Movie Review - Anupama

Dil ki tasalli ke liye, jhooti chamak jhootha nikhar
Jeevan to soona he raha, sab samjhe aayi hai bahaar
Kaliyon se koi poochta, hansti hain woh ya roti hain
Aisi bhi baatein hoti hai

This movie gives me goosebumps every time i see it. I keep wondering if only they made movies like this. ‘Anupama’, a Hindi word, means incomparable, and by extension also means ‘beautiful’. The movie fits the description. The movie has handful of characters and all of them are well etched - a rarity in Hindi films. Like most of his movies, Hrishikesh Mukherjee keeps the film believable, relatable and earthy, at the same time subtle (again a rarity in Hindi films), with deep character study, and nuanced. He is one director who believed in simply telling a story - in its purest form, without superficiality. There is never a large agenda, just telling about everyday people with their emotional turmoil. While there are always subtexts, none of his films ever get preachy. Anupama is about complex human relations, human pain and the journey which each character makes - communicated in a gentle tone. Another word I feel applies to his movies is frugal. There is never a scene out of place, a shot without meaning.

Anupama’s central character is Uma - played by Sharmila Tagore, in one of her earliest Hindi movies. Uma’s mother dies while delivering her, something which leaves her father Mohan (Tapan Bose) heart-broken. Mohan had married late and loved his wife Aruna deeply. Aruna is a beautiful, doting wife and their love is epitomised by the song Dheere Dheere Machal. This exemplifies Mohan’s misery when Aruna dies. He holds the new-born Uma responsible refusing to see or talk to her. His initial behaviour is justified in a brutally selfish way - his love for Uma’s mother has to be more than that for Uma -  who has just entered his life. He throws himself into work and alcohol. Only in drunken state is he able to get over his misplaced anger and accept Uma, showering gifts on her. But when he is sober, his mind takes over and he cannot see Uma beyond Aruna. And he is not able to let go of this thought - a typical human condition of holding on to a belief even when deep inside we may know that it is wrong, only out of fear of accepting one’s mistake (to oneself), or a perverse insistence to be consistent. The scene when he kisses her when she is pretending to be asleep and how she cries after this captures the fractured father-daughter relationship. Father loves her but is a prisoner to his hatred. The daughter yearns for his love and acceptance. She carries the guilt that she is responsible for her mother’s death and thus Mohan’s misery. Thus she has repressed herself. She grows into an extremely shy and timid girl, morbidly afraid of speaking to anybody. In fact Uma’s extreme introversion infuriates and embarrasses her father. Possibly, it is a justification that he gives to himself to continue to suppress his paternal love.

In this scenario enter Anita (Shashikala), Arun (Deven Verma) and Ashok (Dharmendra). Anita is daughter of Mr. Bakshi, a friend of Mohan. Arun is son of another deceased friend of Mohan and Mr. Bakshi. Ashok’s is Arun’s friend. The characters of the two central pairs is starkly opposite. Anita is vivacious, bubbly, determined and confident, while Uma is diffident, shy, deeply introspective. Arun is foreign educated, carefree, and happy-go-lucky. But Ashok is moody and thoughtful like a poet/writer/professor that he is. He has modest means and responsibility of mother and sister, but still is uncompromising on his beliefs and ideals. His hardships have made him more certain while Arun’s comforts have made him feeble. But still these characters have their virtues. Anita and Arun are guileless, warm-hearted, carefree about social statures, and welcoming to all despite their material superiority (actually a bit jarringly too good). And Arun, despite his difficult circumstances, is optimistic and content. At no point does he complain about his lot or critical of the wealthy. He mixes with them with confidence, exuding from his wisdom. In a way he is the ideal socialist.

As far as the appearance is concerned, both the lead pairs look strikingly beautiful. It is rare to find a movie where all the leads look so beautiful and have acted so naturally. Sharmila emotes with her eyes as her character is required to. Dharmendra looks gorgeous yet believable as a person of humble means. It is saddening that he is known more for his Gharam-Dharam image rather than such memorable roles where his acting stands tall. He has pitched the character perfectly evading the risk of sounding preachy - a Dev Anand might have made it caricaturish while a Dileep Kumar might have made it weepy and pitiable. Shashikala looks serene. Her character along with Uma’s matures as the movie progresses and she carries it well. And those who remember Deven Verma only for Angoor or Andaz Apna Apna would not believe how boyishly handsome he was - I wonder why he and Shashikala did not get/do more movies during their time.

Arun gets introduced to Uma while she is singing Kuch Dil ne Kaha. Let me stop here to discuss the songs of the film. The music is by Hemant Kumar and expectedly, it is other-worldly. I have not heard any other music-director give the sounds which he has. It is melodious, soft, smooth, rich, simple, minimal. One hardly hears any instrument - it is just music which one can hum, and roll around. And these are the qualities that one find in most of his movies - Khamoshi, Bees Saal Baad, Kohraa, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. Here, Dheere dheere machal is a typical Hemant Kumar song and Kuch Dil ne Kaha takes these qualities to another level. Lata Mangeshkar has almost sung it in whispers (the perfect blend of music, lyrics, voice, acting and cinematography created the freshness and inner feelings which it meant to). Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics show the poet’s superior understanding of the world and characters. The line ‘Kuch dil ne kaha, kuch bhi nahi, aisi bhi baatein hoti hai’ shows the central character’s dilemma who wants to say a lot but nothing. She wants to be understood without having to express.  

