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Chetan Anand Changed the Face Of Indian Cinema: There are some names in the golden pages of Indian cinema, which are remembered not only for the sensitivity to art, but also for their foresight. Chetan Anand is a name that put new thinking on screen and installed Indian cinema on a global stage. On July 6, he is his death anniversary. He was a person who brought not only amazing films, but also the first superstar like Rajesh Khanna to the world.

Born on 3 January 1921, a lawyer Pishori Lal Anand, a lawyer in Lahore (Pakistan), Chetan Anand completed his studies from Gurukul Kangri University and Government College in Lahore. He had a keen interest in Hindu scriptures and English literature.

In the 1930s, he joined the Indian National Congress, then taught in Doon School. But, his real floor was cinema. In the 1940s, he wrote a script on Emperor Ashoka, which brought him to Mumbai. The same cinematic journey started from here, which gave a new direction to Indian cinema.

History was created with the first film

Chetan Anand created history in his first step. His debut film ‘Nicha Nagar’, which was in 1946, not only helped Indian cinema to get a global identity, but also brought laurels to India by winning the Grand Prix (now Palm D’Or) award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film, which was inspired by Maxim Gorky’s play ‘Lower Deppths’, was a strong example of social realism. It presented the story of exploitation of the poor on screen through control of water. The film helped stars like Kamini Kaushal and Pandit Ravi Shankar to get a special place in the cinema world.

Neo -ketan production started with brother Devanand

In the year 1949, Chetan founded Navketan Productions with his younger brother Devanand, which gave many memorable films to Hindi cinema. His first film was ‘Officer’ in the year 1950, in which Devanand and Suraiya acted. This was followed by a ‘taxi driver’ in 1954, which was successful. The film not only won the hearts of the audience, but SD. Burman was also awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Music.

Films like ‘Andhians’ and ‘Funtush’ presented his versatility to the audience. In 1957, Chetan directed films like ‘Arpan’ and ‘Anjali’, in which he himself acted.

In 1960, Chetan started his production company Himalaya Films and formed a team with composer Madan Mohan, lyricist Kaifi Azmi and actress Priya Dynasty, which gave Hindi cinema some precious gems.

Reality: India’s first war film

‘Hakikat’ came in 1964, which was India’s first full-length war film and showed patriotism and war scene in the backdrop of the 1962 Indo-China war. The film set up new criteria at the level of technical and plot with shooting at 15,000 feet height of Ladakh. It received the National Award for Second Best Feature Film in 1965. Jal Mistry of this film received the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography.

Chetan Anand’s biggest contribution was to bring Rajesh Khanna into the cinema world. The filmmaker discovered Rajesh Khanna in an acting competition and gave the first break in the 1966 film ‘Aakhri Khat’.

After this, Chetan gave Rajesh Khanna a chance in the film ‘Kudrat’ released in 1981. People still remember the song ‘Hum Tumse Pyaar Kisi’, based on the theme of the previous birth. Parveen Sultana won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Singer for this song.

Actress Priya Dynasty was an important part of Chetan Anand’s life, whom she discovered during ‘Hakat’. Priya worked in every film of Chetan, and the relationship between the two was throughout his life. However, Chetan had separated from his wife Uma Anand and could not marry Priya for legal reasons. Chetan gave Priya the right to live for a lifetime in her bungalow in Juhu, Mumbai.

Heer Ranjha and other memorable movies

Other important films of Chetan include ‘Heer Ranjha’, ‘Hanste Khm’ and ‘Hindustan Ki Kasam’. The songs of ‘Heer Ranjha’, such as ‘Milo Na Tum To Hum Hum Naze’ and ‘This world this Mahafil’ are still popular today. In the year 1988, Chetan made the ‘Param Vir Chakra’ serial for Doordarshan, in which the stories of India’s Param Vir Chakra winners were shown. This TV show was highly appreciated from the audience.

Chetan Anand received many honors for his cinematic contribution. In 1995, the Cannes Film Festival gave special respect to Chetan for celebrating the Golden Jubilee of ‘Nicha Nagar’.

Chetan Anand’s cinematic heritage is still alive. His wife Uma Anand and son Ketan Anand published his biography ‘Chetan Anand: The Poetics of Film’ in 2006 and also created a documentary in 2008. Chetan Anand died on 6 July 1997.