Review of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (b. 1922) Bollywood Director

Born in Calcutta, Hrishikesh Mukherjee studied science at Calcutta University and then worked as a teacher and a freelance artist at All India Radio. He joined Calcutta’s leading studio, New Theatres, in

1945 as a laboratory assistant.

He worked as an assistant director and editor for Bimal Roy. Mukherjee was renowned as an editor, earning the reputation of being able to rescue films that went out of control during shooting.

He introduced editing conventions basic to Hindi cinema such as the insertion of a close-up as a link between incompatible shots. Mukherjee’s Anand featuring reigning superstar Rajesh

Khanna and a pre-superstar Amitabh Bachchan introduced a new genre in Hindi cinema — “cancer films,” which were a very popular type of melodrama featuring terminally ill characters.

His films in the 1970s were mainly low-budget family stories dealing with the dilemmas — frequently comical — of middle-class families in urban settings. Mukherjee’s directorial career spanned from 1957 to 1988.

He was the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) in the early 1980s and was also the president of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). Mukherjee emerged from retirement in the late 1990s to make Jhoot Bole Kauva Kaate (If You Lie, the Crow Will Bite) which released in 1998, but unfortunately did not fare too well at the box office. In 1999, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from the Indian government for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.4 In 2001, Mukherjee received the country’s second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan.

Anari (Naïve; 1959)

Anari (English: “Naive man”) is a 1993 Hindi romantic drama film, produced by D. Rama Naidu under the Suresh Productions banner and directed by K. Murali Mohana Rao. The film stars Venkatesh (in his Hindi film debut) alongside Karishma Kapoor in leading roles.

Anand, a terminally ill man, sets out to live his last days to the fullest. His doctor, Bhaskar, undergoes metamorphosis due to his optimism and decides to write a book on Anand.

Guddi (Doll; 1971)

Kusum disregards her family’s efforts to get her married as she is obsessed with the famous filmstar, Dharmendra. Tired with her antics, her uncle contacts him to teach her the realities of life.

Bawarchi (Cook; 1972)

Desperate for a cook, the disgruntled Sharmas are relieved when the multi-talented Raghu takes up the job. Just as all is bliss, the family jewels disappear and so does Raghu.

Abhimaan (Pride; 1973)

Subir, a singer, encourages his wife Uma to pursue a singing career. However, things take a turn when she becomes more popular than him.

Namak Haram (Traitor; 1973)

Somu and Vicky decide to exact revenge on the union leader, Bipinlal Pandey. However, when Somu understands the plight of the workers, it creates a rift between the two friends.

Chupke Chupke (Quietly; 1975)

Sulekha is in awe of her brother-in-law Raghav for his intelligence. Parimal, her husband, decides to take up the challenge of fooling Raghav and goes to work for him as a driver.

Shekhar, a misanthropic man, falls in love with his cheerful neighbour, Mili. However, his world turns upside down when he finds out that Mili is living with cancer.

Golmaal (Fraud; 1979)

Ramprasad works for Bhavani, who discourages his employees from pursuing any hobbies. Things take a hilarious turn when Bhavani catches Ramprasad at a hockey match and he lies about having a twin.

Khubsoorat (Beautiful; 1980)

Originally published at https://www.ireviewshub.com.