Anjali (1990 film)

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Anjali
Anjali 1990 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mani Ratnam
Written byMani Ratnam
Produced by G. Venkateswaran
Starring
Cinematography Madhu Ambat
Edited by
Music by Ilaiyaraaja
Production
company
Sujatha Productions
Distributed by GV Films
Release date
  • 12 July 1990 (1990-07-12)
Running time
155 minutes [1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Anjali is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language children's drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Raghuvaran and Revathi, with Tarun, Shruti and Shamili in supporting roles. The film deals with the story of a dying mentally disabled child, and the emotional trauma experienced by her family.

Contents

Anjali was released on 12 July 1990 and was critically acclaimed, winning three National Film Awards, and was also featured at the 14th International Film Festival of India in the Indian Panorama section. Anjali was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars in 1991, but was not nominated.

Plot

Civil engineer Shekhar lives with his wife Chitra and their two children, Arjun and Anu. Chitra delivers a third child, but the daughter is claimed to be stillborn. Two years later, [2] the family moves into a new apartment complex. They appear to have recovered from the loss and settled into daily life. Arjun and Anu initially clash with other children in the colony but are soon accepted into their group, which spends most of its time playing pranks and causing a commotion around the apartment block. The only tenant they are afraid of is Dennis Joseph, an ex-convict.

Chitra and the children visit Shekhar’s construction site to surprise him, only to learn he has left for an emergency. That evening, Shekhar lied that he was at the site all day. Chitra feels hurt to hear Shekhar lying and leaves the dining room. Arjun and Anu also sense that their father is lying to them. Shekhar apologizes to Chitra and consoles her and they both make up.

On New Year's Eve, Arjun slips out late at night with the older children to celebrate while Shekhar is out of town on a business trip. While dancing with his friends on the road, Arjun sees Shekhar with another woman, but a friend drags him away before he can confront his father. Later, Arjun and the other children are hauled by the police back to their homes. Chitra is furious to learn about Arjun's escapade and when Shekhar comes back, she asks him to punish Arjun. Arjun angrily blurts out that he saw Shekhar with another woman on New Year's Eve. Chitra begins suspecting that Shekhar is having an affair and confronts him, but Shekhar swears on both his children that he is not.

A few days later Chitra spots Shekhar talking to a woman and confronts him. Without waiting for his explanations, she rushes back home, and threatens to take the children and leave. Shekhar finally explains what has been happening.

Their third child, Anjali, was not stillborn but sustained a hypoxic brain injury during birth. The doctors did not give the child more than a few days to live. Shekhar colluded with the doctors to lie to his family that the child was stillborn. Against expectations, Anjali lived and was being treated under the care of Dr. Sheela, the woman Chitra saw. Although Chitra is saddened by this betrayal, she decides to bring Anjali back home.

Anjali is not like the other children and requires constant attention from both parents. This causes the other two siblings to dislike Anjali. The other children in the colony and school tease them by making fun of Anjali's condition. Arjun gets into a fight with the other children when they bully Anjali. He gets bruises from the altercation which saddens Anjali, but a special bond is born between the siblings. Arjun becomes protective of her and challenges the other children in the colony to a fight if they can't accept her. The children come to accept and Love Anjali.

The parents of the other children don’t want them to be around a mentally disabled child. They demand that Shekar and Chitra either leave the apartment or institutionalize Anjali. The only person to argue for Anjali's presence is Dennis. The parents are afraid of him and let it go. Soon, Anjali wins over everyone in the apartment complex and everyone comes to like her.

Shekhar, during a late-night visit to his construction site with Chitra and Anjali, witnesses a murder. He reports this to the police and the murderer is arrested. After getting out on bail, the murderer comes to Shekhar’s house to kill him. Dennis comes to their rescue and kills the murderer in the altercation and is arrested. Dennis thanks Shekhar before leaving as Anjali was the only person to show compassion to him.

The next morning, Anu tries to wake Anjali and realizes she has died in her sleep. The family rushes in as neighbors gather, mourning the loss of the child.

