Anari (1959)

1959
Directed by: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Music: Shankar-Jaikishen
Starring: Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Lalita Pawar, 
Motilal, Shubha Khote

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's career spanned four decades, and he is well-known for being part of the 'middle' cinema - a term that placed his, and his peers' films midway between the full-blown commercial song-and-dance extravaganzas and the 'parallel cinema' movement. His films were always about ordinary people leading ordinary lives, with ordinary problems that had ordinary solutions - though his films did not always have 'happy' endings, they were almost always the only realistic resolution that could be envisaged. 

He had made his debut as independent director with Musafir in 1957. Though it was not a commercial success, Raj Kapoor was impressed enough to offer Hrishida a chance to direct another film - Anari. In return, Hrishida crafted a simple morality tale, with some very against-the-stereotype characterisations. 

Rajkumar (Raj Kapoor) is an unemployed artist, who is regularly fired for being too  honest. He boards with Mrs D'sa (Lalita Pawar) who is fed up of his inability to pay her rent (he doesn't hold a job long enough to get  paid) and as regularly as he gets fired, threatens to evict him.

Her bark is worse than her bite though, and she not only feeds him, but also offers him her late son's coat - all the while scolding, scolding, scolding... Her affection for him shines through her every action, and Raj is as fond of her as she is of him.

On his way to (another) new job, he runs into a young girl (Nutan).

She persuades him to help her by claiming to be a poor working girl, but strangely enough, hails a taxi as soon as his back is turned. 

Raj, meanwhile, has reached the grandly-named New Taj Mahal Hotel, and is talking to its proprietor, Shah Jehan. Though a bit taken aback at seeing a small cafe, Raj is to be 'manager'; inspecting the food, he spots a dead cockroach in the dal and promptly (and loudly) informs the patrons, much to the restaurant owner's fury. Raj is thrown out of the hotel instead of the dal. Disheartened, he  returns to Mrs D'sa's house, planning to leave. The canny landlady, hearing his story makes up an excuse to give him some money.

On his way from buying paint supplies, Raj bumps into Aarti again. Upon his enquiring about her 'job', Aarti exchanges roles with her maid/companion Asha on the spur of the moment, pretending she is the companion. She also offers Raj an assignment - paint her memsahib.

The next morning, Raj promptly shows up at 'Asha's' mansion in order to paint a portrait of her malkin. The real Asha (Shubha Khote), not able to keep up the charade, escapes by picking a fight with Raj and insisting that he paint 'Asha's' portrait instead. She even gives him the Rs1000 that Aarti/Asha had promised him as remuneration. Already charmed by his simplicity, Aarti is taken aback when, believing her story of an ailing mother, Raj gives her the Rs1000.

Having done his good deed for the day, Raj takes leave of 'Asha', promising to come the next day. He makes his jaunty way home, the happiness of having helped someone less fortunate lasting until he reaches home - and Mrs D'sa.

On his way to buy dinner, he is knocked down by a rich man; the latter insinuates that Raj had deliberately jumped in front of the car. Raj, however, only wants his athanni back. Amused, the man gets into the car and drives away, unknowingly dropping his wallet.

When Raj returns the wallet, the businessman, Ramnath (Motilal) is impressed. He already knows that Raj will not accept charity; this time, he offers him a job.

Raj joins Ramnath's firm the next day, and his employer is pleased with his sincerity.

Asha, meanwhile, is falling more and more in love with Raj. Much to her frustration, however, Raj does not seem to understand her subtle hints. She is miffed enough to pay him back in his own coin.

Soon, however, Raj is bringing Asha to meet Mrs D'sa, an ordeal that Asha is not quite prepared for. Day by day, their attraction deepens, until neither can do without the other. Raj's world will soon fall apart, however, when he realises that 'Asha' is, in reality, Aarti, his employer's cherished niece.

The clouds are gathering. A 'flu epidemic has struck the country. Ramnath and his cronies, partners in a pharmaceutical firm, are looking to maximise their profits, wilfully suppressing the news that a box of spurious asthma medication has gone astray and has been mixed up with the 'flu vaccine.

Having risen from poverty himself, and having lost his brother and sister-in-law to poverty, Ramnath worships wealth. Learning of his niece's love for his clerk, he coerces her to break up with Rajkumar.

When his beloved mother-figure falls ill, is given the contaminated medicine, and dies, Rajkumar is arrested for her murder. It seems like he had both motive and opportunity. Mrs D'sa had made a will leaving him all her possessions. It is Raj who brings her the medicine that causes her death. Will he ever prove his innocence? Will Ramnath and his cronies be punished for their crimes? How far will Ramnath go to win? What about Aarti?

Anari won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1959, and won Raj Kapoor a well-deserved (Filmfare) Best Actor award; Lalita Pawar won Filmfare's Best Supporting Actress award, while Shankar-Jaikishen, Shailendra and Mukesh walked away with their awards for Best Music, Best Lyrics, and Best Playback (Male) respectively.

While he was a better director than actor, and while he himself was more interested in crafting a film than in being before the camera, Raj Kapoor's histrionics have been painfully under-rated. It is unfortunate that no one can look past his 'tramp' persona. It is perhaps even more unfortunate that he allowed that to happen. Watch him in the scene where he breaks down because Mrs D'sa believes him a thief, or in Sab kuch seekha humne, where he hides his bitterness at what he sees as Aarti's betrayal.

Nutan played Asha / Aarti, the young niece of the affluent Ramnath, and Rajkumar's love interest, who pretends to be poor in order to win his love, only to lose it when the pretence shatters. She is as effective in her light-hearted moments as she is when dealing with the emotional and dramatic scenes.

Motilal is good, as expected, as the loving uncle with grey shades to his character. It is his performance in the final reels, sinking into his character, that highlights just how subtle he was as a performer.

Lalita Pawar gets another 'good' role as the tart-tongued, kind-hearted Christian landlady, who looks on Raj as a surrogate son. She lifts her performance above the stereotype, the cliché, turning in a sincere, touching and understated performance. This was her film just as much as it was Raj Kapoor's. 

Anari, while not from the RK banner, had the entire RK team, including music directors Shankar-Jaikishen and lyricists Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra. S-J tuned six melodious numbers, each one of them helping to move the plot forward.

Hrishida, with a firm hand on the histrionics, toned down the entire pitch of the movie, keeping the narrative low-key, even as the story moved down a path of conflict between crass commercial interests and social responsibility, and the ending was happy - with reservations.