Anjali (film)
Encyclopedia
Anjali is a 1990
Tamil-language
Indian
feature film
directed
by Mani Ratnam
, starring Raghuvaran
, Revathi, Prabhu
, Tarun, Shruthi and Shamili
. The musical film
's score and soundtrack is composed by Ilaiyaraaja
, being his 500th movie. Anjali is about a dying mentally disabled child, and the emotional trauma experienced by her family
. The film was dubbed into Hindi and Telugu
and released with the same name
), his wife, Chitra (Revathi
) and their two young children Arjun (Tarun) and Anu (Shruti).
The movie opens with Chitra giving birth to her third child but unfortunately the girl is a still-born. A couple of years later, Shekar and his family move to a new apartment complex. The family seems to have moved on from their grief due to the still-born child incident and live happily. After a few altercations with the kids in the colony, Arjun and Anu are accepted by all the kids as their own. The kids are all for pulling pranks and generally causing a clamor around the apartment colony. One such constant joke they play on a mentally retarded ex-watchman (Janakaraj) of the colony, much to the chagrin of his wife. The only tenant they are afraid of is an ex-convict (Prabhu Ganesan
) who lives alone in one of the apartments.
On one particluar day, Chitra and the kids decided to surprise Shekar by meeting him at his construction area, unannounced. Nevertheless, on coming to the site, they learned from one of the construction workers that Shekar has left to conduct an emergency matter elsewhere. When Shekar returns home for dinner that night, Chitra casually asks Shekar where he was on that day, to which, Shekar replies that he was at the construction site the whole day. Chitra feels hurt to hear about Shekar lying and leaves the dining hall. Arjun and Anu too sensing that their father is lying to them and leaves the place. Nevertheless, before living the room, Anu blurts out accusations on her father, saying that he's lying about being at the site the whole day. Sekhar apologises 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 Sekhar is out of town on a business trip. Nevertheless, while dancing with his friends on the road, Arjun sees Shekar with another woman and was shocked to know that his father has lied to them about going out of the town. 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 Shekar comes back, asks him to punish Arjun. While Shekar inquires him about the incident, Arjun, who was still angry at his father, blurts out that he saw Shekar with another woman on New Year’s Eve. Chitra and Anu become shocked on hearing about the incident. Chitra then starts suspecting that Sekhar is having affair with another woman and confronts him about it but Sekhar swears on both his kids that he is not.
A few days later, while on the bus, Chitra spots Sekhar talking to a woman. She gets out of the bus and confronts Shekar. Without waiting for his explanations, she rushes back home, packs her bags and threatens to walk out of the house with her kids. Sekhar pleads her to stay but she doesn’t stop. Finally, Shekar comes clean.
Their third child, Anjali (Shamili
), was born mentally ill and with a terminal illness a few years ago. The doctors did not give the child more than a couple of months to live. To avoid the sadness for a couple of months from an already physically exhausted Chitra and to protect his children from the trauma, he colludes with the doctors to lie to his family that the child was stillborn. But much to the surprise of everyone, the child has made it past her second birthday and is seemingly physically healthy. The woman Shekar was talking to is Anjali’s doctor. Although Chitra is saddened by this betrayal, she decides to bring Anjali back home.
Anjali is not like a normal child and requires constant attention from both the parents. This causes the other two siblings to dislike Anjali. Moreover, the other kids in the colony and school tease them by making fun of Anjali’s condition. One day, the other kids in the colony, make fun of Anjali by tying a string of cans behind her. This causes Arjun to fight with the other kids. He gets bruised which saddens Anjali, but a special bond is born between the siblings. Arjun becomes protective of her and challenges the other kids in the colony to a fight if they can’t accept her. The kids accept Anjali and all the kids come to love her.
This causes the parents of the kids to worry as they don’t want their kids to be close with a mentally retarded kid. During an apartment association meeting, the parents of the kids demand that Shekar and Chitra either leave the apartment or institutionalize Anjali. The only person to argue for Anjali’s presence is the ex-convict. The parents are afraid of him and let it go. But soon, Anjali wins over everyone in the apartment complex and everyone comes to like her.
