Awaara (1951)

admin — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 03:27:51 +0000

The famous dream sequence from Awaara (1951)

Awaara was the film that established Raj Kapoor as a major international film star; it also became one of the most popular Hindi films overseas (mainly in Asia and the former USSR) and was remade in many other national cinemas. It was also the first film Raj Kapoor made in his own studios and with his own team, from his stars (himself and Nargis) to his musicians (Shankar—Jaikishan) and singers (Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh).

The wife (Leela Chitnis) of Judge Raghunath (Prithviraj Kapoor) is kidnapped by the evil Jagga. When the judge takes her back, he finds that she is pregnant, but does not believe the child is his. She brings up Raju (Raj Kapoor) in poverty and he falls into Jagga’s company. When he falls in love with the lawyer, Rita (Nargis), Judge Raghunath’s ward, the judge tries to forbid their relationship, convinced that the son of a thief will be a thief too. Rita defends Raju in court where all will be revealed …

This was the first film in which Raj Kapoor appeared as the Chaplinesque tramp. Unlike the usual Indian vagrant, Raj Kapoor is dressed as an American tramp, whose clothes Charlie Chaplin drew on in those famous oversized suits that appear to belong to someone else, thus undermining the suit’s respectability and recalling, perhaps, the circus clown. In Raj Kapoor’s case, the suit was too small, suggesting perhaps that he had outgrown what used to fit him. The western or colonial nature of the suit may also suggest an outfit discarded by a member of the ruling elite, and comically appropriated by a vagrant. Kapoor’s tribute to Chaplin would not have been missed by many in the audience, for Chaplin’s films had always found success in India. Raj Kapoor fans may be delighted to know that R. K. Studios have carefully preserved this outfit, shoes and hat, in their wardrobe department in Bombay.

This film is also memorable for its presentation of Raj Kapoor and Nargis as the great romantic couple, passionately bound to one another. Nargis is presented as the idealized object of male fantasies, whether in a swimsuit on the beach or as a divine, celestial saviour in the dream sequence. The great Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj’s real-life father, plays his onscreen father, often in moments of Oedipal drama. For despite the film’s reference to mythology, notably in the rejection of the pregnant mother, recalling Ram’s banishment of Sita in the Ramayana, this is a resolutely modern film, arguing that nurture, rather than nature, creates a person’s moral character, inserting Raj Kapoor’s quasi-Nehruvian or socialist views.

While almost every song in the film has become a classic — ‘Awaara hoon’, ‘Dum bhar jo udhar mooh phere’ — it is the nine-minute dream sequence that affords one of the most memorable set designs in Hindi cinema. The scene is not only stunning visually and aurally, but it also condenses into a dream many fears and anxieties about the film’s key themes of love, religion, women, motherhood, punishment and crime, which it then projects onto Achrekar’s sets themselves. The first shots show a spiral staircase surrounded by clouds, presumably in heaven. Dancers appear among statues of loops and swirls, singing and sliding down chutes. Rita stands at the top of a flight of stairs, dressed in fine fabric, sequins and shiny hair ornaments, dusted with glitter, singing a love song (‘Tere bina aag yeh chaandni’). Raj, dressed in a black T-shirt and trousers, then appears in hell, where he sings of his desires for love and spring (‘Yeh nahin, yeh nahin zindagi’) as he is surrounded by flames, dancing skeletons and other monsters. In the last sequence, he emerges through clouds to the sound of ‘Om namah Shivaya/Homage to Lord Shiva’ at the bottom of a flight of stairs leading to a Trimurti (a composite image of Brahma—Shiva—Vishnu), when Nargis bends down to take him by the hand and lead him to heaven.

