Anmol (Priceless) is a 90's Bollywood remake of Cinderella. A hotel heiress is made into a maid by her Wicked Stepmother and stepsisters after her father is murdered. After years go by, a singer named Prem comes to work for the hotel and, falling in love with Anmol, tries to rescue her from her evil family. Unfortunately, when the stepmother's brother owes money to some illegal gamblers, she is more than happy to sell her stepdaughter into prostitution to pay off his debts...
The film includes examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: Being an incarnation of Cinderella's stepmother, Pushpa already makes Anmol into a maid. She also murdered the girl's father and plans on selling her to a whorehouse as her final revenge.
- Big Friendly Dog: Prem's dog Moti.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Pushpa convinced Anmol's father that she is just a poor widow who would be a loving mother to his daughter. She isn't. Likewise, Khanna seems to be a loving brother-in-law. Presumably, it is also implied they get away with confining Anmol to the house by being the "well-meaning" relatives who keep the unmarried heiress in a Gilded Cage.
- Cinderella Plot: The film is a remake of Cinderella, focused on a hotel hostess falling in love with a musician.
- Decomposite Character: As an adaptation of Cinderella, the stepmother's brother shares her role as the villain of the story.
- Dream Sequence: Anmol has two where she fantasizes over her life with Prem.
- Evil Gloating: Pushpa finally gets her comeuppance when the family servant overhears her boasting about selling Anmol and tricks her into doing the same while calling the police.
- Evil Uncle: Khanna
- Formerly Fat: A throw-away line mentions Prem was fat as a child, but has grown to become "quite handsome," ignoring that Rishi Kapoor, while handsome, was still visibly overweight...
- Friend to All Living Things: Anmol plays with some local forest animals during two of her songs.
- Girl in the Tower: In a shout-out to Disney, Anmol is locked in her room when the stepmother learns Prem has fallen in love with her. She escapes through the chimney. Likewise, Anmol is kept locked in the house on threat of burning.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: The stepfamily would have won if they just waited for Prem to pay for Anmol's dowry. Justified in that they did not expect him to get the money.
- Lost Will and Testament: Played with. Anmol's father died rather than sign his daughter's inheritance over to Khanna. In hindsight, this probably saved her from being killed by Pushpa, since she will only benefit from the estate as her guardian. They proceed to make Anmol their maid and keep her locked in the house, when she is the hotel's rightful owner. Later in the movie, however, when Anmol tries to run off with Prem, they threaten to tell the police that he was trying to still Anmol's inheritance. Ultimately, it's never made clear if Anmol is unaware that she is the hotel's rightful owner or if she is just too terrified of her stepfamily to act against them.
- Love at First Note: Prem overhears Anmol singing while doing her chores when he first meets her. A bit pragmatic, since he wants her to help with his upcoming show at the hotel.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Inverted. The stepsisters threaten to have Prem killed when they learn he has fallen in love with Anmol. Initially willing to blackmail Anmol by threatening to tell their uncle about the romance unless she breaks up with him, they tell him anyway.
- Old Retainer: The old family servant tries to protect Anmol from her stepfamily. He notably is the one to contact the police when he learns that Anmol has been sold to the whorehouse.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Twice. Pushpa and Khanna initially threaten to have Prem arrested when he announces his plan to run away with Anmol, since she is underage. Believing him to be a poor street singer, they will give him permission if he can pay a large dowry for her, despite it usually being the bride's family that pays. In reality, they are only trying to get rid of him so they could sell Anmol to the whorehouse. Afterwards, Prem's father will only give him the money needed to rescue Anmol if he marries his business associate's daughter. Fortunately, the intended bride takes pity on Prem and gives him her jewels to sell and get the needed money. Unfortunately, Anmol has been sold, anyway.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: The police do not get involved with the story, or, at least, nobody has the sense to get them involved, until S.D. overhears Pushpa boasting about selling Anmol to the whorehouse.
- Likewise, Pushpa and her daughters, despite the former being guilty of murder and the latter of threatening to kill Prem, are spared a Karmic Death, unlike Khanna and Zafar.
- Replacement Goldfish: Zafar's parents, after rescuing Anmol from their son and take her in as their adopted daughter, tell her how they lost their biological daughter to cancer. The mother even comments that God has given them back their daughter through Anmol.
- Theme Naming: The stepsisters, Champa and Chameli, have names meaning "Magnolia" and "Jasmine." Their mother, Pushpa, has a name that means "flower."
- Ungrateful Bastard: Pushpa and Khanna. Anmol's father was more than indulgent towards Pushpa, adopting her daughters as his own and even allowing her brother to live with the family. They still murder him to inherit his fortune.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: For an abused servant girl, Anmol certainly has a lot of nice saris. To be fair, the first she is seen wearing as an adult is covered in patches and the stepsisters rip up the formal dress she wanted to wear to Prem's show, but she just changes into a nice, black dress instantly afterward. A throw-away line implies that they are her stepsisters' cast-offs.
- Uptown Girl: Played with. Anmol is an heiress enslaved by her stepmother. Prem is a poor singer who actually comes from money, but ran off to become a singer. The ending implies his father will be more involved with his life.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Did Anmol reclaim her rights to the hotel? Did Pushpa and her daughters, while they presumably rot in jail, learn she escaped the whorehouse and reunited with Prem? Did Pushpa ever get exposed for her husband's murder? Did they learn that Khanna is dead? While Zafar's parents appear to share in the happy ending, what happens to them now?
- Wicked Stepmother: Pushpa
- Witch with a Capital "B": After learning she's sold Anmol, Prem tells her stepmother, "You're not a woman, you're a witch."
- Woman Scorned: The stepsisters initially throw themselves at Prem. When they learn he is more interested in Anmol, they try to have him killed.
