Anupama

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's socio-realist romance Anupama is a brilliant film about a young girl who is lost within her own world, and about relationships between people from different social strata. Sharmila Tagore plays Uma, a young woman whose mother died at her birth. As a result, Uma has lived all her life with guilt, more so in view of her father's continuous reproach; the man has never really stopped blaming his daughter for the loss of his beloved wife. Uma grows to be a shy and greatly introverted girl, who remains silient most of the time. The story follows Uma's coming of age as a person mostly due to her relationship with a struggling poet named Ashok (Dharmendra), who falls instantly in love with her inner beauty. Their interactions happen while several other characters from their lives carry the narrative forward.

A poignant film portrayed beautifully and realistically, it is a subtle yet powerful episode made with heart and sincerity. Mukherjee's excellent direction is aided by fantastic cinematography, very pleasant music, and above all, brilliant dialogue which enhances the otherwise serene narrative and helps define the characters. Although some may find the film a tad slow, I found the pacing perfectly balanced. I was engaged by its exquisite authenticity, and its humanistic warmth filled me with positivity. Its graceful simplicity just draws you in. Wavering between slice-of-life social drama and delicate romance, Anupama offers a profound exploration of the human experience and an affecting glimpse into the fragility of relationships. Equally significant is its incisive commentary on the societal norms, gaps, and circumstances of its time.

The film has a great collaborative effort by the ensemble cast. Sharmila Tagore delivers a beautifully restrained performance, and Dharmendra is fantastic as the sensitive poet Ashok. Shashikala is extremely likable and funny and makes her presence felt as the vivacious Anita. Ditto for Deven Verma who plays Arun. David provides great comic relief as Uma's father's kind and humourous friend and his stories throughout the film are hilarious. Tarun Bose is excellent as Uma's father Mohan, and the ever great Durga Khote as Ashok's mother, as well as Naina as his lovely sister, provide great support. The story ends on a staggeringly revelatory and moving note. All in all, I highly recommend this classic to people who like artistic quality films. It might require patience, but it's highly rewarding.

Besides being a very watchable film, it is a must-have for all serious students of Hindi cinema. The film is dedicated to Bimal Roy (practically the entire crew is comprised of people who worked for Roy) and in this film, Hrishikesh Mukherji's narrative style is clearly reminiscent of Roy's style. Hemant Kumar's music from this film is practically legendary, as are Kaifi Azmi's lyrics. The film has a few flaws -- it starts and ends beautifully, but could have been tightened up around the middle. The lead duo, Sharmila and Dharmendra, are adequately good, but it's the support cast that really carries the film. The director spends time working on the relationships between the cast - Deven Varma and Shashikala, despite (or because of) the latter's slightly annoying excess, have surprisingly good chemistry, and David, doing his classic overgrown bachelor is dependably great. The film is stolen though by Tarun Bose, who plays the lead character's troubled father to perfection.

The thing that strikes out about the film is how well it comes together as a whole -- the cinematography, screenplay, the music, the editing and the acting. To the credit of Mukherjee and Roy alike, the film epitomizes the Black & White class drama that so strongly influenced Indian popular cinema in the post-independence era. I cannot recommend the film enough.

A heartbreaking tear-jerker that explores life and death through the eyes of a young woman who has lived as a burden to her estranged father. Both, Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore establish their signature acting in this movie.

Anupama always do overacting. I didn't like the series.

I believe that calling this movie a tear-jerker does not do justice to it -- this is world class cinema at its finest that sensitively portrays a range of human emotions. Certainly the interaction between father and daughter towards the end comprise the most poignant scenes in this movie, and they have been both written and picturized in a manner that is deeply touching.

Although the movie takes its own time to develop the characters thoroughly and although you wouldn't expect anything less from Hrishikesh Mukherjee in that regard, I did feel that the movie could have been shortened a little bit. Also, Shashikala's role seemed a little exaggerated.

In general, the movie is a gem and I wish viewers all over the world could be introduced to such Hindi classics for a true appreciation of the range of "Bollywood" movies over the years.