Featuring: Shivraj Kumar, Sudharani, Bharati, Rajesh, Tara and others.
Directed by: Singeetam Sreenivasa Rao
Renowned Telugu director Mr.Rao brings to us the fresh face of Shivraj Kumar in ‘Anand’. The movie that is said to have begun the roots of his ‘Hat Trick Hero’ tag name. It is not hard to notice the shaky camera conscious performances of these first timers in the feature but regardless this debut vehicle of Shivraj is worth a dekko.
Anand (Shivraj) is a poor young college going lad who lives with his mother Kamala (Bharati) who is a nurse. He is revered by some in the college as a valiant and just individual. Nothing unusual so far considering this is how most ‘My-Daddy-Is-A-Big-Star’ off springs tend to debut. His nemesis is Shreekanth (I do not know his name) who is the son of a rich business tycoon Raja Chandrashekar (Rajesh) and is green with jealousy as he is unable to gather the affections of Mala (Sudharani). He plots various cliché confrontations with Anand to get ahead of him but sadly is left aching in both emotional and sometimes physical anguish.
While things are simmering with these scenarios we see a breakthrough when Raja Chandrashekhar arrives one day at Anand’s house fuming with rage. He warns Anand of dire consequences if he does not leave Shreekanth alone. As he is about to leave he meets Kamala and is sweating on his brow. Little wonder then, that we soon are enlightened that Anand dear is a not-so-dear illegitimate off spring of Mr. Big Shot’s days of ‘experimentation’ with Kamala. Anand vows to avenge this by claiming that he would make his father call him his own one day.
Sub plots emerge with Chandrashekar running for the local elections and is abducted by opponents (in a rather subtle way really) to ensure he does not register himself for the contest. This news spreads like wildfire and Anand is convicted for this crime. Does Anand put aside the indifference shown by the old man and save him? Will Chandrashekar accept this new-found son of his? Or is Anand truly a part of this kidnap drama? This is the part you will have to see the feature to find out.
Performances belong to Shivraj all the way. If you look past the lack of emotional options in his ‘Bank of Acting’ he actually pulls off a decent one. I look at his performances in features like ‘Om’ and use that as a case study for his career. But it was ‘Anand’ that started it all. We also notice how he was super agile physically and could manage the most realistic of stunts back then. He excels in a chase sequence where he hops from one terrace to another with a lot of ease. Sudharani is adequate as the other new-found-face of the lot. She acts with a charismatic innocence that provides her character with a lot of unintentional authenticity. Other seasoned veterans are used to ensure a decent run of this not-so-unusual plot with Bharati, Rajesh and the ever-cheerful-for-no-apparent-reason Chi. Udayshanker doing their bits with perfection. A young Tara also chips in a very confident performance in her stereotypical role. Others manage the cast of this feature pretty confidently.
Humor is used well in parts of the movie and gels in well with the storyline. Editing is crisp and keeps the goings on consistent. Music is pleasing to the ears although I have never been a fan of S.P.Bala’s English-Usage-In-Songs. A few popular numbers like “Tuvvi Tuvvi…” stand out of the lot.
Overall, ‘Anand’ is a well made movie with a consistent pattern in performances and the script. It was refreshing to see the not-so-polished first timers in Shivraj and Sudharani in their young romantics’ roles. If we applaud them for their roles today then we need to acknowledge their beginnings as well.
Anand (Shivraj) is a poor young college going lad who lives with his mother Kamala (Bharati) who is a nurse. He is revered by some in the college as a valiant and just individual. Nothing unusual so far considering this is how most ‘My-Daddy-Is-A-Big-Star’ off springs tend to debut. His nemesis is Shreekanth (I do not know his name) who is the son of a rich business tycoon Raja Chandrashekar (Rajesh) and is green with jealousy as he is unable to gather the affections of Mala (Sudharani). He plots various cliché confrontations with Anand to get ahead of him but sadly is left aching in both emotional and sometimes physical anguish.
While things are simmering with these scenarios we see a breakthrough when Raja Chandrashekhar arrives one day at Anand’s house fuming with rage. He warns Anand of dire consequences if he does not leave Shreekanth alone. As he is about to leave he meets Kamala and is sweating on his brow. Little wonder then, that we soon are enlightened that Anand dear is a not-so-dear illegitimate off spring of Mr. Big Shot’s days of ‘experimentation’ with Kamala. Anand vows to avenge this by claiming that he would make his father call him his own one day.
Sub plots emerge with Chandrashekar running for the local elections and is abducted by opponents (in a rather subtle way really) to ensure he does not register himself for the contest. This news spreads like wildfire and Anand is convicted for this crime. Does Anand put aside the indifference shown by the old man and save him? Will Chandrashekar accept this new-found son of his? Or is Anand truly a part of this kidnap drama? This is the part you will have to see the feature to find out.
Performances belong to Shivraj all the way. If you look past the lack of emotional options in his ‘Bank of Acting’ he actually pulls off a decent one. I look at his performances in features like ‘Om’ and use that as a case study for his career. But it was ‘Anand’ that started it all. We also notice how he was super agile physically and could manage the most realistic of stunts back then. He excels in a chase sequence where he hops from one terrace to another with a lot of ease. Sudharani is adequate as the other new-found-face of the lot. She acts with a charismatic innocence that provides her character with a lot of unintentional authenticity. Other seasoned veterans are used to ensure a decent run of this not-so-unusual plot with Bharati, Rajesh and the ever-cheerful-for-no-apparent-reason Chi. Udayshanker doing their bits with perfection. A young Tara also chips in a very confident performance in her stereotypical role. Others manage the cast of this feature pretty confidently.
Humor is used well in parts of the movie and gels in well with the storyline. Editing is crisp and keeps the goings on consistent. Music is pleasing to the ears although I have never been a fan of S.P.Bala’s English-Usage-In-Songs. A few popular numbers like “Tuvvi Tuvvi…” stand out of the lot.
Overall, ‘Anand’ is a well made movie with a consistent pattern in performances and the script. It was refreshing to see the not-so-polished first timers in Shivraj and Sudharani in their young romantics’ roles. If we applaud them for their roles today then we need to acknowledge their beginnings as well.
