Sound suspense (Anamika)

I think I've managed to zero in on my favourite Jaya Bhaduri film. Easily, it's Anamika, the 1973 mystery romance directed by Raghunath Jhalani. There is something very charging about the Jaya Bhaduri here. She is different and immensely enjoyable. Not that in her other films she is not. But here, she is spontaneous, sprightly and extremely jaunty. Her character undergoes several changes in dimension and she slips from one mood to another with utmost ease. There are times when she is funny, clever, endearing, teasing, sad and angry. And this range is hardly ever visible in any of her other films. She wears some great clothes, rather experiments with her looks and makes a sweet romantic pair with Sanjeev Kumar. In Anamika, Jaya Bhaduri shines. But most importantly, it's the script that sails along so properly with the histrionics of its protagonist and the other characters. Yes, Jaya is great in and as Anamika...

Considering that the film was produced by Tahir Husain, Nasir Husain's son, it is but obvious that the predecessor aught to have thrown in some bit of the movie magic that his legendary father was famous for. The drama, the romance, the comedy and the suspense. In that, Anamika is spot on. What is outstanding in the film is how, the story never allows a leak. There is always that air of suspicion and intrigue that lingers around Anamika's character. Or should we say Kanchan, Archana or rather Mrs Kashyap!!
Devendra Dutt (Sanjeev Kumar), a bright and flourishing author is being felicitated at a function. While you get to know that he is not much of a woman-lover through his public discussions, you also see another facet of his. He is a caring uncle to his niece Dolly and a dutiful nephew to his old uncle (A K Hangal). They are also accompanied by Hanuman Singh (Asrani), Devendra's secretary who is hard of hearing and has a wierd penchant for women!!
I love it how the director solves the mystery of Devendra being so affluent despite being in the writing business (a trade that is hardly famous for being lucrative). He justifies that his ancestors were all advocates and barristers and his family wealth owes its presence to their flourishing careers. His ancestral mansion in Mumbai is one instance of how he is resting on the financial laurels of his family. Anyways, on their way back, they see a woman being pushed out of a car on the road. Devendra is highly suspicious of the happenings and insists that the police be called. But the kind uncle requests that the girl (who is badly hurt) be taken to their home and administered medical attention. Reluctantly Devendra agrees.

Next morning when he wakes up he is astonished to find the girl in his room with a tray of tea. He admonishes her for entering his private quarters but she says something that Devendra totally finds bewildering. The girl claims to be his wife and naughtily tells him that he should not behave with her so rudely just because they had a tiff. Devendra is aghast at this and considers this a ploy of the girl to rob him off his money as well as his reputation. The police and the family doctor (Iftekar) is beckoned. The girl continues to make the mighty claims quite stubbornly and when the police comes over she breaks into a bhajan. At this point anyone would believe that she is a great imposter.
While the uncle and Dolly warm up to this effervescent woman who is fast getting into their good books, Devendra is still wary off her. But he too, cannot resist her charms for very long. Slowly Devendra is attracted to her and names her Anamika, or the one with no name. The girl is quite happy slipping into bliss in this family. But one day, when Devendra's publisher comes to meet him he is stunned to see this woman in Devendra's house. And from here the story plunges into a web of deceit, secrets and intrigue. Devendra and Anamika go to Simla to spent some time together and fall madly in love with each other. But then Devendra discovers some dirty secrets that were hidden in Anamika's closet and rushes back to Mumbai. Things take a nasty turn as it appears that Anamika, used to be in the flesh trade. Devendra is hurt and throws her out of his life. But that hardly solves the problem. There are more secrets to be unraveled. The mystery just gets deeper and darker...
A good thing about the film is that is short and very crisp with some great performances. No time is wasted in unnecessary plot developments. When Devendra suspects Anamika to be hiding things on purpose, the director quickly throws hints at him back to back so that he can take the next step.

The music... It's fantastic. With RD Burman at the helm of things, you'd hardly expect anything different from that. Every song is great, and fits in so well with the theme of the story and the plot movements. Bahon mein chalein ayo by Lata Mangeshkar is one of my favourite songs. It is teasing, delicate and so romantic. And I love how Jaya Bhaduri naughtily tries to seduce Devendra. Logon na maron issey is so much fun. Asha Bhonsle's voice just does so much justice to the playful nature of the song. Jaya looks nice, yes very different, in her westerns and I love how indulgent Sanjeev Kumar behaves over the whole goof-up. This is one film where i liked Jaya because of the clothes he wore. Instead of just sticking to the safe saris, she slipped into kaftans and trousers. Something that makes her stand out. And as the lead protagonist she is awesome. There is never a moment when you feel that she lets out a secret or slips with a wrong expression.
Then there is the tantalising cabaret Subu subu, picturised on the ravishing Helen. Ahh Asha Bhonsle can never go wrong in these songs...

The last song Meri bheegi bheegi si (Kishore Kumar) is almost a prologue to the unravelling of a deep dark mystery. Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya's expressions are spot on. In fact, Sanjeev Kumar is brilliant as always. Here, he toys with a plethora of emotions and I like that.
Anamika is one film that should be celebrated for being a taut suspense thriller. Embellished with good music and great performances, I wonder why it is relatively unheard of in cine-circles. Perhaps because of the unimpressive villain. With a cast that includes biggies like Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri, the director should have chosen a relatively big name for the goon instead of a guy who hardly makes an impact with his straight-faced wickedness...