Awara (1951)

1951

Directed by: Raj Kapoor

Music: Shankar-Jaikishen

Starring: Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Prithviraj Kapoor, 

Leela Chitnis, KN Singh, Cuckoo

India's post-colonial golden age of movies produced auteurs who used their platform to tell stories of ordinary people - their lives, their disenchantments, their struggles. They used humour and drama and melody to etch out characters who remain imprinted in the memories of generations of film-goers. Amongst these auteurs is the name that cannot, will not, be forgotten. Like him or hate him, Raj Kapoor has left his mark on the cinema of an age, his films becoming a hit not only in his own country, but calling to the emotions of men and women halfway across the world. Much like Ramayya vastavayya in Shree 420 is carried from one part of the city to another by people who hear the song and hum it as they go along, Awara hoon was heard on the lips of men in Turkey and Soviet Russia and Indonesia and China.

 

Awara introduced a generation of film-goers to the 'lovable tramp' image that Raj Kapoor wore like a second skin from then on. It was his homage to Charlie Chaplin, the original tramp. However, it wasn't until Shree 420 that the tramp would become his alter ego. In Awara, Raju is not just a vagabond; he is a hardcore criminal, ironically thrust into the seamier side of life by his own father's actions. 

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