Meanwhile Shekar, during a late night visit to his construction site, with Chitra and Anjali is witness to a murder. He reports this to the police and the murderer is arrested. The murderer is enraged and visits Shekar’s house after getting out on bail. He physically assaults and plans on killing Shekar. But the ex-convict comes to the rescue and kills the murderer in the altercation when he threatens Shekar’s family and is arrested. The ex-convict thanks Shekar before leaving as Anjali was the only person to show compassion to him.
The next morning, Anu wakes up and goes to wake up Anjali, but she doesn’t wake up. Anjali had died in her sleep. As more and more people come after hearing Anu’s screams, they all are saddened by the demise of the girl who taught them to accept and forgive.
1991 National Film Awards
(India)
by Vaali.
. The lyrics are penned by Rajashri
.
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
Tamil-language
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
Indian
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor in 1983...
, starring Raghuvaran
Raghuvaran
Raghuvaran was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in movies made in South India. He became famous for his portrayal of villain and character roles in Tamil films. He has acted in more than 150 Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films...
, Revathi, Prabhu
Prabhu Ganesan
Prabhu Ganesan is a Tamil film actor and producer. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan.-Personal life:A native of Tamil Nadu, Prabhu was born to Sivaji and Kamala Ganesan. He has an elder brother Ramkumar Ganesan who is a film producer, and two sisters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi. He did his...
, Tarun, Shruthi and Shamili
Shamili
Shamili , better known as Baby Shamili, is a Indian actress, who has primarily acted as a child actor in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films...
. The musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
's score and soundtrack is composed by Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
, being his 500th movie. Anjali is about a dying mentally disabled child, and the emotional trauma experienced by her family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
. The film was dubbed into Hindi and Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
and released with the same name
Plot
The movie revolves around a family of four: a young civil engineer Shekar (RaghuvaranRaghuvaran
Raghuvaran was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in movies made in South India. He became famous for his portrayal of villain and character roles in Tamil films. He has acted in more than 150 Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films...
), his wife, Chitra (Revathi
Revathi
Revathi is an award-winning Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment...
) and their two young children Arjun (Tarun) and Anu (Shruti).
The movie opens with Chitra giving birth to her third child but unfortunately the girl is a still-born. A couple of years later, Shekar and his family move to a new apartment complex. The family seems to have moved on from their grief due to the still-born child incident and live happily. After a few altercations with the kids in the colony, Arjun and Anu are accepted by all the kids as their own. The kids are all for pulling pranks and generally causing a clamor around the apartment colony. One such constant joke they play on a mentally retarded ex-watchman (Janakaraj) of the colony, much to the chagrin of his wife. The only tenant they are afraid of is an ex-convict (Prabhu Ganesan
Prabhu Ganesan
Prabhu Ganesan is a Tamil film actor and producer. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan.-Personal life:A native of Tamil Nadu, Prabhu was born to Sivaji and Kamala Ganesan. He has an elder brother Ramkumar Ganesan who is a film producer, and two sisters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi. He did his...
) who lives alone in one of the apartments.
On one particluar day, Chitra and the kids decided to surprise Shekar by meeting him at his construction area, unannounced. Nevertheless, on coming to the site, they learned from one of the construction workers that Shekar has left to conduct an emergency matter elsewhere. When Shekar returns home for dinner that night, Chitra casually asks Shekar where he was on that day, to which, Shekar replies that he was at the construction site the whole day. Chitra feels hurt to hear about Shekar lying and leaves the dining hall. Arjun and Anu too sensing that their father is lying to them and leaves the place. Nevertheless, before living the room, Anu blurts out accusations on her father, saying that he's lying about being at the site the whole day. Sekhar apologises 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 Sekhar is out of town on a business trip. Nevertheless, while dancing with his friends on the road, Arjun sees Shekar with another woman and was shocked to know that his father has lied to them about going out of the town. 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 Shekar comes back, asks him to punish Arjun. While Shekar inquires him about the incident, Arjun, who was still angry at his father, blurts out that he saw Shekar with another woman on New Year’s Eve. Chitra and Anu become shocked on hearing about the incident. Chitra then starts suspecting that Sekhar is having affair with another woman and confronts him about it but Sekhar swears on both his kids that he is not.
