Hrishikesh Mukherjees best films

Hrishikesh Mukherjee started his career in the film world as an editor. He was editor and assistant director to another Bengali great, Bimal Roy, and edited Roy’s films like Do Bigha Zamin (1953), Devdas (1955) and Madhumati (1958). He’s also edited films like Gunga Jumna (1961) and Coolie (1983), among others. Malayalam language films like Chemmeen (1965) and Nellu (1974) have also been edited by him. He branched out as an independent director with the episodic film Musafir (1957). Commercial success followed with films like Anari (1959) and Asli Naqli (1961). But it was with Anupama (1964) which depicted the filial bond between a father and a daughter, that he began to be counted as a director who could successfully marry art and commercial cinema. He went on to make seminal films like Aashirwad (1968), Satyakam (1969), Guddi (1971), Anand (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Abhimaan (1973), Namak Haraam (1973), Mili (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), Gol Maal (1979), Khubsoorat (1980) and many more. His films were set in middle-class India and were populated with characters who battled emotional crises. The masses were able to relate to his heart-touching stories and characters and that’s why his films are fondly watched even today. Here’s taking a look at some of his best films as a director over the years. 

Mohan Sharma (Tarun Bose), a successful businessman, is happily married to Aruna (Surekha Pandit), who unfortunately dies while giving birth to their daughter. Distraught, Mohan Sharma becomes an alcoholic and can’t bear to see his daughter’s face. Uma (Sharmila Tagore) is brought up by servants and while she’s beautiful and intelligent, she’s highly introverted and in her heart blames herself for her mother’s death. She begins to love Ashok (Dharmendra) but agrees to marry another man when she learns her father doesn’t like him. Love, however, has changed her and noticing the change, her father finally comes to his senses and lets her lead her own life.

Aashirwad (1968)

Cast: Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Sumita Sanyal

Jogi Thakur (Ashok Kumar) leaves home when he finds out that his wife had ordered the houses of the poor be razed. Later, he kills a man who was trying to rape a girl. He gives himself up and is given a life sentence. Some years later, he’s shown to be friends with the prison doctor (Sanjeev Kumar. He’s happy to learn that his daughter is to be married to the doctor but hides his identity when he comes to know she hates criminals. He’s released on the day of her wedding, and watches it from afar, giving her his final blessings before succumbing to a heart attack. Ashok Kumar was praised for his sublime acting and won both the National Award and the Filmfare Award for his performance. 

Satyakam (1969)

Cast: Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore

The film revolves around Satyapriya (Dharmendra) and his experiments with absolute truth. He fails to save Sharmila Tagore’s character from being raped by his employer and is a fit of guilt, marries her. And this guilt never leaves him but goads him to pursue truth at any cost — be it the loss of employment, property or even life. Tears fly when Sharmila accepts her dead husband’s harsh way of life and tells her son that he can’t light his father’s pyre as he biologically wasn’t sired by him. Yes, truth has prevailed — but can the child handle the truth?

Anand (1971)

Cast: Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan

Anand was a paean about friendship, about facing life stoically and laughing even at death’s threshold. The film was dedicated to Raj Kapoor and Hrishida allegedly wrote the film as a testimony to his friendship with Kapoor. Rajesh Khanna breezed through the title role of an extroverted cancer patient who faces the terminal stage of his disease with laughter on his face and sees death as another adventure. He lives several lifetimes in his last few months and teaches others, especially his caring doctor  Bhaskar Bannerjee aka Babumoshoi, to loosen up and enjoy life more. Bachchan’s reserved, restrained performance was the perfect foil to Khanna’s exuberance. The film doesn’t fail to put tear faucets into overdrive with every rerun.

Guddi (1971)

Cast: Dharmendra, Jaya Bhaduri

Though she has acted in Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar (1963) in a supporting role, Guddi is Jaya Bhaduri’s debut film as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. She played a schoolgirl obsessed with the actor, Dharmendra, in the film. She’s so much into him that she even refuses to marry the man intended for her, saying she can’t love another as she’s totally in love with the actor. Her uncle (Utpal Dutt) meets with Dharmendra and asks her to help out in the situation. The actor has to play out a different role for the girl to realise the difference between the reel and real life. It was a power-packed performance by the youngsters and she came to rule the hearts and minds of the audience as the good girl. 

