Anamika (1973 film)

Plot

Devendra Dutt is a famous writer. One night, while returning from a meeting, he sees a young woman dropped out of a moving car. His uncle Shiv Prasad insists they take her home and get her medical attention. He hesitatingly agrees.

The next morning, the young woman regains consciousness. Devendra's doctor Hussain diagnoses her with amnesia; she cannot remember anything except that she is married to Devendra. She cannot remember anything from her past - not even her name except that she is "Mrs. Dutt". Everyone tries to convince her otherwise, but she insists she is in her own home. They post an advertisement for her in the newspaper but receive no response. Seeing her fragile state, Devendra and Shiv Prasad decide to let her stay for some time. They call her "Anamika" (meaning a woman with no name).

Devendra, a raging misogynist, slowly mellows down and grows close to her, secretly wishing that she would stay forever. His publisher's son Naresh comes by to drop off a royalty check and recognizes Anamika, about whom he has an unpleasant memory. He withholds the truth from Devendra and later sends his goons to try to kidnap her. Devendra fights them off and they run away. On his uncle's suggestion, Devendra takes her to

Devendra, already supposedly deceived by a girl four years prior, feels conned and believes that Anamika, like all women, is immoral. He throws her out of his house and Naresh kidnaps her, but the house that they are in catches fire. She escapes, while he is trapped behind. Shiv Prasad, who still has faith in Anamika, later shows Devendra a newspaper article about Anamika, here identified as Archana, receiving an award for philanthropy on her mother's behalf. Devendra goes to meet her at a ceremony, where she refuses to recognize him and is introduced to him as Mrs. Kashyap. Confused, Devendra pleads with her to tell him the truth. Anamika accuses him of distrusting all women over a heartbreak, but finally narrates her past to him.

An ardent fan of Devendra's novels, Archana was infatuated with him while in college. However, incessantly pursued by her classmate Naresh, and helpless by her poverty, worsened by her mother's ill-health, she agrees to an arranged marriage. On her wedding night, she learns that she is married to Naresh's brother, who deserts her the same night believing himself unworthy of her. Taking advantage of his brother's absence, Naresh harasses her. She escapes from the house and meets Rubai, who gets her employed at Malhotra's company. Malhotra tries to take advantage of her in Simla; when she resists, he blames her for the incident. Rubai outwardly sympathizes with her and puts her up in what she claims is a working women's hostel. A few days later, Anamika gets arrested with the rest of the girls in a police raid and realizes that she had been staying at a brothel. She is released, based on the testimony of the other inmates and her own statement against Rubai, who tries to exact revenge for this and sends goons to kill her. While attempting to escape the goons, Anamika jumps out of a moving car on the night that Devendra finds her. When she regained her consciousness and discovered that she was at her favorite author's house, she decided to stay, come what may.

Anamika admits that she has no evidence to prove it, but Devendra believes her and begs forgiveness, reconciling with her. Just then, a badly burnt Naresh attacks them both. After a prolonged cat-and-mouse chase in a darkened house, Naresh gets electrocuted.

Cast