''Anuradha'' ( hi, अनुराधा; en, Love of Anuradha) is a 1960 Hindi-language film produced and directed by

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his ca ...

. The film stars

Balraj Sahni Brigadier Balraj (born Balasegaram Kandiah) was a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Early life Balraj was the fifth and youngest child of Kandiah and Kannagias. He received his primary education in Kokkuthoduwaai ...

and

Leela Naidu Leela Naidu (1940 – 28 July 2009) was an Indian actress who starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including '' Yeh Raste Hain Pyar Ke'' (1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and '' The Householder'', Merchant Ivory Pr ...

in lead roles along with Asit Sen and

Mukri Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films. Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran, in Kokani Muslim Family. He started his film career with th ...

. The film is noted for being Miss India Naidu's debut film. The film's music was composed by

Pandit Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

, in one of his rare forays into

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. The film was based on a short story written by

Sachin Bhowmick Sachin Bhowmick (17 July 1930 – 12 April 2011) was an Indian Hindi film writer and director. Writing was his main work and he wrote stories or screenplays for over 94 films. He is best remembered for directing the light romantic black c ...

, first published in the Bengali monthly magazine ''Desh'', and according to his autobiography, he was inspired by ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...

'', an 1857 novel by

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

, to create this story. The film went on to win the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...

and was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

11th Berlin International Film Festival The 11th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1961. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian film ''La notte'' directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Jury The following people were announced as being on the j ...

in 1961.

Plot

Anuradha Roy (

), a noted radio singer, dancer and daughter of a rich man, falls in love with an idealistic doctor, Dr. Nirmal Chowdhary (

). She decides to marry him against her father's will. Nirmal, whose mother died of illness, has decided to serve the poor in the distant village of Nandagaon. He asks Anuradha to not follow the hardships his life has, but to live the life her father plans. But she still insists to follow her love. She rejects the wedding proposal set by her father with the London-returned Deepak (

Abhi Bhattacharya Abhi Bhattacharya (20 November 1921 – 11 August 1993) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Bengali cinema, who is most remembered for his roles in films of the 1950s and the 1960s, such as '' Yatrik'' (1952), '' Jagriti'' (1954), '' Anuradha'' ...

). Deepak wishes her well, and promises to help her in future if she ever needs any. After the marriage and a daughter, Anuradha realizes the gravity of the choice of living in a village. Taking care of the family, doing all household chores, she quits singing, the singing that once was her life. One day, after many years, her father visits her family and reconciles. Seeing her poor condition, he then asks them to come and stay in the city with him. But, due to his patients, Nirmal rejects the offer and promises to move after some time. Deepak, while travelling with his girlfriend meets with a car accident and is hence rushed to Dr. Nirmal. Nirmal does successful

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

on his girlfriend. Deepak gets to stay with Anuradha for a few days and realizes her hardships. He requests her to leave Nirmal and move to the city and pursue her passion for music. It is then that she has to decide between her love for her husband and music. The clinching moment is when Dr. Nirmal concedes to her desire to leave him and restart her life in the city. At this point she asks him: "Can't you ask him to go away? And never come back again?", indicating that she has no plans to leave him (her husband).

Cast

as Dr. Nirmal Chaudhary *

as Anuradha Roy * Ranu *

as Deepak *

Nazir Hussain Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and acted in almost 500 films. Dev Anand starred in a large proportion of the films he acted i ...

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* Hari Shivdasani as Brijeshwar Prasad Roy * Asit Sen as Zamindar * Mukri as Atmaram

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

: President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film ;

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

: Nomination

Soundtrack

The film music department had a rare combination,

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

maestro

, with lyricist Shailendra. * "Jaane Kaise Sapno Main" -

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

* "Sanware Sanware Kahe Mose" - Lata Mangeshkar * "Kaise Din Beete, Kaise Beeti Ratiyan" - Lata Mangeshkar * "Bahut Din Huye" -

Mahendra Kapoor Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as ''Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono'' ( Gumrah) and ''Neele Gag ...

* "Hai Re Woh Din Kyon Na Aaye" - Lata Mangeshkar Songs of Anuradha 1960

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anuradha 1960 films 1960s Hindi-language films 1960 drama films Indian black-and-white films Films based on Madame Bovary Films directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee Best Feature Film National Film Award winners Films scored by Ravi Shankar