Released in 1960
Genre– Drama, Musical
10/10
Main Cast: Leela Naidu, Balraj Sahni
Story/Screenplay: Sachin Bhowmick, Rajinder Singh Bedi
Music– Pandit Ravi Shankar (Lyrics by Shailendra)
Direction– Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

Balraj Sahni and Leela Naidu in Anuradha (1960)

BRIEF INTRODUCTION The story revolves around a talented singer, played by Leela Naidu. First half of the film talks about Anuradha’s relationship with music and her marriage to Dr. Nirmal, played by Balraj Sahni. The second half deals with her isolation and her immense talent being wasted in fulfilling her duties as a homemaker. How Anuradha deals with this kind of life forms the rest of the story. Upon release, the film was nominated for numerous awards, winning the National Award (1960) in the Best Feature Film category.

THE THEME I feel very delighted and proud to write about this film. As early as the 60s when not even rarely, one thought about making films focusing on the individual life and struggles of a woman, Anuradha was released with such a strong woman-centric theme. And not just the theme, but the film also speaks about so many important roles that a woman plays, sacrificing her happiness, her interests, her talent, and that too without even coming to the limelight, sometimes as a mother, sometimes as a wife, sometimes as a sister, sometimes as a friend. Anuradha is not specifically about one woman, it is about every woman, who has given a large part of her life for the betterment of someone else’s life without even expecting any appreciation or acknowledgment for it. I dedicate this post to all the wonderful women in the world.

a scene from Anuradha (1960)

My reaction after watching the film I was both shocked and happy when the film ended, especially after watching the last part of the film, to know that there were people in the industry (mainstream) in that era who cared to make films on such important subjects. I want to thank Sachin Bhowmick and Hrishida, for making Anuradha and coming up with this theme in the early 60s.

Performances Leela Naidu, with her soft speech and confident expressions, very subtly conveys the message as Anuradha. Balraj Sahni, as always, played his part very naturally.

Music Renowned Sitar Player, Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar composed the music for Anuradha and this was another interesting reason for me to watch the film. There are very few films that feature music composed by him and Anuradha is one of them. My favorite song from the film is, “Haye Re Wo Din Kyun Na Aaye” wonderfully performed by my favourite Lataji. “सूनी मेरी वीणा, संगीत बिना, सपनों की माला मुरझाए…हाय रे वो दिन क्यों ना आए…Shailendra exactly knew how to put the situation into words.

Leela Naidu from a song sequence in Anuradha (1960)

P.S. The star of the film Leela Naidu was also Miss India-1954 and was hugely considered one of the most beautiful women in the world.