Anubhav has many layers and talks about how life is not completely black or white.
It is about a character that takes a positive stand in life, gets on with his decision and then eventually looses his way.
One point precisely conveyed in Anubhav by director Rajiv Nath is that men are as vulnerable to sexual abuse as women in the Bollywood which is the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai.
Anubhav (Sanjay Suri), Antara (Shruthi Seth) and Aadi (Anoop Menon) who nurture big Bollywood dreams, are products of the Bombay theatre academy. It is by now generally known what all it takes to face the struggle in Bollywood and achieve the success a struggler dreams of.
During his struggling times, Anubhav comes across Meera (Gul Panag) who excitedly declares that she is his fan. They fall in love and get married against Meera’s rich parents’ wishes.
They are now supported and backed by the theatre guru Ibrahim Vakil (Jackie Shroff). Meanwhile Anubhav’s friend Aadi gets a producer for the film which is supposed to be an adaptation of famous Shakespearean play, Hamlet.
Anubhav is in the main lead of that film which gets stuck midway owing to a sudden demise of their producer. It is at the same time that his wife Meera runs into some pregnancy complications which in turn lead to an unexpected turn of destiny for him.
These unanticipated turn of events drives Anubhav to become a gigolo who trades his body to sex hungry woman in return of money. While he is satisfying his clients, he imagines them to be characters in a movie. These thoughts drive him to a point when he doesn’t realize who he is, a gigolo, an actor or an ordinary man.
Towards the end, there is a melodramatic angle about Anubhav’s new born daughter’s illness and how his wife thinks that their daughter is dead.
Sanjay Suri, who plays the title role is the only saving grace in this film. He is brilliant in those touchy scenes where he is shown grieving and is unhappy with his decision to be a gigolo to save his newborn daughter. He is ably supported by Gul Panag, who plays his wife, who is impressive in the emotional scenes. Sudha Chandran and Raj Zutshi have not much in their parts. Jackie Shroff too is wasted in this role.
The basic premise of the film is really interesting since its topical and such things do happen in present times in Bollywood. It is sad that a National Award winning director Rajiv Nath has come out with this average fare, especially since the fundamental theme could have been tackled with a more sensitivity. Nothing much in this film.
Cast of Anubhav:
Anubhav – Sanjay Suri
Meera – Gul Kirat Panag
Antara – Shruti Seth
Aadi – Anoop Menon
Ibrahim Vakil – Jackie Shroff
Mita Vasisht
Rajendranath Zutshi
Sudha Chandran
Credits & Crew of Anubhav:
Director: Rajiv Nath
Screenplay Writer – Anoop Menon
Cinematography – Azhagappan
Associate Director – Shankar Ramakrishnan
Anubhav, movie review