overrated, yes, but this is still a good film... maybe even a great film... but one cannot escape the fact that a MUCH greater film could have been made. 'anand' is clearly based on legendary Japanese director akira kurosawa's classic 'ikiru', which is simply one of the greatest films ever made. it tells a real story, without singing, dancing and jokes, and confronts death directly, rather than dancing around the issue until the last 20 minutes.
'anand' simply misses the point. the first two-thirds of the film serve to introduce YET ANOTHER fast-talking, happy-go-lucky, smiling young man (a horribly clichéd and overused character, who must appear in just about every bollywood film) who is so annoying that you can't wait to see him die. this is the primary weakness of this film - you cannot stand the main character! at least in 'ikiru', we witness the transformation of a quiet, morose soul into a great man. but in this film, no such change occurs and no point is made. it's just about a guy who dies.
if you're going to make a movie about death, there should be at least a SOME discussion about it, not covering it up with songs and jokes. this is cheating the audience, who are watching to see a story about a certain theme and are instead tricked into yet another tearjerking bollywood melodrama. what was the point of trying to get bhaskar married? what was the point of anand joining a theatre group? these were wasted moments that could have been used to explore death, but of course, a mainstream Indian film will NEVER be so serious, so we're given what Indian audiences REALLY want: weddings, songs, cheap sentimentality and silly jokes.
however, the performances are quite good and the storyline, although a wasted opportunity, is still far away from the formula of most mainstream Hindi films. if you enjoyed the themes of this film, but want a deeper exploration, drop what you're doing right now and watch akira kurosawa's 'ikiru'.... no weddings, no jokes, no happy-go-lucky annoying guys running around, and only one unforgettable song....
'anand' simply misses the point. the first two-thirds of the film serve to introduce YET ANOTHER fast-talking, happy-go-lucky, smiling young man (a horribly clichéd and overused character, who must appear in just about every bollywood film) who is so annoying that you can't wait to see him die. this is the primary weakness of this film - you cannot stand the main character! at least in 'ikiru', we witness the transformation of a quiet, morose soul into a great man. but in this film, no such change occurs and no point is made. it's just about a guy who dies.
if you're going to make a movie about death, there should be at least a SOME discussion about it, not covering it up with songs and jokes. this is cheating the audience, who are watching to see a story about a certain theme and are instead tricked into yet another tearjerking bollywood melodrama. what was the point of trying to get bhaskar married? what was the point of anand joining a theatre group? these were wasted moments that could have been used to explore death, but of course, a mainstream Indian film will NEVER be so serious, so we're given what Indian audiences REALLY want: weddings, songs, cheap sentimentality and silly jokes.
however, the performances are quite good and the storyline, although a wasted opportunity, is still far away from the formula of most mainstream Hindi films. if you enjoyed the themes of this film, but want a deeper exploration, drop what you're doing right now and watch akira kurosawa's 'ikiru'.... no weddings, no jokes, no happy-go-lucky annoying guys running around, and only one unforgettable song....