Amar Akbar Anthony

It's Amar Akbar Anthony

Now the story of a family who lost everything, and the one nation state that had no choice but to keep them all together. Its Amar Akbar Anthony (1977). Before I launch into post-graduate-education-mandated analysis, an overview of the film for the uninitiated. Fredric Jameson (1979) argued that all post-colonial film is national allegory. He was perhaps thinking of AAA (1977), which is the most entertaining national allegory to ever sing and dance cynically/jubilantly across the silver screen.

The boys left at Ghandi's feet

The film opens with would-be patriarch Krishinlal’s (Pran) release from prison. His crime: he confessed to a hit-and-run accident perpetrated by the villainous Robert (Jeevan), his employer, after receiving assurances that his family would be cared for during his incarceration. Upon his release, however, Krishanlal finds his wife tubercular and his children starving. Krishinlal confronts Robert, shooting him and stealing a suitcase full of money. Rushing home, Krishanlal finds his wife Bharati (Nirupa Roy) gone, having left a suicide note. Gathering up his sons, he drives off, chased by Robert's thugs. He drops his sons under a statue of Gandhi, and crashes his car. Snagging the cash, Krishanlal returns to the statue, only to find his sons gone, adopted by a Hindu police officer, a Muslim tailor, and a Catholic priest. Bharati is crushed under a tree branch, goes blind, and is rescued from the side of the road by the above-mentioned Muslim tailor, who returns her to her home, where she finds her family gone.

Donating blood in the hospital

Fast-forward 20 years. The boys are grown and all end up together in a hospital in time to give their mother, named Bharati (literally ‘of India’), a life-saving blood transfusion. Please observe the heavy-handed visual- the Christian brother in front of a church, the Muslim brother in front of a mosque, and the Hindu brother in front of a temple. Subtle it ain't.

This is all during the 23-minute long prologue. Before the opening credits start to roll. AAA is a long film. The copy I own (this film is so awesome I bought it) runs to three disks. Sholay, another 1970s classic, is equally long. Hindi films require commitment, but I promise- this one is well worth it.

Amitabh Bachan is the top-billed star of the trio of brothers, and receives the most screen time. He is also the most gifted physical comic of the trio. His drunken dialogue with his reflection, which peaks with his application of iodine and bandages to the mirror, is world-class. “My Name is Anthony Gonzales”, featuring cosmopolitan beats and a misquote from a speech delivered by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, is another highlight of the film. The fact that Christians rarely emerge singing from Easter eggs at Easter parties is entirely beside the point, because really, wouldn't Easter be even better with more singing and dancing men in tails emerging from Easter eggs? And Amitabh Bachan is undeniably charming, especially circa 1977. OutlookIndia asked "Amar, Akbar or Anthony?" This is a stupid question- Anthony, every single time.

Of course the Christian character spouts pompous English-language nonsense and attends religious events. Not one to discriminate against stereotypes, director Manmohan Desai calls upon nearly every possible filmy trope in this film. Taking the notion of Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai to new heights of literalness, the three brothers fight, frolic, woo religiously appropriate matches (same same!), and defeat imperialist influences, all while confirming the power of the Hindu Nation-State, as embodied by eldest brother Amar. To elaborate: the villain is English-speaking, whiskey-drinking Robert, replaced by the Hindi-speaking (and obviously less villainous) whiskey-drinking Krishanlal; only Britishers and bad Indians ever drink alcohol. Akbar, the Muslim brother, sings qawwali (sufi religious music) and his father is a tailor. Anthony, the Christian bother, is a bar owner and flim-flam man with a heart of gold and a Jesuit priest as a spiritual and stand-in father; aren't all Christians simultaneously devout and up to no good? Amar, the Hindu brother, is solid, upright, forgiving, and fundamentally virtuous police officer (Nation-State!). Unsurprisingly, he is also the least entertaining brother. Most importantly to the story-line, when push comes to shove and there are women in wedding gowns to be rescued, the three men and three faiths come together to save the girls, sing another song, and celebrate their unity as brothers and Indians. Unity! India! Hooray! Spoiler alert: this film has a happy ending, and just in case there was any question, the Nation-State was right all along.

Or maybe not. More than just national allegory, AAA is also a self-aware satire of post-colonial, post-Nehruvian Indian nationalism. The forth wall is broken throughout the film by Anthony, who winks with self-awareness at the camera, acknowledging the impossibility of the tale and the fantastical elements of the story and action. The stereotypes are a little too pat, the ending a little too jolly. As Tobias exclaimed, "This is ripe for parody!", and the campy exuberance often feels like the parody of Nehruvian propaganda, in which religious tensions, injustices, and economic stagnation are subsumed by the love of a just, modern, brotherly India.

Given the political climate in which the film was released, the underlying cynicism is unsurprising. The film's release coincided with the ending of Indira Gandhi's Emergency Rule, which lasted from June 25, 1975 until March 21, 1977. The Emergency saw opponents of Indira Gandhi imprisoned, the press censored, civil liberties suspended, elections canceled, slums cleared, and the poor forcibly sterilized. The Emergency remains controversial, and was the greatest challenge to Indian democracy to date.

Thus, the image of Lucille Bluth is appropriate- Lucille, like the Indian Nation-State, claims to want to “hold this family together”, while in truth, neither has any interest in anything of the sort except to the extent that the repetition of the idea can be harnessed as a means to self-serving ends. This underlying theme is not immediately obvious- on the surface, AAA is an unabashed celebration of a pluralist nation and benevolent nation state. However, the fact that the film was both extremely popular and censored until 1977, after the Emergency ended, lends still more relevance to Lucille's snap, “If that’s a veiled criticism about me, I wont hear it, and I wont respond to it.”

Is this film perfect? No. When people joke about ridiculous fight scenes in Hindi films, AAA's kind of fight scene is what they were talking about. It is very, very, very long. I love this film. It is very long. However, if there is any doubt in your mind about the use of 3.5 hours of your time on this film, remember - Amitabh Bachan emerges from an Easter egg- an actual Easter egg- in a top hat and tails.  

Bollyweird.blogspot.com, by Byron Aihara, offers insights into the "lost and found" themes in the film and additional context.

Film: Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) 

Director: Manmohan Desai

Writer: Smt. Jeevanprabha M.Desai, Kader Khan
Runtime: 184 minutes
Languages: Hindi, Urdu, English
Country: India

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