Anand

Anand is the film that made Amitabh Bachchan a star — not as the hero, but as the brooding, guilt-ridden doctor who watches the hero die. Rajesh Khanna plays Anand Sehgal, a man dying of lymphosarcoma who has decided to spend his remaining months spreading joy rather than wallowing in despair. Bachchan plays Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee, who treats Anand and is transformed by him.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's direction is a masterclass in tonal control. The film is funny, sentimental, and heartbreaking in equal measure, and it never tips into mawkishness because Khanna's Anand genuinely radiates joy. The famous death scene — Anand's voice on tape, recorded before he died, telling his friends "Babumoshai, zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi" ('Life should be big, not long') — is one of the most quoted and parodied scenes in Indian cinema history. That it still works, after fifty years of repetition, is a testament to its power.

The dialogues by Gulzar are so sharp they could cut glass. Bachchan won his first Filmfare Award (Best Supporting Actor) for the role, and the film swept the National Awards.