Hrishida's movies dealt with human sensitivities

Mumbai, Aug 27 (UNI) Legendary filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who passed away in Mumbai here today, dealt with all aspects of human sensitivities in his classic movies which were hailed as an embodiment of simplicity.

He carved a niche for himself in the era of action thrillers, and romantic films. Characters in Hrishida's movies were simple and entertaining. His films were very popular in the 1970s, which was marked by the arrival of the action genre.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was not a glamorous director, but was one of the most popular and beloved filmmakers in Indian cinema. His magic lay not in glamour or opulence so often associated with cinema, but in its simplicity and warmth. He was also a versatile technician writer, editor, producer and director.

He began his career in Mumbai in 1951, as an editor and assistant director to Bimal Roy, another great director himself. His first directorial venture, Musafir (1957), centering around an old house where three unrelated stories dealing with birth, marriage and death occur in a series, was a disaster. But director Raj Kapoor was impressed and strongly recommended Hrishida as director for Anari (1959).

Starring Kapoor himself and Nutan, the film was both a critical and a commercial success.

His next film, 'Anuradha' (1960), about an idealistic doctor who neglects his wife to focus on his work, got him the President's Medal Award. Hrishida's other celebrated works included Asli-Naqli (1962), a Muslim melodrama; Anupama (1966), which was based on a true incident; 'Aashirwad' (1968), a family drama; and 'Satyakam' (1969), about an idealist seeing his dreams crumble after Indian Independence.

Consequently, Hrishida made what is considered his masterpiece - Anand (1970). This classic film gave a complex but compassionate look at the balance between hope, fear, life and death and saw Rajesh Khanna's greatest performance as a terminally ill man who wishes to live life to the fullest before finally succumbing to his illness.

It was a great beginning to the 1970s, for that time proved to be an exceptionally good one for Hrishida as he delivered great movies like Guddi (1971), a look at the film industry through the eyes of a die hard fan-Jaya Bhaduri. 'Abhimaan' (1973), Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan's greatest ever performance together; and 'Chupke Chupke' (1975), a comedy about a newly wed professor's joke on his pompous brother-in-law. These films gave an extremely skilled and detailed look at the middle-class mentality.

Hrishida understood human nature too well. In all his films, he examined all aspects of human emotions.

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