Aandhi

Gulzar's most controversial film made. This film was released in 1975 during "The Emergency". Supposedly inspired from the life of India's late prime minister, Indira Gandhi. The film was stuck and also banned by political activists of Indira Gandhi's Party. Suchitra Sen gives a powerful performance as a housewife who marries a common hotel manager (Sanjeev Kumar)against her father's wish. She then joins Politics against her husbands wish. Sanjeev Kumar got the best actor award for this film. So did gulzar. The best scene in the movie and one of Indian Cinema's most touching scene is the scene picturised on the song " Tere Bina Zindagi se Koi..". This is a Classic movie. It is a must see. This movie was a hit when there

were 2 giant movies in competition.. "Deewar" and "Sholay".

What makes Aandhi a beautiful watch is the performances by the lead characters. It's a well made movie with beautiful songs, screenplay and direction. The movie revolves and rotates in the past and present giving equal focus of what happened and how things are the way they are.Beneath all the politics , ambition and career goals lies a part of us who crave for our relationship, loved ones. One aspect that I would have been happier with is the scenes with the political agendas. They can be cut down, at least some of them.

If not anything, every time I manage to catch a song or a glimpse from "Aandhi"on telly, it makes me stop doing everything and take notice. Every frame of "Aandhi" deserves the "Bible" for acting status. It is next to impossible to judge who was outdoing whom - Sanjeev Kumar or Suchitra Sen. Safe to say, both neatly complimented each other.

Amongst all the movies Gulzar held the reigns of direction "Aandhi" gets the top position. The narrative in the form of flashbacks keeps it crisp and the audience intrigued. I seriously doubt if "Aandhi" deserved the due recognition it deserved when it was released. I surely have read about the reference to Indira Gandhi's political career leading to the ban, but I wonder if fuelled the fire to speculation or worked against it I am not too sure. And another thing, political themes haven't worked quite well owing to the dry subject and the lack of succulence, however Gulzar manages to calibrate it to perfection for the audience without going over-board.

Gulzar/ Hari Bhai/ R D Burman was a winning combination every time they huddled up and "Aandhi" is no exception. Lyrics penned by Gulzar, mystical as usual were elevated to great heights by the music to R D Burman. The composition are still fresh as they were two decades ago.

Noteworthy is the couple's daughter "Munna" who is never shown in the audience and is restricted to a reference in big scheme of things, which in my opinion is the art of fine film-making.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" is reserved fiery delivery in the last frames by Suchitra. Sen. Noteworthy is the ending which cannot be more apt.

I knew next to nothing about Suchitra Sen. But I knew and loved her daughter, Raima. So that made me wonder about the recluse mother. I don't know how I found this movie, but somehow the name came to me and I rented it. What a find! Suchitra is irresistible as Aartidevi. Those luminous soulful eyes. That restrained but emotional performance. I was totally seduced. I don't often bond with old movies. I found Mughal-e-Azam beautiful because of Madhubala and the way she was presented. And I feel the same way about this movie. The startling thing is how close to the end of Suchitra's career this was. In one way, it makes sense, since she's bringing everything she's learned to this role. But on the other side, when do you get to see an Indian actress play this kind of role at that point in her life? All over the world, senior actresses are forced to retreat into the background while the juicy parts go to the younger women. But here Suchitra got an excellent part and did it full justice. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is irked by the discrimination against the senior actress. Suchitra shows what we are missing because of that.

Aandhi is a classic. A movie based on human emotions - and the struggle of two individuals who meet, fall in love and then drift apart only to meet again after many years. If my memory serves me well, I even believe that the female lead has elements of Indira Gandhi in her. A must-watch in order to understand Indian traditions and politics. Suchitra Sen is a rich politician's daughter who falls in love with a hotel manager, and marries him, against her father's wishes. They start a new life until Suchitra decides to follow her father and join politics, much against her husband's better judgement. The toils and troubles of a hectic political lifestyle results in their daughter's death and their divorce - leading them to pursue different directions in life for many odd years. Finally, the two meet again, after many years. A very sensitive movie - with well crafted lyrics and beautiful performances. I give it a 9.5 due to Sanjay Kumar's performance, the music and the trouble the movie had as it was released during the emergency.