Awaara (
Hindi:
आवारा Āvārā, meaning "Tramp"; also written
Awāra) is a 1951
Hindi film directed and produced by
Raj Kapoor who also plays the leading role. Music was composed by the team of
Shankar Jaikishan. Kapoor's real-life father
Prithviraj Kapoor stars as his on-screen father Judge Raghunath. Kapoor's youngest real-life brother
Shashi Kapoor plays the younger version of his character. Prithiviraj's father Dewan Bashwanath Kapoor also played a cameo role in his only film appearance.
The film centers on the intertwining lives of poor Raj (Kapoor) and privileged Rita (
Nargis). In the film, Kapoor's poor, innocent "little tramp" character references
Charlie Chaplin and was further developed in other Kapoor films such as
Shri 420.
The film became an overnight sensation in South Asia, and found success abroad in the
Soviet Union, East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In particular, the song "
Awaara Hoon" (I am a Tramp), sung by
Mukesh with lyrics by
Shailendra, became hugely popular across the
Indian subcontinent, as well as in the Soviet Union,
China,
Turkey,
Afghanistan, and
Romania. The film was also nominated for the
Grand Prize of the
Cannes Film Festival in 1953. Owing to its popularity in so many countries, the film is a candidate for most successful film of all time. In 2012,
Awaara was included in the 20 new entries to
All-Time 100 greatest films by
TIME.
- 1 Plot
- 2 Cast
- 3 Soundtrack
- 4 Production
- 5 Reception
- 5.1 Box office
- 5.2 Remake
- 6 Bibliography
- 7 External links
Plot
Judge Raghunath is a wealthy district judge who convicts Jagga, a man whose father was a criminal, of rape on little evidence. The judge believes that "good people are born to good people, and criminals are born to criminals." Jagga later escapes and kidnaps the judge's wife Leela for revenge. When he finds out that she has just become pregnant, he releases her after four days and plans a different kind of revenge. The judge suspects that Leela was unfaithful to him with Jagga, and throws her out of the house.
She has a son, Raj, and they live in poverty as a result of being estranged from the father. As a child, Raj befriends Rita in school, but he is removed from the school rolls while trying to maintain a job, and Rita moves to another city. Even though they are separated, Rita remains in Raj's thoughts. On the streets, Raj turns to a life of petty crime and finds a father-figure in Jagga, who helps him to become a talented criminal.
While planning a bank robbery with his friends, Raj realises they need an automobile. He snatches a woman's purse after she steps out of the car, but finds no keys, and pretends to pursue the thief to release suspicion from himself. After his elaborate act, he returns the purse to the woman, who is soon revealed to be Rita. Rita is now a ward of the Judge, who suspects that Raj is no good and eventually restricts Rita from seeing him. Raj and Rita, who is becoming a lawyer, eventually realise that they are the same childhood friends, and they fall in love. Raj tries to quit his life of crime, but his employers fire him when they find out that he was a thief.
Becoming desperate he goes back to Jagga for a money loan, but Jagga wants him to commit more crimes. Raj refuses, but steals a necklace from a man he meets on the street, not knowing it was the judge. When he gives the necklace to Rita for her birthday, she discover that he is indeed a thief. Rita goes to Raj's mother and finds out the whole truth about his life.
When Raj realises that Jagga is responsible for his mother's misery, he kills Jagga in a fit of rage. At his trial the judge in the case is
Raghunath. Rita persuades him that Raj acted in self-defense. However, when Raj learns that the judge is his father, he escapes and attempts to kill him. Due to these actions, Raj is brought to another court, and is defended by Rita. In the end, Raj is sentenced to 3 years in prison for his crime, but Rita promises to wait for him.