Dressed in an embroidered bodice and skirt, she sings ‘Ghar aaya mera pardesi’ in front of a statue (of Devi, the goddess?) with flashing lights in the background. She begins to climb the spiral staircase and Raj follows her. They then climb more stairs towards a Nataraja (dancing Shiva) as Nargis appears in dancing clothes. As they begin to walk along a twisting road, a giant Jagga appears, holding a shining knife. Raj falls down yelling ‘Rita’ as she reaches over him but cannot save him. A montage of images, including one of Raj yelling as Rita appears superimposed, dissolves as Raj wakes up, shouting, ‘Maa, mujhe bachao/Mother, save me!’ – Rachel Dwyer

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1941, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – R.K. Films, Director – Raj Kapoor, Music Director – Shankar Jaikishan, Cast - Cuckoo, Om Prakash, K. N. Singh, Leela Chitnis, Raj Kapoor, Leela Misra, Honey O’brein, B. M. Vyas, Shashi Raj, Nargis, Prithviraj Kapoor

Sholay (1975)

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 04:12:13 +0000

Amitabh Bachan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan during the shooting of film Sholay (1975)

Generally accepted to be the greatest Hindi film of all time, this film appeals to everyone and is always a good choice to show to people who have never seen a Hindi film before, as it needs no cultural explanations (even though they can add to the meaning).

Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) are petty crooks, hired by Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), a former police officer. He has lost his whole family to the evil Gabber Singh (Amjad Khan) in revenge for being sent to jail. Convinced that the law is inadequate, he is determined to take his own revenge, but Gabbar cuts off his arms. Veeru falls in love with the tonga-driver, Basanti (Hema Malini), while Jai is attracted to the Thakur’s widowed daughter-in-law (Jaya Bhaduri). But they have to fight Gabbar and his gang …

The film’s great foundation is its script and dialogue. Unforgettable scenes include the dismembering of Thakur, Jai’s meeting with Basanti’s aunt (Leela Mishra), and, of course, the episodes in Gabbar’s camp. It is not unusual for people still to quote the dialogues today (especially Gabbar’s ‘Kitne aadmi the?’ speech or his ‘Tera kya hoga Kaaliya? ‘and ‘Arre o Sambha’, but also Basanti’s ‘Chal Basanti!’ and her address to her horse, ‘Chal Dhanno, aaj teri Basanti ki izzat ka sawaal hai’, all of which were released on disk and now can be found on numerous websites).

The film also stands on the performances of the four major stars. Dharmendra as Veeru is the tough man with the soft heart, best remembered for his performance in the drunken scene. Jai is cool, quiet and composed but has a great sense of humour, as demonstrated in his meeting with Basanti’s aunt. Hema Malini shines as the chatterbox of a tonga-driver who is forced to dance for Gabbar’s sadistic enjoyment, while Jaya is silent apart from the flashback to the family’s Holi party. This film shows why Sanjeev Kumar is considered to be one of Indian cinema’s best actors. However, Amjad Khan as the evil Gabbar Singh has the best lines and is the baddie everyone loves to hate. The more evil he is, the more we are entertained.

The R. D. Burman songs include the hugely popular ‘Yeh dosti’, with its crazy sound effects and silly picturisation; the Holi song, ‘Holi ke din’, Basanti’s tortured dance, ‘Jab tak hai jean’, and the dance song performed by Helen, ‘Mehbooba’.

Sholay has been called a ‘curry Western’ (rather than a spaghetti Western), no doubt in part because of its stylish baddies (Jai’s resemblance to Clint Eastwood’s characters has been noted), its bleak locations and the characteristics it shares with films like The Magnificent Seven (1960). While it has features that are unusual in a Hindi film, such as the absence of family ties (apart from those of the Thakur, which have been destroyed) and the presence of evil rather than just a villain, it is still very much a typical Hindi film, with songs, comedy and romance, as is clear from a comparison with its antecedents, in particular Mera gaon mere desh.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1975, Genre – Crime, Action, Drama, Romance, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – G. P. Sippy, Director – Ramesh Sippy, Music Director – R. D. Burman, Basu Manohari, Maruti Rao, Cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Leela Misra, Sachin, Arani, Jalal Agha, Raj Kishore, Amjad Khan, A. K. Hangal, Satyen Kappu, Iftekhar, Vikas Anand, Mac Mohan, Geeta, Om, Rajan Kapoor, Birbal, Bhanumati, Habib

Cineplot.com » Leela Misra

Awaara (1951)

Cast and Production Credits

Sholay (1975)

Cast and Production Credits