Anari is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language comedy film  directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Motilal and Lalita Pawar. A poor young man gets employed by a rich man admiring his honesty. When he gets suspected in a lady’s murder case, he need to prove his innocence.

Raj Kumar is an honest, handsome, and intelligent young man. Working only as a sole trader  painter, he is unable to earn a living, including paying rent to his kind-hearted and talkative landlady, Mrs. D’sa (Lalita Pawar). One day, Raj finds a wallet containing money and returns the wallet, the businessman, Ramnath (Motilal) is impressed. He already knows that Raj will not accept charity, he offers him a job. Raj meets Ramnath’s maidservant Asha and they fall in love with each other. When Raj finds out that Asha is really Aarti, the niece of Ramnath. His landlady Mrs. D’sa dies suddenly consuming medicine manufactured by Ramnath. The police conduct a post-mortem and as a result, conclude that someone poisoned Mrs. D’sa. The police take Raj for questioning as the prime suspect, arrest him, and hold him in jail. Ramnath admits full responsibility for the tainted medicine, clearing Raj of the charges.

Film was Mukherjee’s effort as a director, and his first notable commercial success. Film is a black and white era timeless classic movie starring the exceptionally talented and beautiful Nutanji and the legend of Indian cinema Mr. Raj Kapoor. Melodious music and great lyrics.

Mrs. D’sa daily berates her boarder—an unemployed artist who regularly loses jobs because of his innocence and scrupulous honesty. She preparing his meals, secretly slipping coins into his empty pockets, and praying to Lord Jesus for his success. The characters’ reflections on the inter-communal mother-son relationship adds a nice note of social commentary and religious divisions in matters of the heart. She also offers him her late son’s coat. Her affection for him shines through her every action.

Lalita Pawar gets another ‘good’ role as the sharp-tongued, kind-hearted Christian landlady with a heart of gold, who looks on Raj as a surrogate son. She lifts her performance above the stereotype, the cliché, turning in a sincere, touching and summons a superb performance from veteran character actress. This was her film just as much as it was Raj Kapoor’s. 

Raj Kapoor was a better director than actor, and while he himself was more interested in crafting a film than in being before the camera. It is unfortunate that no one can look past his ‘tramp’ persona.

Nutan played Asha / Aarti, the young niece of the affluent Ramnath, and Rajkumar’s love interest, who pretends to be poor in order to win his love, only to lose it when the pretence shatters. She is as effective in her light hearted moments  as she is when dealing with the emotional  and dramatic scenes.

Motilal is good, as expected, as the loving uncle with grey shades to his character. It is his performance in the final reels, sinking into his character, that highlights just how subtle he was as a performer.

Film’s six musical numbers,  Ban ke pancchi (“forest bird”) introduces Arti’s carefree character as she and a group of girlfriends cycle through the scenic Western Ghats. Raj’s own establishing song, Kisi ki muskurahaton pe (“someone’s smiles”), which celebrates his altruism and empathy, is a catchy Shankar Jaikishan. Raj and Arti’s blossoming romance unfolds through two lovesongs set in gardens, Woh chand khila woh tare hanse (“that waxing moon, those smiling stars”) and Dil ki nazar se (“with the eyes of the heart”).  Raj’s discovery, at Arti’s lavish birthday party, of her true identity, occasions the song Sab kuch seekha humne (“I’ve learned everything, except how to be deceptive”), in which idealistic lyrics disguise a message of bitterness and betrayal. Arti’s pain at having to break with Raj occasions the anguished Tera jaana (“your leaving”).

Anari won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1959, and won Raj Kapoor a well-deserved Filmfare Best Actor award, Lalita Pawar won Filmfare’s Best Supporting Actress award, Shankar-Jaikishen, Shailendra and Mukesh walked away with their awards for Best Music, Best Lyrics, and Best Playback (Male) respectively.

Film critics had praised the screenplay and performances of lead actors in the film.

Photos courtesy Google. Excerpts taken from Google.