Anand - Best Telugu film ever!

Yes, another Southie film for me to watch. I was asked when I am going back to watching Hindi aka Bollywood films. Well, there's still a handful of Southie films I want to watch before heading back.

So far, on my Southie filmfest, I have not been disappointed with any Tamil or Telugu films I've watched. Love how much stronger the South Indian women are portrayed in the films.



Now, this time it's the Telugu film, Anand. Not to be confused with the Hindi version. BTW, is the Hindi film any good? I have never seen it and it stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.

Gosh, I started watching Anand last week but never got to finish it! Not being able to find the time to watch it because when I first started watching, my daughter got sick. It's ashamed because it's a wonderful love story! The best Telugu film yet for me. Maybe the best romantic film yet in India - again, doesn't matter if it's Telugu, Tamil, or Telugu.



Loved. Loved. Loved this film!

Why I love it?

It's a simple love story. With no love-at-first sight. Instead the love develops slowly.

Strong female role. Again, South Indian films give more depth to the heroines than in Bollywood. No difference in Anand.

Even a good female friendship bond. It died down a bit towards the middle to the end but worth mentioning.

Beautiful, girl-next-door Kamalinee.

Drool-worthy Raja.

Great music.

No stupid comedy.

No annoying kids.

No villians to run away from.

Happy Ending.

Realistic - no outrageous fight scenes or over-the-top melodrama.

That's all you need to know.

The *ONLY* complaint I would have is that the dvd quality I had was not very good so I couldn't make good screen caps.

Wait another one - the subs are not that great...but nothing to do with the actual movie.



Orphan at a young age, Rupa's (Kamalinee Mukherjee) parents and brother died in a car accident due to a drunk driver. Since then she grew up in an orphange home. Even though she doesn't have a lot of money for her marriage, she works for an advertising agency. She dismisses her marriage to Rahul (Anuj Gurwara) learning that she can not marry into a family where she can not be herself. Anand (Raja) just came back from the USA and is pressured to get married. After meeting a match, he decides he can not do so. Instead he is intruged by Rupa when he witness Rupa's brave words against her future mother-in-law. He was always curious about Rupa because it was because of his father that she is now an orphan. Therefore, he stays at the orphanage in an extra room to get to know Rupa better. Even though he has befriend everyone and they all love him except for Rupa. Anand starts to fall in love with Rupa. Will Rupa ever open her heart again after the awful incident of the marriage-that-never-happened? Will Rahul get tired of Rupa and move on?



Anand - sweet guy who wants to get to know Rupa better. He feels bad that his drunk father caused Rupa to be an orphan. Love Anand because he's so caring and considerate. When he was set up to meet a potential future wife, he dismissed the girl because she looked down on his driver's son. Once he started to become interested in Rupa because of her personality, that's what made me love him more. He didn't come out to her and say "I Love You" either because it wasn't love-at-first sight.



OMG - Raja, you are so adorable! Not only are you cute, I'm in love with the character Anand. When I first saw him, I wasn't impress too much. But that's because maybe I was looking for some hot abs, hahaha. Because the film started with Rupa first, I wasn't able to see enough of Raja. However, once I saw more of Raja in the film, I saw how cute and entertaining he is!



Rupa is so real. You can relate to her. Although she is an orphan, she never wanted help from any family members and want them to pity her. Everything she accomplished, she did it herself. Her heart is broken by the man who was suppose to be her future husband. The way she reacted with her future mother-in-law needs to be applauded. Never did Rupa try to disrespect her but make a point across.



Kamalinee is definitely my favorite Telugu actress right now. Second favorite South Indian actress, a notch below Sneha. The surname Mukherjee is definitely Bengali. Therefore, Telugu is not her native tongue and was dubbed. Interesting, she debuted in Bollywood with Phir Milenge. I have to pull my dvd out cause I don't remember her in the film. Obviously, the film was focused on Shilpa Shetty because that's Shilpa's biggest acting acclaim. Since then, Kamalinee has acted in mostly Telugu films, such as Godavari, but Anand is her debut Southie film.

Another reason why I love her is she portrays the girl-next-door with a personality! As much as I love fit women like Bipasha, Kamalinee is healthy-looking with curves and looks extra sexy when she wears sarees.



Anita (Satya Krisnan) is Rupa's friend who Rupa confides in. She also is a good friend to Anand once she gets to know him.



Rahul (Anuj Gurwara) is/was Rupa's fiance. He is a coward and doesn't stand up to his demanding mother.



Song #1 - "Yedalo Ganam"
Background score of Rupa & Anand's lives









Song #2 - "Vachhe Vachhe"
Rain song. Everyone has fun.











Watch Below



Song #3 - "Charumathi I Love U"

Anand falls for Rupa











Watch Below



Song #4 - "Nuvvena Na Nuvvena"
Anand distance himself from Rupa to see if he really does love her and vice versa

















Watch Below



Song #5 - "Yamuna Theeram"
Anand & Rupa in love
My fave song!





















Watch Below



Simply love the female bond.











What I also love about the film is it touched in several issues but was not preachy about it -- drunk driving, caste difference, poor/rich, South/Nouth Indian prejudice, dowry, guy who choose his mother over his future wife, controlling mother-in-law



Made screen caps of the South/North Indian prejudice. Future mother-in-law demands that Rupa change from her South Indian sari to a North Indian sari.

Rupa wants to wear South Indian sari





Rupa changing to North Indian sari to please future mother-in-law





Funny poster on Rupa's bathroom door



Anand isn't the first Southie film I've seen with the beautiful colors on the cement. I don't know the name of the event and the reasons behind it. Anyone help me out? - Updated -- Thanks Shweta for telling me that it's rangoli! So beautiful. My daughter loves art and would love this!





Have I not talked about this film enough for you to watch?

If not, let me convince you. Anand is a low-budget film that took these awards.

Santosham Film Awards 2005 - August 2, 2005.

Best Film
Best Experimental Film
Best Director - Sekhar Kammula
Best Producer - Sekhar Kammula
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Kamalinee Mukherjee
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Satya Krishnan
Best Child Artiste - Bakhita
Best Female Dubbing Artist - Sunitha
Best First Film Heroine - Kamalinee Mukherjee
Best Male Singer - Radha Krishnan
Best Editing - Marthand K Venkatesh

Usually, awards don't mean much to me but with the case of Anand, it was well-deserved!

Go watch it!!