Cast

Production

Development

The idea of Anjali was developed by Mani Ratnam during the making of Nayakan (1987). [5] [6] He initially approached Dennis Joseph to have the screenplay for Anjali written. Being a fan of Ratnam's work, Dennis Joseph agreed to write but as months went by he could not work on it due to other commitments. Eventually, Ratnam decided to write the film himself. [7] Anjali was also Ratnam's first film since Mouna Ragam (1986) without P. C. Sreeram as cinematographer, for which he used Madhu Ambat instead. [8] [9] Ambat said he agreed to work on the film because he liked Ratnam's earlier work. [10] B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan served as editors. [1]

Casting and filming

Mohan was originally considered for playing the male lead, but he refused due to creative differences with the director. [11] The role later went to Raghuvaran. [12] Shamili was three years old while doing this film. The crew had difficulty to get the character right for her, so they found the solution by recording videos of a special child. Shamili's father put in a lot of effort, and he would make her watch every day to observe the actions of the child. [13] [6] Prabhu's character was named after Dennis Joseph. [14] Singer Pop Shalini was offered the role of Anjali's sister but her mother refused the role as not to affect her education. [15] Anand Krishnamoorthi, who later gained fame as a sound engineer, made his debut as a child actor. [16]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Vaali. [17] It is Ilaiyaraaja's 500th film as a composer. [18] For the Telugu dubbed version, all the lyrics are written by Rajasri. [19] For the Hindi dubbed version, all lyrics were written by Sameer. [20]

Tamil Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Something Something" Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premgi Amaren, Bala, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar5:03
2."Raathiri Nerathil" S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 4:58
3."Iravu Nilavu" S Janaki, Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premgi Amaren, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar4:46
4."Anjali Anjali"Sathya, Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premgi Amaren, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar, Vaishnavi5:33
5."Vaanam Namakku"Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premgi Amaren, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar4:51
6."Vegam Vegam" Usha Uthup 4:56
7."Motta Maadi"Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premgi Amaren, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar4:32
Total length:34:39
Telugu Track listing [19]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Paattaku"Kousalya, Lalitha, Subhasri, Prasanna, Sharmila, Jama, R. Sulochana, B Padma, R.Kalpana5:23
2."Meda Paina"Kousalya, Lalitha, Subhasri, Prasanna, Sharmila, Jama, R. Sulochana, B Padma, R.Kalpana4:52
3."Chanda Mama" S Janaki 5:13
4."Anjali Anjali"Kousalya, Lalitha, Subhasri, Prasanna, Sharmila, Jama, R. Sulochana, B Padma, R.Kalpana6:18
5."Vegam Vegam"Anitha Reddy5:30
6."Raathiri Vela" S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 5:36
7."Gaganam"Kousalya, Lalitha, Subhasri, Prasanna, Sharmila, Jama, R. Sulochana, B Padma, R.Kalpana5:17
Total length:38:11
Hindi Track listing [20]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Amber Hamara Raasta"Chorus4:46
2."Aayega Aayega" Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Chorus4:43
3."Ek Love Jodi"Chorus4:27
4."Anjali Anjali"Chorus5:41
5."I Want Something"Chorus4:52
6."Magic Journey" Amit Kumar 4:53
7."Star Wars" Abhijeet Bhattacharya 4:57
Total length:34:19

Release and reception

Anjali was released on 12 July 1990 by GV Films. [21] The following day, N. Krishnaswamy wrote for The Indian Express that "directing so many kids must have been such a difficult task ... and [Mani Ratnam] has been so successful in this department." [22] On 5 August 1990, Ananda Vikatan overwhelmingly appreciated the film, rating it 58 out of 100. [23] It was noted to be inspired by the 1979 televised docudrama Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love . [24] [25]

A Telugu dubbed version was released later that year. [26] After the success of the Hindi dubbed version of Roja (1992), this film was dubbed in Hindi in 1993. [27]

