★ 7 / 10
"All the worlds music is unique" ...
Spondonman
sings Mukesh in the lively and entrancing "1959" cabaret scene, but you'd never guess it if you only listen to Western pop music! This was not only Raj Kapoor…
sings Mukesh in the lively and entrancing "1959" cabaret scene, but you'd never guess it if you only listen to Western pop music! This was not only Raj Kapoor and Nutan at their peaks but also singers Lata and Mukesh too, in a typically moralising tale from RK with plenty of social instructions expertly delivered as pills in the jam.Whilst happily cycling and singing the catchy Ban Ke Panchhi lovely Nutan literally bumps into simple guy Raj - after many tribulations they eventually fall in love. Along the way he forms a son/mother relationship with his loud landlady Mrs D'Sa which is pivotal to the plot he's utterly traumatised when she dies, but still has more trouble to come. Great songs: the jaunty Kisi Ke Muskurahaton, the poetic duet Dil Ke Nazar Se and the astoundingly simple Woh Chand Khila in the "radiantly moonlit" garden Lata surpassed her usual high standard with that one!Overall, enjoyable as usual and with the usual RK messages that love is better than money and ingenuousness is better than being a man of the world it's always worth watching.
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★ 8 / 10
A kind, heartwarming classic
Peter_Young
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…
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.
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★ 9 / 10
Another nice Raj Kapoor movie
hypergurlgowri89
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…
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.
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