Last Updated:
Anand was widely acclaimed for its emotional depth, memorable dialogues such as “Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi” and its timeless music by Salil Chowdhury.
KBC 16 premieres on Sony TV. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
Anand, the Bollywood cult classic starring legendary actor duo Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, has a special place in fans’ hearts. Helmed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the 1971 drama film gained the tag of a cult classic and is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made in India. It follows the story of Anand (played by Khanna), a terminally ill yet cheerful man who deeply affects those around him, especially his friend Dr Bhaskar (played by Big B).
The film was widely acclaimed for its emotional depth, memorable dialogues such as “Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi” (Life should be big, not long) and its timeless music by Salil Chowdhury.
Recently, in the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) 16, in which director-choreographer Farah Khan and actor Boman Irani appeared as guests, the host Amitabh asked the duo a question worth Rs 80,000 regarding his film Anand, which they correctly answered. While explaining the answer, the Kalki 2898 AD actor remembered his late co-star Rajesh Khanna and said, “It (Anand) was a very beautiful film. It was one of Rajesh Khanna’s amazing performances and very good films. Of all the films he has done, this was the most amazing.”
Notably, the film bagged the National Award in the Best Feature Film in Hindi category back in 1971. Also, Rajesh Khanna won the Filmfare award for Best Actor and Amitabh for Best Supporting Actor.
Apart from them, the film also starred Sumita Sanyal, Ramesh Deo, Seema Deo, Lalita Pawar and Johnny Walker in significant roles.
Reportedly, before Rajesh Khanna landed the lead role in Anand, director Hrishikesh Mukherjee considered Kishore Kumar and Dharmendra to play the lead. The filmmaker also narrated the story to the Apne actor on a flight from Chennai to Mumbai. However, in a twist of fate, he decided to go forward with the late star.
Meanwhile, on the film front, Amitabh was recently seen in the action drama film Vettaiyan alongside megastar Rajinikanth. Helmed by T.J Gnanavel, the film also starred Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, Manju Warrier and Ritika Singh in pivotal roles. The film marked Big B’s debut in Tamil cinema.
He will be next seen in a courtroom drama film, Section 84, alongside Abhishek Banerjee and Nimrat Kaur.