Bawarchi (1972)

Cast: Rajesh Khanna, Jaya Badhuri, Asrani, A.K. Hangal, Usha Kiran and Durga Khote

The film revolves around the dynamics of the dysfunctional Sharma family, comprising Daduji (Harindranath Chattopadhyay), his sons Ramnath Sharma (AK Hangal) and Kashi (Kali Bannerjee), their respective wives Seeta Sharma (Durga Khote) and Shobha Sharma (Usha Kiran), another son Vishwanath Sharma (Asrani), and granddaughters Meeta (Manisha) and Krishna (Jaya Bhaduri). Servants tend to run away from their family every six months because the members are always quarrelling. Raghu (Rajesh Khanna) their latest cook soon starts noticing their quirks and starts placating them one by one, winning their trust in the process. There’s harmony in the house and the brothers start interacting with each other. Raghu turns out to be a Good Samaritan in disguise whose mission in life is to bring peace and happiness to families who are in dire need of it.  

Namak Haram (1973)

Cast: Rajesh Khanna, Rekha, Amitabh Bachchan

This film was the beginning of the end of Rajesh Khanna’s reign. He played a man who infiltrates the trade union in order to avenge the humiliation faced by his industrialist pal and then starts respecting the workers’ rights and their fight against the capitalist culture. Well, the best friend’s role was played by Amitabh Bachchan. According to movie lore, Khanna was offered this role first but he declined it as he saw more merit in the role of a suffering martyr. The audience thought otherwise and was more taken in by Bachchan’s brooding persona. Bachchan had another hit the same year, the massive Zanjeer, in which he played the angry young cop to perfection and effectively took over the superstar’s mantle.

Abhimaan (1973)

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Asrani, Bindu, A.K. Hangal

Subir (Amitabh Bachchan) a renowned singer is a darling of the masses and much in demand. Once, while visiting his aunt in a remote village, he listens to Uma (Jaya Bachchan) singing and falls in love with her. They get married and initially, their days pass in blissful serenity. Trouble starts when Subir asks her to take up singing professionally. She reluctantly agrees and soon her popularity soars. She’s more in demand than him and he can’t digest this fact. Differences crop up between them. He leaves her and she suffers a miscarriage. She becomes hugely depressed because of it. The only way out is through music. Amitabh and Jaya complete each other in the film and perhaps have given the finest performance as a pair in the film. 

Mili (1975)

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Ashok Kumar

Mili (Jaya Bachchan) has pernicious anaemia, a disease which was considered incurable back then. She’s the apple of everyone’s eye in her building, especially of children, with whom she plays boisterously despite the age difference. A new tenant Shekhar (Amitabh Bachchan) comes to live in their building and their paths cross. Shekhar is a man running from his past and wants to drown his sorrow in alcohol. Once, in a fit of depression, he tries to commit suicide and is saved by Mili and her father (Ashok Kumar). Mili and Shekhar come closer and sort of fall in love with each other. He marries her and takes her to Switzerland in search of a cure. The film ends on an open note. We don’t know what happens further in Mili and Shekhar’s lives and can only hope for a positive outcome. 

Chupke Chupke (1975) 

Cast: Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bachchan

The film was a remake of the Bengali film Chhadmabeshi (1971), starring Uttam Kumar and Madhabi Mukherjee. It centred around the prank played by Dr Parimal (Dharmendra), on his brother-in-law Raghav Sharma (Om Prakash). Parimal comes to Mumbai posing as a driver from Allahabad and is instantly hired. Sometimes later, Sulekha (Sharmila Tagore), too lands up at her sister’s place. The growing intimacy between the driver and Sulekha is frowned upon by all. Catastrophe strikes when they elope and Sukumar (Amitabh Bachchan) posing as Parimal, comes to Mumbai. He is made to stay in a mutual friend Prashant’s (Asrani) house and love blossoms between Sukumar and Prashant’s sister-in-law Vasudha (Jaya), leading to further confusion. 

Khubsoorat (1980)

Cast: Rekha, Rakesh Roshan, Ashok Kumar, Dina Pathak and Shashikala

When Manju (Rekha) comes to stay for some time with elder sister Anju (Aradhana) after the latter’s marriage, she’s bewildered to find that it resembles an army barrack more and an actual house less. The house is run in clockwork precision by  Anju’s strict mother-in-law Nirmala Gupta (Dina Pathak). Dwarka Prasad (Ashok Kumar), her husband, likes gardening, youngest Jagan (Ranjit Chowdhry) loves rock music, while the elder sons like to play cards. 

The middle son Inder (Rakesh Roshan) is studying to be a doctor and starts liking Manju. Everyone follows their hobbies but in secret. Manju brings a revolution of sorts in the house by making sure everyone enjoys themselves in Nirmala’s absence. It so happens that Dwarka Prasad has a heart attack and it’s Manju who saves his life by keeping a sane head at the time of calamity. Rekha was at her finest in the film and carried it on her shoulders.