Archive · 27 Aug 2026
Anand’s Making Marked Rajesh Khanna’s Superstar Era Before Bachchan’s Rise
Anand is a film about a cheerful man who knows he will die soon.
He decides to make his remaining time meaningful and bring happiness to others.
Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee based the character partly on his friend Raj Kapoor.
Rajesh Khanna played Anand while he was one of India’s biggest stars.
Amitabh Bachchan played the doctor who becomes Anand’s close friend.
The film was made very quickly because Khanna was working on many movies.
Some distributors wanted Anand to survive, but Mukherjee believed the story required his death.
The audience learns from the beginning that Anand is already dead, so the film focuses on how he lived.
Its final message is that a joyful way of living can continue to inspire people after death.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee modelled Anand’s character on his friend Raj Kapoor.
Rajesh Khanna accepted the role during unprecedented stardom and filmed it amid an intense schedule.
A young Amitabh Bachchan played Dr Bhaskar Banerjee, gaining greater recognition from working with Khanna.
Most filming took place at Mohan Studio in Bombay and was completed in about a month.
Mukherjee rejected a miraculous ending, preserving Anand’s death and the film’s message about living fully.
- Who
- Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, actor Rajesh Khanna as Anand, and Amitabh Bachchan as Dr Bhaskar Banerjee were central to the film.
- What
- The article recounts the making of Anand, its casting, rapid production, rivalry concerns, and emotionally powerful ending.
- When
- The film was shot in 1970, with most filming completed in about one month.
- Where
- Most of the shooting took place at Mohan Studio in Bombay; a press screening was held at Excelsior theatre near VT in Bombay.
- Why
- Mukherjee wanted to explore how people can live fully and face death, while preserving the story’s philosophical meaning.
Preserve the Tragic Ending
Make the Ending More Commercial
Whether Anand should die
Preserve the Tragic Ending
Hrishikesh Mukherjee believed Anand had to die because otherwise the film would lose its philosophical premise.
Make the Ending More Commercial
Some distributors feared audiences would reject the tragedy and proposed a commercial twist in which divine intervention saved Anand.
- Director
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee
- Lead role
- Rajesh Khanna played Anand
- Doctor’s role
- Amitabh Bachchan played Dr Bhaskar Banerjee
- Character inspiration
- Anand was modelled heavily on Raj Kapoor’s vibrant personality
- Production period
- Shot in 1970 and completed in about one month
- Primary studio
- Mohan Studio in Bombay
- Ending
- Anand dies, and his recorded message plays after Dr Bhaskar returns with medicine