A few days later, while on the bus, Chitra spots Sekhar talking to a woman. She gets out of the bus and confronts Shekar. Without waiting for his explanations, she rushes back home, packs her bags and threatens to walk out of the house with her kids. Sekhar pleads her to stay but she doesn’t stop. Finally, Shekar comes clean.
Their third child, Anjali (Shamili
Shamili
Shamili , better known as Baby Shamili, is a Indian actress, who has primarily acted as a child actor in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films...
), was born mentally ill and with a terminal illness a few years ago. The doctors did not give the child more than a couple of months to live. To avoid the sadness for a couple of months from an already physically exhausted Chitra and to protect his children from the trauma, he colludes with the doctors to lie to his family that the child was stillborn. But much to the surprise of everyone, the child has made it past her second birthday and is seemingly physically healthy. The woman Shekar was talking to is Anjali’s doctor. Although Chitra is saddened by this betrayal, she decides to bring Anjali back home.
Anjali is not like a normal child and requires constant attention from both the parents. This causes the other two siblings to dislike Anjali. Moreover, the other kids in the colony and school tease them by making fun of Anjali’s condition. One day, the other kids in the colony, make fun of Anjali by tying a string of cans behind her. This causes Arjun to fight with the other kids. He gets bruised which saddens Anjali, but a special bond is born between the siblings. Arjun becomes protective of her and challenges the other kids in the colony to a fight if they can’t accept her. The kids accept Anjali and all the kids come to love her.
This causes the parents of the kids to worry as they don’t want their kids to be close with a mentally retarded kid. During an apartment association meeting, the parents of the kids demand that Shekar and Chitra either leave the apartment or institutionalize Anjali. The only person to argue for Anjali’s presence is the ex-convict. The parents are afraid of him and let it go. But soon, Anjali wins over everyone in the apartment complex and everyone comes to like her.
Meanwhile Shekar, during a late night visit to his construction site, with Chitra and Anjali is witness to a murder. He reports this to the police and the murderer is arrested. The murderer is enraged and visits Shekar’s house after getting out on bail. He physically assaults and plans on killing Shekar. But the ex-convict comes to the rescue and kills the murderer in the altercation when he threatens Shekar’s family and is arrested. The ex-convict thanks Shekar before leaving as Anjali was the only person to show compassion to him.
The next morning, Anu wakes up and goes to wake up Anjali, but she doesn’t wake up. Anjali had died in her sleep. As more and more people come after hearing Anu’s screams, they all are saddened by the demise of the girl who taught them to accept and forgive.
Cast
- RaghuvaranRaghuvaranRaghuvaran was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in movies made in South India. He became famous for his portrayal of villain and character roles in Tamil films. He has acted in more than 150 Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films...
as Shekhar - RevathiRevathiRevathi is an award-winning Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment...
as Chitra - Tarun as Arjun
- Shruti as Anu
- ShamiliShamiliShamili , better known as Baby Shamili, is a Indian actress, who has primarily acted as a child actor in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films...
as Anjali - Prabhu GanesanPrabhu GanesanPrabhu Ganesan is a Tamil film actor and producer. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan.-Personal life:A native of Tamil Nadu, Prabhu was born to Sivaji and Kamala Ganesan. He has an elder brother Ramkumar Ganesan who is a film producer, and two sisters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi. He did his...
as the ex-convict
Awards
The film has won the following awards since its release:1991 National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
(India)
- Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Child Artist - Shamili, Tarun, Shruti
- Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Audiography - Pandu Rangan
- Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Regional Film (Tamil) - Anjali - Mani RatnamMani RatnamMani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor in 1983...
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features seven songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyricsLyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
by Vaali.
