With all the glitz and glamour associated with 'Bollywood' those unfamiliar with the scope of Hindi cinema often don't realize that Bollywood also means quiet character driven drama. The fact remains though that many of the 'classics' of Bollywood fall into the categories of social or family drama. Not everything under this universes sun are, comedy, musical, and dancing around trees love stories. Although, even a Bollywood social drama will have a bit of comedy, a little music, and invariably someone dancing around trees, the primary focus is a strong dramatic intent utilizing sophisticated filmic storytelling.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's "Anupama" [1966] is one of these shining classics. If one were to look to other 'world cinemas' or film styles to attempt to classify "Anupama" one would have to look at, the films of Japanese film maker's Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi or the films of the Italian Neo-Realists, Antonioni and Luchino Visconti. Film makers who made cinema about interpersonal relationships and the universal human condition and stamped their works with their own personal touch.

"Anupama" is a stylish film about human interaction and the human condition. It is about the formative power on the human psyche of words and the emotional strength of words unspoken. It is about a fractured father/daughter relationship and a damaged girl struggling to find a voice amidst the wreckage of a catastrophic childhood. Hrishikesh Mukherjee's direction centers around filmic 'point of view' and a good portion of the first half of the film is composed or edited in a way as if seen through the eyes of the father and daughter characters. ("Anupama and 'point of view')

Jaywant Pathare's camera work in the film is superb and "Anupama" won the Filmfare (Indian Oscars) Best Cinematography award for 1966 beating out Fali Mistry's cinematography for "Guide" the same year. The 'look' of "Anupama" is stunning with much of the film shot in moody, dim, and atmospheric low key lighting.

To say that "Anupama" was an 'art' film would be correct but it was also Indian Popular Cinema a Bollywood film in the best sense of the word. It was one of the three films nominated for best film at the 1966 Filmfare Awards, where it lost out the top honor to Vijay Anand's "Guide".

Sharmila Tagore and Dharmendra give outstanding performances. Sharmila as the emotionally damaged girl speaks only a handful of word in the whole film and hers is virtually a silent performance. Dharmendra for his part plays a sensitive and soft-spoken writer/schoolteacher. He handles the role well and proves he an able actor in dramas. Tarun Bose plays the tortured father. Hemant Kumar composed the films music which produced three memorable classics, "Ya dil ki suno", "Bheegi bheegi faza" and the ethereal "Kuch Dil Ne Kaha".

The film though belongs to Hrishikesh Mukherjee's direction and the 'look' he imposes on the film. Mukherjee dedicated "Anupama" to his mentor Bimpal Roy and the 'atmosphere' of the film is reminiscent of that director's style. Roy was also a master of the 'point of view' shot and Mukherjee's heavy-handed use of this film technique as a key element in "Anupama" pays homage to Roy and blesses us with a Hindi film classic.

Links:

Dinesh Raheja's rediff.com article and synopsis of "Anupama"

 

Bollywood501 still capture galleries from "Anupama"

Sharmila Tagore - Dharmendra