The year 1975, renowned for its cinematic triumphs like ‘Sholay’ and ‘Jai Santoshi Maa,’ also witnessed the release of ‘Anari,’ a film considered by many to be director Asit Sen’s least successful venture. The movie stars Sharmila Tagore and Shashi Kapoor, a pairing that did not resonate with audiences, along with Moushumi Chatterjee, whose role feels disconnected from the rest of the narrative. The film’s disjointed structure and weak character development mark a significant departure from Sen’s other works, signaling what seemed to be a downward trajectory in his career. This decline is further reflected in later works such as ‘Maa Aur Mamta’ and ‘Bairaag,’ a film featuring Dilip Kumar.
‘Anari’ struggles due to its fragmented production, with apparent omissions in the screenplay. A glaring example of this is a scene where Sharmila Tagore’s character, Poonam, a woman seeking to escape her impoverished life, tells Kabir Bedi’s character, Vikram, a criminal, that she has met the hero Raja (Shashi Kapoor) who has rejected her. This scene is never shown. The central plot involves the innocent Raja becoming involved in a criminal scheme hatched by a charlatan (Utpal Dutt). He pretends to be the heir to a wealthy family. The patriarch of the family (Harindranath Chattopadhyay) is blind, enabling the fraud. This constitutes the film’s second and more convoluted section.
In the initial part of the film, Sharmila Tagore plays Poonam, a woman from a poor family seeking a better future. She hopes to improve her life through her relationship with Raja, which is understandable. However, Raja is burdened by family responsibilities after his brother (Kader Khan, unrecognizable) is killed due to his union activities. The screenplay is a mess, filled with aimless characters who seem to lack direction. Poonam, portrayed by Sharmila Tagore, is the most captivating character, attempting to escape her destiny. She offers Raja numerous chances to ‘save’ her, though the question arises of how he can do so when he is in need of rescue himself.
‘Anari’ could have provided a powerful commentary on the effects of poverty and financial instability. Instead, director Asit Sen appears to be hampered by limited resources and a narrative that doesn’t seem to value its characters. The actors seem to struggle with their roles, and some lines seem absurd. The role of Moushumi Chatterjee is particularly vague. The film’s music, composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, is also unusually poor, contrasting with their more successful soundtracks from the same year. Even the creative aspects of the film seem to have failed during the project.