Loosely based on Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary', Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Anuradha' is relevant even in today's world. The sacrifices that woman make in order to create a home of their husband and children, giving up their job, their passion and independence, all for their family and to find happiness in them is not uncommon in today's society. Their contribution is often taken for granted and overlooked as happens with the title character Anuradha. With a promising career as a singer, Anuradha gives it all up for her husband and moves to a village where he can treat its poor dwellers. She is happy enough to sing only for him. Years go by and Dr. Nirmal is so occupied with work that he doesn't even have the time to listen to his wife sing one song. She continues to long for his affection and things take a drastic turn when an old flame shows up. Mukherjee has always succeeded in telling the story of the common folks and the viewer can easily relate to the characters and their struggles. Here it's no different. Balraj Sahni is first rate and beautiful Leela Naidu is very good.
There are a few melodramatic moments that break the pace but this is only a very minor flaw. The songs are pleasant and most of them fit in well. The camera does a decent enough job in capturing the simplicity and beauty of the scenes. Almost each frame of the film is photogenic. There's a certain quality and elegance that black and white brings to a film and here it highlights the scenes wonderfully.
'Anuradha' is ahead of its time especially with its feminist subject matter. It was considered a risky subject matter in cinema and cheers to Mukherjee for going ahead and doing what he believed in.
