubha Khote is quietly effective. Greater support though comes from the legendary Lalita Pawar as Mrs. D'sa, that unforgettable, devout Christian woman who knows people for what they are, who stands for values of humanity, unity and common good. She is phenomenally good and memorably inspiring.

Anari is a most enjoyable cinematic experience of an era in Indian Hindi cinema which, to this day, remains its best (nowadays there's fantastic improvement and today's Hindi cinema comes closer to those glorious 50s and 60s in terms of content and quality). The music, by the way, is absolutely beautiful. The film is not devoid of some clichés of course - some parts, especially the court scenes are quite a farce, but the overall product is much better, and the ending is really nice. Anari is classic, quality entertainment.