Raatein daso disaaon se, kahegi aapni kaahaaniyaan
Geet hamaare pyaar ki, dohraayegi jawaaniyaan
Ham naa rahenge, tum naa rahoge, phir bhi rahegi nishaniyaan….
Raj Kapoor was a visionary…. He made movies from heart, not from his brain… that’s why, even decades after his movies, we still long for them and the air of freshness that the movies still bring forward. His movies never become obsolete, that’s because, he made movies on basic human equations, which never fade away.
Life and Time of Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor started his career in a very humble way (as has been told again and again in various reviews/ programs) as an assistant director. His first break was in the movie Neel Kamal (1947) opposite Madhubala. He was only 22 at that time.
Next year he made his directoral debut with Aag, which was considered to be a movie with complex characterization and storytelling. The movie was a box office disaster, but it started off the equation of Raj – Nargis, which is till date considered as the greatest on screen couple in Indian Cinema.
Barsaat, which came in 1949, not only salvaged the pride of Raj Kapoor, it also catapulted his career to a superstardom. As it is told by critics, if Aag put fire on the box office collections, Barsaat rained money. It also started the most well known team in Indian cinema: Raj kapoor, Nargis, Mukesh, Shanker-Jaikishen, Shailendra and hasrat Jaipuri.
He went on to make many classic movies, straight out of heart, where love was at the forefront and socialism at the background. These included immensely popular movies like Awara, Shri 420, Jish Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai etc.
In early sixties, after his break-up from Nargis, he started reducing the stress on socialism and made movies mostly on love/ separation. These included master pieces like Sangam and Mera Naam Joker.
Post Mera Naam Joker, he was hardly seen in movies as an actor and focused mostly on direction and the career of his children. Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Bobby and Ram teri Ganga Maili are the well known movies in this phase.
After an illustrious career, he breathed his last in the year 1988 after being conferred on with the prestigious “Dadasaheb Phalke” award.
Raj Kapoor… The Actor
Raj kapoor was a very simple actor, who perferomed the roles of ordinary man in extreme complex situations with a lot of ease. May it be the tramp in Awara or Shri 420 or the Joker in Mera Naam Joker….. He did the roles to perfection. He may not be known as a great actor today as he performed the roles with high degree of simplicity…. He was a natural.
Raj Kapoor…. The Director
If as an actor he was very simple, he was just the opposite as a director. His movies had many plots and subplots, themes and contradictions, all running parallel.
He portrayed inner vs. outer beauty in movies like Satyam Shivam…. and Aag, he portrayed love vs. lust in Barsaat, he debated the ethics and morality in Shri 420, he debated birth vs. upbringing in Awara and Dharam Karam… the list goes on.
But the best part was, he managed to do all these with minimum fuss.
How else can one explain the way the complexities of Mera Naam Joker and Jaagte Raho handled?
Raj Kapoor… The Music Lover
Music had a special place in Raj Kapoor’s movies. Music was not just another part of movie, it was rather the thread that held the movie together. The 10 odd songs in Barsaat, the chart busters in Awara, Chori Chori or Shri 420 …. Every movie was special. Off hand, I can think of Mera Joota Hai Japani (Shri 420), Mere Man Ki Ganga (Sangam), Ae Bhai Zara Dekh ke Chalo (mera Naam joker) and Sun Sahiba Sun (Ram Teri Ganga Maili) which topped Binaca Geet Mala in the respective years. So much so that, in just one year (1962?), as many as 4 songs from Sangam were there in Binaca Top 5.
He often passed on messages and philosophies through his songs. It may be the attempt to integrate the dacoits in the main stream (Aa ab laut chale) or the inspiration at the end of frustration (Jaago mohan pyaare).. he mastered them all.
Raj Kapoor…. The Philosopher & Socialist
Starting with subtle messages of socialism in his early movies, the theme became very visible in the late 1950s/ early 1960s. Jaagte Raho was entirely based on this theme and the message was very clear in Shri 420 and Jish Desh Mein….
He believed in passing on a lot of philosophical messages through the scenes/ songs. Do you remember the scene in Mera Naam Joker where his mother dies and he still performs with falls tears? The show must go on…….
Raj Kapoor…. The Failed Lover?
A lot has been said and even more goes unsaid about the lovestory of Raj kapoor and Nargis. Their on-screen association started with Barsaat and went on till Chori Chori as the lead pair, though Nargis made a brief appearance in Jaagte Raho.
Off screen, what happened, why happened, who deserted whom and was there aver anything between two of them?.... all these questions have been debated, there are many versions available and no clear answer…. Perhaps all great love stories are made to end this way…..
The Great Showman lives on…..
Ye meraa geet, jeevan sangeet, kal bhi koi dohraayega…
Jag ko hasaane, behrupiya, roop badal phir aayega….
Rahenge yehin, aapni nishaan, ish ke siwa jaanaa kahaan…..
End Note:
This is my first review after 2 and half months’ lay-off…. So please excuse the rough edges…..
Swaraj
