Pradip Krishen was an unusual filmmaker. His first film “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones” won a National Award and has gained a cult status in Indian parallel cinema. It was one of Shahrukh Khan’s earliest film appearances and starred an unlikely name in Bollywood–Arundhati Roy.
Annie seems to have an old altercation with “Yamdoot”, the head of the architecture department who, at one point, helps him get out of police lockup.
Arundhati Roy plays a carefree, urbane girl who has Marxist ideas about the whole business of architecture. It is only the upper class that exploits the cityscape while the poor make their ends meet in the ‘gaps’ that exist in the city.
Shahrukh Khan’s small but noticeable role is that of a quirky senior who speaks polished English and parts his (oily) hair in the middle.
Dissent is the constant undertone that runs throughout the film, be it Annie’s unwillingness to submit to the norms set up for him by his college, or Roy’s resolve to present a thesis on her Marxist perspective of architecture for her final exam.
“In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones” is a film which finds relevance in our world today.