1988; English; 35mm; 112 Mins; Colour

BANNER
Grapevine Media Pvt. Ltd

CREDIT TITLES
Direction: Pradip Krishen
Story & Screenplay: Arundhati Roy
Cinematography: Rajesh Joshi
Audiography: Indrajit Neogi
Editing: A. Thyagaraju Art
Direction: Ravi Kaimal

CAST
Arjun Raina
Arundhati Roy
Rituraj
Roshan Seth
Isaac Thomas
Divya Seth
Idries Malik
Moses Uboh
Himani Shivpuri
Shah Rukh Khan

SYNOPSIS
Anand Grover, better known as Annie, is victimised for making fun of his principal Y.D. Billimoria (popularly known as Yamdoot or Hell's messenger) years ago. At the School of Architecture, New Delhi, Annie is repeating his fifth year for the fourth time. He spends his hours in the hostel which is the best part of his life, by 'giving it those ones' - indulging in daydreams of social upliftment. His latest idea is to plant fruit trees on either side of railway tracks, where rural India defecates daily. The fecal matter will provide the necessary compost for the trees, while the trains, with sprinklers attached, will automatically water the plants.

Annie also keeps two hens in his room and earns a modest sum by selling the eggs, till one day his friend, Mankind, and his Ugandan roommate, Kasozi, make a roasted meal out of them. Soon, however, hirsute Arjun and his girlfriend Radha, a non-conformist student who steals cigarettes from Yamdoot and talks back to the teachers, present Annie with a rabbit.

Many adventures later, the day to submit the thesis draws near, and Annie, urged by his friends, apologises to Yamdoot. A panel of judges call the students one by one for their final interviews and the tension mounts. Radha goes dressed in a saree but wears a man's hat to detract from her sober attire. To make sure that Annie gets a sympathetic hearing from the hostile panel, Radha and Arjun work out a plan. Just when Annie is called in, Yamdoot receives a phone call from his dominating deep-voiced mother, in actuality Mankind. The trick works and the weary panel gives Annie a good grade.

At the party after the graduation ceremony Annie arrives with heavy books under his arm, his hair shaved off and a butterfly painted on his head! He informs his friends that he has decided to study law and then sue Yamdoot. But subsequently, Annie joins the staff at the architecture school and, when Yamdoot retires, even becomes the Head of the Department of Design!

NOTE: Film was the recipient of two National Awards in 1989.