Anamika

Anamika is a romance/thriller from 1973, starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri

Devendra (Sanjeev Kumar) is a writer and poet, who hates women due to a seriously unpleasant breakup in his past. When a mysterious woman (Jaya Bhaduri) wanders out in front of his American-made Cool Car, he very grudgingly takes her home... only to completely freak out when she claims she's his wife. His kindly uncle and the police both think that she has Identity Amnesia but Devendra thinks that she is a con artist Faking Amnesia for a Wounded Gazelle Gambit. But everyone insists that he take her in and treat her decently, so he (very very grudgingly) does. Over time, he becomes attracted to the warmth and optimism of this mysterious woman, whom he calls Anamika (which means "unnamed" in Sanskrit, but has a subtext of "without a destiny" or "one who makes her own destiny"). Meanwhile, people occasionally stalk and attack her, and he has to protect her. He continues to investigate her background, with increasingly unpleasant results, until the point where it really looks like she's a former prostitute and a con artist, and is definitely Faking Amnesia. But once again, is Anamika truly what she seems?

This film was a fairly major hit in its time and one of the songs was quoted in Kal Ho Naa Ho.


 * Alternate Character Interpretation: Devendra is meant to be a tormented and aloof person, who grows and improves due to Anamika's influence. He does turn into a Badass Bookworm whenever he encounters Anamika's enemies, and gradually learns not to be a misogynist, but it takes so much nagging by the supporting characters to get him to do the right thing, and he is so hostile towards Anamika at times, that a viewer can easily end up pegging him as a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk
 * Badass Bookworm / Cultured Badass: Devendra has elements of this.
 * Ascended Fangirl: it seems that Anamika was a fan of Devendra's books.
 * Enforced Method Acting: an odd inversion of this occurred when Sanjeev and Jaya were filming a romantic song sequence. He had to leave the set over lunchbreak, to discuss the possibility of him marrying an actress named Hema Malini with her parents. He was excited, and Jaya, a close but platonic friend, was excited for him. He came back and refused to tell Jaya what had gone down, but insisted on finishing the shoot. She thought he was just teasing her, and went along with it. After they finished shooting, Jaya got him to tell her what had happened: Hema's parents had turned him down flat. Jaya broke down crying in sympathy with her friend, and Sanjeev claimed that this was why he hadn't told her earlier: he was afraid of upsetting her and affecting her performance.
 * Faking Amnesia / Identity Amnesia: most of the plot hinges on which trope applies to the heroine.
 * Freudian Excuse: Devendra's previous bad experience in a romantic relationship is implied to be this.
 * I Love You Because I Can't Control You: when the real villain is revealed in the second half, his attitude towards Anamika has elements of this.
 * Malicious Slander: what leads to Devendra believing that Anamika is a former prostitute.
 * Meaningful Name: Devendra gives the mysterious woman the name "Anamika," which means "Nameless" or "Unknown" in Sanskrit but carries a subtext of "one without a destiny" or "one who makes her own destiny."
 * Plucky Girl: Anamika. She's no Action Girl, but she remains fun and upbeat in difficult situations. She's strong enough to stand up to the villain (and to her love interest), and she's smart enough to know when to beat feet and when to call the police.
 * Title Drop
 * Values Dissonance: Devendra slaps Anamika twice, once when she's frightened by a storm and trying to crawl into bed with him, and once when he's driving her out of his house for deceiving him.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: the supporting characters do this to Devendra several times.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: What Devendra thinks Anamika is doing initially.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Devendra's suspicions of Anamika might be more justified if he were living in a Femme Fatale-infested Film Noir rather than a Bollywood romantic thriller starring an actress famous for her likable girl-next-door characters.