'Anand': 50 glorious years of an optimist’s story

The Rajesh Khanna-Amitabh Bachchan starrer was a runaway hit

In the first frame of ‘Anand’, Hrishikesh Mukherjee dedicates the film to Bombay and Raj Kapoor, both known for their ‘undying spirit.’

The film is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Right from the beginning, a sad inevitability shadows the protagonist Anand, played by Rajesh Khanna. Gulzar’s compelling dialogues support the film’s philosophy of optimism. Apart from the famous “Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi” (life should be big, not long), there are many gems.

“Kya har hasin ke peeche sirf khushi rahti hai?”, (Do all smiles only have happiness behind them?) asks the terminally ill Anand to Dr Bhaskar Bannerjee (Amitabh Bachchan). “Mukherjee’s simple narrative style was a big hit,” notes film historian K Puttaswamy. A hallmark of Mukherjee was to convey his ideas with big stars. An actor’s image would never affect his stories, he explains.

Salil Chowdhary’s songs in ‘Anand’ are addictive. ‘Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne’ by Mukesh fills you with hope. ‘Zindagi kaisi hai paheli’ from Manna Dey amplifies the growing melancholic mood of the film. Even after 50 years, these are songs apt for your sunset walks.

Today, the film is seen as a coming together of two superstars. Back then, there was only one man who ruled the hearts of Hindi audiences: Rajesh Khanna. For an actor who aced romantic roles, ‘Anand’ was unchartered territory. Khanna pours his soul into the character to make us laugh a lot and cry in the end.

Before Amitabh got into the angry young man zone with ‘Zanjeer’ (1973) and ‘Deewar’ (1975), he was convincing as a soft-natured and dignified man in ‘Anand’. He was a ‘flop star’ when chosen for ‘Anand’ but Amitabh gives a strong glimpse of his acting abilities.

Our current films feature flawed characters. But Anand is the ‘ultimate good guy’. So much so that he wants to live because his loved ones cannot handle his absence.

The best tribute to the iconic selfless character is in this dialogue: “Dukh apne liye rakh, Anand sabke liye” (The man who spreads joy everywhere keeps sadness to himself). Happy 50th to the timeless classic!

Trivia: Inspired by Raj Kapoor

Mukherjee first offered the roles of Anand and Bhaskar to Kishore Kumar and Mehmood respectively.

Anand’s character was inspired by Raj Kapoor.

The film won the National Award for the best feature film in Hindi. It also won six Filmfare awards.

Amitabh and Khanna starred together again in Mukherjee’s ‘Namak Haraam’ (1973).