Anokha Rishta

About the film

Anokha Rishta is a 1986 Indian Hindi film, directed by prominent Malayalam director I.V. Sasi, written by Rahi Masoom Raza, and starring Rajesh Khanna in the lead, supported by Smita Patil, Sabeeha, Tanuja, Shafi Inamdar, Satish Shah and Karan Shah. A remake of the director's own 1984 Malayalam film Kanamarayathu starring Mammootty, the story revolves around the three characters played by Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil and Sabeeha. The original film was written by prominent Malayalam writer P. Padmarajan and was loosely based on Jean Webster's 1919 novel Daddy-Long-Legs. Anokha Rishta was the debut of Sabeeha, the daughter of actress Ameeta. The movie did decent business on its release.

Synopsis

Anokha Rishta is the story of an unusual relationship between Mary and Robert Brown. Mary is a 19-year-old orphan who lives in an orphanage run by nuns. She scores 92.5% in her last year of school and is artistically talented. Her school education was being sponsored by a philanthropist. When he passes away, Mother Superior meets with the old man's son Robert 'Bob' Brown and requests him to continue supporting Mary's college education.

Bob, who is now at the helm of his father's business, agrees after consulting his father's trusted aid Nasir Khan. Bob insists that Mary not be told of her sponsor's death so she continues to write him letters and Bob can fulfill her wishes. Bob does not know what Mary looks, like but keeps receiving letters from Mary asking for new dresses and accessories and such. Mother Superior advises Mary not tell any one that she is an orphan when she is in her city college and hostel and instead say that her parents live in Dubai. Bob is a good looking bachelor, who is a rich businessman, aged above 40. On meeting him with her college friend Sweety, Mary ends up falling in love with Bob without knowing he is her sponsor and "her uncle", to whom she writes letters regularly.

Bill is a young man working for Bob. Bill finds out that Bob was in love with Dr. Padma, but the couple decided to remain unmarried as they did not want to go against their respective fathers' wishes. At Sweety's birthday party, Bob notices Mary wearing the dress and accessories he had sent the girl in the orphanage, but does not read too much into this since he thinks she is from Dubai. Bill falls in love with Mary but she rejects Bill. After numerous attempts to impress Mary fail, Bill decides to take his work more seriously and starts working more sincerely. Mary, being madly in love with Bob keeps on living in her dreamy world of a married life with him. She refrains from sharing her feelings and mental agony (of not getting a positive response from Bob) with "her uncle" since all incoming and outgoing mail is first screened by Mother Superior.

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