"Anand" is an Indian film that stars two of the very biggest Indian stars of all time, Rajesh Khanna (who plays the title character) and Amitabh Bachchan (Dr. Bannerjee). It's considered a classic and I appreciate how the film deals with death, as few films really address this in any meaningful way.

The movie begins with Dr. Bannerjee receiving an award for his book. However, while folks think the story is fiction, he addresses them about the story of his friend and patient, Anand. It seems that Anand was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he has no family nor friends*. Instead of being miserable, he is very vivacious and takes a very positive attitude. He's not in denial--he just wants to make the most of his time left. He also wants to leave something positive for those around him--and he decides, in particular, to help his new friend, Dr. Bannerjee.

What makes this film interesting is that through the course of the film, you notice that Anand is okay with death. After all, he can't avoid it. It's everyone around him (particularly Dr. Bannerjee) who cannot accept it. Plus, how many films REALLY address death and dying in a meaningful way? Certainly not many. This alone makes the film well worth seeing. However, a minor quibble I have is about the DVD producer. They didn't bother captioning ANY of the songs--so you really have no idea what Anand is singing about throughout the film! Jerks!

*First, it's interesting that a year ago, Khanna actually DID die from cancer. Second, the one problem I saw with the film was the notion of Anand coming to the big city because he had no family. However, he is SO likable and wonderful, you can't really expect that he wouldn't have TONS of friends where he lived--so why come to a new city?

"Anand" is the story of a man dying of cancer, specifically lymphosarcoma of the intestines. Not being of Indian background, and watching the movie without subtitles, I was astonished to hear the only two words I understood in the movie as 'lymphosarcoma intestine'. Though I'm sure I missed a lot of the nuance in the story, it's more than evident that the title character, portrayed by Rajesh Khanna, had a zest for life and imparted that attitude to everyone he came in contact with. While those who get to know him lament and cry over his condition, Anand imparts an attitude that's inspiring and life affirming in the face of his impending mortality. Not only that, but he helps Dr. Bhaskar K. Bannerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) learn about what's important in life as well, helping him to see beyond the day to day drudgery of attending patients who are sick or dying of illness due to poverty. Even with such a serious subject at the center of the story, the film manages to include four singing numbers and an interrupted dance sequence that appears to be a staple of Hindi films, including one performance by the title character himself. In Hindi, the word 'anand' means happiness, and the film stands as a testament to the virtue of maintaining a positive attitude in the face of adversity with a resolve to bring joy to others.

After winning a literature award a young doctor describes the inspiration for his book: Anand, a terminally-ill man who is determined to live life to the fullest. Anand's behaviour soon rubs off on the doctor.

A well-meaning film: its themes of dealing with death, living life to the fullest, staying positive and lifting other up have great merit and are well worth exploring.

However, the film never really makes the most of these foundations and meanders along. The character of Anand is often more annoying than uplifting. There are some good comedic moments but those would be the rare highlights.

Also, in terms of profoundness and poignancy, the humour and levity (or attempts at them) detract from these, making for a film that's neither fish nor fowl: too light-hearted to be taken seriously and too sombre a subject to laugh at.