- Something Something, sung by Karthik RajaKarthik RajaKarthik Raja is a Tamil musician from Chennai, India. He made his debut as music composer in the Tamil film Alexander.-Personal life:Karthik Raja is the eldest son of musician Ilaiyaraaja and Jeeva. His brother Yuvan Shankar Raja and sister Bhavatharini, who are also Kollywood music directors and...
, Yuvan Shankar RajaYuvan Shankar RajaYuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
, BhavathariniBhavathariniBhavatharani is an Indian Tamil singer and music director. She is the daughter of film composer Ilaiyaraaja and her brothers are the noted film composers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja and has mostly sung songs under her father and her brothers' direction...
, Venkat PrabhuVenkat PrabhuVenkat Kumar Gangai Amaren , better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu is an Indian filmmaker, who has worked as an actor, director and playback singer in the Tamil film industry...
, Premji AmaranPremji AmarenPremji Amaren is a Tamil playback singer, film composer, songwriter and actor. Son of veteran film composer and singer Gangai Amaran, he often composes rap songs in Tamil cinema and is known for his comical performances in the Venkat Prabhu films Chennai 28, Saroja and Goa...
, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar - Raathiri Nerathil, sung by S. P. BalasubrahmaniamS. P. BalasubrahmanyamSripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...
- Iravu Nilavu, sung by S. JanakiS. JanakiS. Janaki is an Indian female playback singer. Renowned for her voice modulation abilities, she has sung in many Indian languages, most frequently in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Throughout a career spanning more than five decades, she has won four National Film Awards and 35...
, Karthik RajaKarthik RajaKarthik Raja is a Tamil musician from Chennai, India. He made his debut as music composer in the Tamil film Alexander.-Personal life:Karthik Raja is the eldest son of musician Ilaiyaraaja and Jeeva. His brother Yuvan Shankar Raja and sister Bhavatharini, who are also Kollywood music directors and...
, Yuvan Shankar RajaYuvan Shankar RajaYuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
, BhavathariniBhavathariniBhavatharani is an Indian Tamil singer and music director. She is the daughter of film composer Ilaiyaraaja and her brothers are the noted film composers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja and has mostly sung songs under her father and her brothers' direction...
, Venkat PrabhuVenkat PrabhuVenkat Kumar Gangai Amaren , better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu is an Indian filmmaker, who has worked as an actor, director and playback singer in the Tamil film industry...
, Premji AmaranPremji AmarenPremji Amaren is a Tamil playback singer, film composer, songwriter and actor. Son of veteran film composer and singer Gangai Amaran, he often composes rap songs in Tamil cinema and is known for his comical performances in the Venkat Prabhu films Chennai 28, Saroja and Goa...
, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar - Motta Maadi, sung by Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premji Amaran, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar
- Vaanam Namakku, sung by Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premji Amaran, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar
- Vegam Vegam, sung by Usha UthupUsha UthupUsha Uthup is a popular Indian pop, jazz and playback singer. She is well known for popular hits in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.She started her Bollywood playback career, when she sang an English verse in hit song, "Dum maro dum"" in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and went on work with music...
- Anjali Anjali, sung by Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bhavatharini, Venkat Prabhu, Premji Amaran, Parthi Bhaskar, Hari Bhaskar
Telugu Version (With dubbed voices)
Anjali film was dubbed and released in TeluguTelugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
. The lyrics are penned by Rajashri
Rajashri
Rajashri is a famous dialogue and lyrics writer and Music director in Telugu cinema industry. His birth name is Indukuri Ramakrishnam Raju . He has worked with nearly 1000 films, a majority of them are dubbing films...
.
Soundtrack
- Anjali Anjali Anjali Chilike Navvula Puvvula Jaabilli
- Chandamama Raatirela Kadilene Varala Rekkalanni Parichi Nela Cherene
- Gaganam Manaku Baata Megham Manaku Janta
- Meda Paina Chudamanta Oka Love Janta Love Janta
- Paataku Paata Something Something
- Raathiri Vela Rodasi Lona Silence
- Vegam Vegam Yogam Yogam Magic Journey