Accolades

Anjali was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars in 1991, but was not nominated. [28] It was screened at the International Film Festival of India along with Sandhya Raagam (1990) as the only two Tamil films as part of Indian Panorama. [29] [30]

EventAwardRecipient(s)Ref.
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Special Prize for Best FilmAnjali [31]
Best Child Artist Shamili
38th National Film Awards Best Child Artist Shamili, Tarun, Shruti [32]
Best Audiography Pandu Rangan
Best Feature Film in Tamil Anjali
Cinema Express Awards Best Director – Tamil Mani Ratnam [33]
Best Actress – Tamil Revathi
Best Child ActressShamili

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rangan 2012, p. 290.
  2. ↑ Rangan 2012, p. 92.
  3. ↑ Joseph, Raveena; Ramanujam, Srinivasa (13 November 2015). "Child stars on the big screen". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Kavirayani, Suresh (4 July 2015). "Ads got me movie roles: Chetan". Deccan Chronicle . Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Rangan 2012, p. 93.
  6. 1 2 "அஞ்சலியாக அசத்தும் ஷாமிலி!" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). 12 August 1990. pp. 4–6. Retrieved 19 March 2024– via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "Many actors were reluctant to play role of Mohanlal's goon, finally this actor came". Kerala Kaumudi . 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  8. ↑ Rangan 2012, p. 98.
  9. ↑ Rangan 2012, pp. 289–290.
  10. ↑ Warrier, Shobha (12 January 2000). "'Manoj is going to be the next Spielberg'". Rediff.com . Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "Mohan reveals why he rejected an offer to act in Mani Ratnam's 'Anjali'". The Times of India . 31 August 2024. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  12. ↑ Rangan 2012, p. 96.
  13. ↑ Rangan 2012, pp. 99–100.
  14. ↑ Nagarajan, Saraswathy (14 May 2021). "Dennis Joseph scripted a new chapter in Malayalam cinema". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "நடிப்பே வேண்டாம் சாமி!". Kalki (in Tamil). 8 August 2004. p. 99. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023– via Internet Archive.
  16. ↑ "30 Years Of Anjali: Child Actor Turned Sound Engineer Anand Krishnamoorthi Looks Back At His Time On The Sets Of The Mani Ratnam Film". Film Companion . 14 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 August 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Anjali (1990)". Music India Online. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  18. ↑ Aravamudan, Gita (11 June 2019). "Do Ilaiyaraaja's repeated, misplaced outbursts detract from magnitude of maestro's accomplishments?". Firstpost . Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Anjali". Spotify . Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  20. 1 2 "Anjali". Gaana . Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  21. ↑ "Anjali". The Indian Express . 12 July 1990. p. 11. Retrieved 29 May 2018– via Google News Archive.
  22. ↑ Krishnaswamy, N. (13 July 1990). "Anjali". The Indian Express . p. 7. Retrieved 31 July 2017– via Google News Archive.
  23. ↑ Vikatan Review Board (5 August 1990). "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: அஞ்சலி" . Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  24. ↑ R, Balajee C. (1 February 2016). "Let's take a look at Kollywood's several attempts in remaking foreign films". Deccan Chronicle . Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  25. ↑ "Bypassing copycats, Sandalwood style". Bangalore Mirror . 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  26. ↑ "Did these 5 International movies inspire 'Ponniyin Selvan's director Mani Ratnam to make his earlier films?". The Times of India . 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "Maniratnam's Roja: Bridging the North-South divide". The Hindu . 14 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  28. ↑ "India's Oscar failures". India Today . 16 February 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  29. ↑ "Indian Cinema 1990" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals . p. 109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  30. ↑ "Anjali, Sandhya Raagam selected for Panorama". The Indian Express . 2 November 1990. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2022– via Google News Archive.
  31. ↑ "Chinnathambi bags six awards". The Indian Express . 30 October 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2021– via Google News Archive.
  32. ↑ "38th National Film Festival" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals . 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  33. ↑ "Cinema Express Awards presented". The Indian Express . 5 May 1991. p. 3. Retrieved 2 February 2022– via Google News Archive.

Bibliography

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