Recently I saw Anuradha ,directed by Hrishikesh Mukerjee .It stars Leela Naidu, (who, as per the late directer Satyajit Ray was a classic beauty) Balraj Sahni & Abhi Bhattacharya.The film was way ahead of its times.
A doctor,Balraj Sahni falls in love with a girl, as she had a fall & is injured. She is an upcoming singer.She is the beautiful Leela Naidu.She marries him despite opposition from her rich parents who feel that Abhi Bhattacharya, is the better suited boy as per their stature in life.
Post marriage,Leela follows her husband to work in a village, where he treats patients. Leela toils hard.She is doing housework & attends to their small daughter.Singing which was her life, has been long forgotten. Her husband has no time for her .He is too involved, in treating his patients.
One day ,Abhi & friends comes visiting & insist that she sing for his group of friends.She agrees & sings ! One of the best songs in the movie..."Kaise din beete ,kaise beeti ratiya,piya jaane naa......( how does the day get wasted,how the night gets wasted,.....my lover does not realise.....)" . When she is singing ,Abhi & friends are in rapt attention, taking in the soulful voice, while the hubby, that is the Doctor is immersed in reading a medical journal.
Will she stay with the husband & not leave for the city where she could set the music world on fire ! Why ? Because she loves her husband more than she loves music.Or the love for music will force her migration to the city ? The husband can accompany her as well.
A doctor,Balraj Sahni falls in love with a girl, as she had a fall & is injured. She is an upcoming singer.She is the beautiful Leela Naidu.She marries him despite opposition from her rich parents who feel that Abhi Bhattacharya, is the better suited boy as per their stature in life.
Post marriage,Leela follows her husband to work in a village, where he treats patients. Leela toils hard.She is doing housework & attends to their small daughter.Singing which was her life, has been long forgotten. Her husband has no time for her .He is too involved, in treating his patients.
One day ,Abhi & friends comes visiting & insist that she sing for his group of friends.She agrees & sings ! One of the best songs in the movie..."Kaise din beete ,kaise beeti ratiya,piya jaane naa......( how does the day get wasted,how the night gets wasted,.....my lover does not realise.....)" . When she is singing ,Abhi & friends are in rapt attention, taking in the soulful voice, while the hubby, that is the Doctor is immersed in reading a medical journal.
Will she stay with the husband & not leave for the city where she could set the music world on fire ! Why ? Because she loves her husband more than she loves music.Or the love for music will force her migration to the city ? The husband can accompany her as well.
Maybe reel life imitated by real life...too many examples...Ravi Shankar-Annapurna Devi Nargis-Sunil Dutt, Amitabh -Jaya, Mazhar Khan-Zeenat,& many more.
There is a feminist message ...that the husband must have some regard for the talent of the wife.Yet the message is too subtle ...will the wife continue to be a home maker though she can be someone else ? Will the husband do something so that the talented wife does not fade into oblivion ?Many of us who have to give up our jobs for any reasons whatsoever will surely identify with the character portrayed by Leela Naidu.
There is a feminist message ...that the husband must have some regard for the talent of the wife.Yet the message is too subtle ...will the wife continue to be a home maker though she can be someone else ? Will the husband do something so that the talented wife does not fade into oblivion ?Many of us who have to give up our jobs for any reasons whatsoever will surely identify with the character portrayed by Leela Naidu.
All were stellar actors...Balraj Sahni,Abhi Bhattacharya &others. This was Ms India,Leela Naidu's debut movie ! She looks stunning, though it is a black & white movie.The suave Balraj Sahni, was a member of Indian People's Theatre Association & an excellent actor.It was Hrishikesh Mukherjee's creditable direction which never makes the audience feel that this was the first movie for Leela Naidu.
One of the first songs in the movie "Bahut din huye ...."was a story I had read in my Hindi class decades ago .It is about a princess-Phulkumari, who never laughs & then all try to make her laugh.Finally ,a funny man makes her laugh.He is a prince & he wins her hand.So, this movie brought back school memories !
Music by Pandit Ravi Shankar is super ! The songs do full justice to the fact, that the heroine of the film is a singer par excellence, who gets lost in the life of a house holder. Lata Mangeshkar's voice is so young & fresh ! The lyrics speak of joy,agony & the sadness of the singer who gets eclipsed completely by the homemaker !
Though its ironical, that Ravi Shankar was the muisc director for this movie. Ravi Shankar's first wife, Annapurna Devi stopped performing in public as Ravi Shankar was unable to accept that Annapurna Devi was much more talented than him.
This movie won the 8th National Film award for the best feature film in 1960 .It went on to be nominated for the Golden bear for the 11th Berlin International Film Festival in 1961.
If this movie was to be made today ,I am sure, it would have a very different ending .
If this movie was to be made today ,I am sure, it would have a very different ending .