Cast
- Prithviraj Kapoor as Judge Raghunath
- Nargis as Rita
- Raj Kapoor as Raj Ragunath
- Leela Chitnis as Leela Raghunath
- K.N. Singh as Jagga
- Leela Mishra as Raghunath's Sister-in-law
- Cukoo as Bar dancer
- Helen as Dancer (uncredited)
- Shashi Kapoor as Young Raj (child artist)
- Prem Nath as Cameo appearance in song
Soundtrack
The music for this film was composed by
Shankar Jaikishan while the songs were written by
Shailendra and
Hasrat Jaipuri. The soundtrack was listed by Planet Bollywood as number 3 on their list of 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks.
| # | Title | Singer(s) | Lyricist |
|---|
| 1 | "Ek Do Teen" | Shamshad Begum | Shailendra |
| 2 | "Hum Tujhse Mohabbat Kar Ke" | Mukesh | Hasrat Jaipuri |
| 3 | "Awaara Hoon" | Mukesh | Shailendra |
| 4 | "Ek Bewafa Se Pyar Kiya" | Lata Mangeshkar | Hasrat Jaipuri |
| 5 | "Ab Raat Guzarne Wali Hai" | Lata Mangeshkar | Hasrat Jaipuri |
| 6 | "Jab Se Balam Ghar Aaye" | Lata Mangeshkar | Hasrat Jaipuri |
| 7 | "Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi" | Lata Mangeshkar | Shailendra |
| 8 | "Dam Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere" | Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar | Shailendra |
| 9 | "Tere Bina Aag Yeh Chandni" | Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar | Shailendra |
| 10 | "Naiya Meri Manjhdhar" | Mohammed Rafi | Shailendra |
Production
The film is a collaboration of the famous team of director/producer Kapoor and writer
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.
KA Abbas originally wanted
Mehboob Khan to direct the film but the two
disagreed over the casting. Khan wanted
Ashok Kumar to play the judge
and
Dilip Kumar the son. In the event, Abbas withdrew his script from
Mehboob Studios and
Raj Kapoor decided to direct it.
The scene with the song "
Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi" is considered the
first dream sequence in Indian cinema, with its sea of twirling clouds
symbolising the conflicts in the lead character's mind.
Reception
It was entered into the
1953 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the
Grand Prize of the Festival.
In 2003,
Time magazine included it in a list of "10 Indian Films to Treasure".
Time magazine also chose Raj Kapoor's performance in
Awaara as one of the top ten greatest performances of all time. In 2005,
Indiatimes Movies
ranked the movie amongst the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films",
writing, "Whenever
Raj Kapoor and
Nargis came together on screen, sparks
flew. Their chemistry was electrifying and it crackles with raw passion
in Raj Kapoor's
Awaara. Nargis's wild and carefree sensuality pulsates and Raj Kapoor's scruffy hair-rebellious persona only adds fuel to the fire". The
TIME magazine included the film among the 20 new entries added to
All-Time 100 greatest films in 2012.
Box office
In
India, the film grossed a record of over
Rs.12 million. This record was later beaten the next year by
Aan.
In the
Soviet Union,
Awaara is estimated to have drawn between 40 and 63 million viewers to cinemas across the nation. It remained the most successful
Indian film in the Soviet Union up until films like
Bobby,
Seeta Aur Geeta and
Disco Dancer achieved a similar level of success there.
The film was also a success in China, where the song "Awaara Hoon" and actor Raj Kapoor became widely known across the nation, much like in the Soviet Union.
The film's success in both the Soviet Union and China has been
attributed to the socialist themes expressed in the film. The film Awaara and the song "Awaara Hoon" are believed to have been Chairman Mao's favourite film and song, respectively. In more recent years, Awaara was referenced in the 2000 Chinese film Platform.
Remake
Due to the film's remarkable success with Turkish audiences,
Awaara was remade in
Turkey as
Avare (1964) starring the Turkish actor
Sadri Alışık, along with actress
Ajda Pekkan.
Bibliography
- Khwaja Ahmad Abbas; Vasant Sathe; Suhail Akhtar; Vijay Jani; Nasreen Munni Kabir (2010). The Dialogue of Awaara: Raj Kapoor's Immortal Classic. Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-81-89738-54-9.
External links