Or the song Arun sings ‘Ya dil ki suno duniyawalon ya mujhko abhi chup rehne do, main gham ko khushi kaise keh doon..’ shows the poet’s angst with the materialistic, pretentious world. The song represents Arun’s character - he is truthful but finds that truth has limited value in the world around him. Cinematically also, this song is presented amazingly - during the entire song, all characters are absolutely still. It takes skill for the actor to carry on a song by remaining still, emoting just with eyes, face and slight movements. And there are breezy Asha Bhosale numbers on Shashikala (Bheegi bheegi fazaa and Kyun mujhe itni khushi de di)- songs of unadulterated joy and sung as such.

Anupama has a rarity in the tradition of party-songs in Bollywood movies. Two songs are sung during Anita’s birthday - the ecstatic Kyun mujhe itni khushi de di sung by Anita followed by the melancholic Ya dil ki suno by Ashok (He warns beforehand that this will out of mood for the party, saying “main shayar hoon khoon pasine aur aansson ka”). This sequence  marks the shift in the movie - while Anita is proclaiming her lucky life, Arun is unraveling Uma’s misery and explaining how poor stay happy and how rich may be unhappy. He says to Uma “Insaan to zindagi main har cheez thodi mil jaati hai” not as an apology but as a fact. And when he sings Ya dil ke suno, Anita is standing in dark, introspecting, transformed, matured.

The relationship between Uma and Ashok develops beautifully - a maturity which is rare in Bollywood movies. Ashok is drawn to her because of her mystery, but starts loving her because she is emotional, thoughtful and caring. Their first exchange of love is a planted flower which Uma has left at Ashok’s house - Ashok face glows when he sees it. Uma is overwhelmed at being understood - for the first time somebody has penetrated her wall of silence. She opens up in the company of Ashok’s mother (reliable Durga Khote) because she finds the mother she never had. With Ashok, his mother and sister, she feels no pressure. They do not force her to speak. And they do not judge her or misunderstand her. They see her simplicity and innocense and care for her.

Gradually Ashok empowers Uma and she feels his contentment. He says “Bhagwaan par dosh mat lagaiye, yeh hum aap he hain jo apne liye dukh paida kar lete hain..” The major transformation happens when Ashok writes a book Anupama, basing the central character on Uma. He talks to Uma about Anupama - “Rukaweatein bahar nahi, uske mann main hain…”. All throughout we see transformation in Uma’s character - she is speaking more, expressing her feelings, desires. Ashok remarks “Icha bahut sundar hai, icha hi zindagi hai”. Ashok wants Uma to come out of her father’s shadow, something which sheis not able to. In another classic scene, he call her and says “Aap humko apna samjhe hamare ghar ko apna samjhe, aapka hum par poora adhikaar hai… yaad rahegi na yeh baat”. And Uma bursts crying on hearing such explicit utterance of love and care. She is being forced to marry someone else. Anita wants Ashok to be assertive, but he wants Uma to overcome the barrier herself. It is another maturity in the movie. Ashok says he does not want to cripple Uma by forcing his opinions on her like her father has done. Just like scores of parents do to their children (such bold and futuristic thoughts in 1966!!) He respects an individual’s freedom and choice. Ashok would not be able to love Uma if he has to emancipate her, he wants her to be bold to take the leap. Anita presents a contrasting view saying that there are people who need help and prodding. She sees life in action not thought. To each his own.

But Ashok has prodded Uma subtly - through his book Anupama, which brings her out of her cocoon. She reads the last line “Main jaungi, main jaungi..” and it overwhelms her. There is a serene scene here - after reading the book through the night, Uma switches off the night lamp and goes to the window and pulls the curtain. Bright sunlight pours in through a giant tree (mirroring a line from the book) and Uma basks in it. She has a bold look on her face. This scene portrays the development of her character which has moved out of the shadow of her father, of her doubt and guilt, and into the brightness of her freedom. The music builds gently to its peak as the curtains are pulled. This scene gives me goosebumps every time I see it.  

Finally she stands up to her father and bids him farewell to join Ashok. She turns the issue of her mother’s death around saying “Bless me because I am going to create the same place in someone’s heart as my mother made in yours”. And Mohan lets him go. Mohan’s tears are his redemption as he watches Uma leave with Ashok, hidden behind a pillar. Both Mohan and Uma are free from a web which they had created around themselves.  

The movie scores well on all fronts - solid storyline, script, well-etched characters (even smaller ones like Uncle Moses and Sarla have important presence), great music, and direction. Dialogues by Rajinder Singh Bedi and David (who also plays Uncle Moses) are pitch perfect and cinematography by Jaywant Pathare is stunning.