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This is How Movies Should Be Made

Boring

Absolutely the worst movie.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

in the East of Europe, under the Comunist regime, the Indian films have had a special status. as alternative to the Soviet movies and propaganda shows. but, in same measure, for the social message. clear . for romanticism and music and charm of actors and dramatic situations. but Awaara was more than a successful Indian film. it was, and remains, an epic. because it gives the right perspective about ordinary, every day situations. because it reminds the joy of life and the deep pain.because it is , like the childhood fairy tales, story of courage and self determination and love difficulties , sacrifice and happiness. because it is nice and bitter and translation in image of known situations. and, sure, for Raj Kapoor. in the East , the Indian film was an open window. Awaara was, for years, one of the most convincing examples.

This is a classic Bollywood movie and seminal Raj Kapoor - Nargis vehicle, forcing home to the audience all manner of stereotypes, prejudices and assumptions before systematically dismantling them all with a sledgehammer. It was another of RK's successful and respectful attempts at mass entertainment mixed with mass education, generations later it's all so obvious that unfortunately we can lose sight of how much good it did at the time and just how well-intentioned it was.I was watching the colourful Suraj a while ago and was reminded of old black and white Awara which I hadn't seen in decades – it's another take on once a bandit's son always a bandit's son; or, Blood vs Destiny. Delinquent wastrel and felon Raj is the kicked about son of a strict old-fashioned judge (played by Prithviraj) which neither of them realise, he and childhood friend Nargis who is now the judge's ward fall in love and, well, it spirals out of control for everyone. Is it Nature or is it Nurture that has made him a proud tramp? Some lovely noirish photography and atmospheric flashback scenes complement a melodramatic storyline, and there's even time for an admirable dream/nightmare sequence. It's a marvellous, if very contrived film with plenty of ideas, some tremendous images and great music by Shankar - Jaikishan as it is but as usual for me whenever the incomparable Lata sings it's turned into something even more special. Favourite bits: Nargis never looked lovelier or more iconic throughout but Aa Jao Tadapte Hain Arman with RK stroking her hair takes top prize; the literally dreamy and fascinating Tere Bina Aag Yeh Chandni; and RK does his anthem Awara Hoon too. According to Lata it took a whole night to record the music for the dream sequence.So many sincere films made over the last 50 years have no morality, at the most charitable most don't even know the meaning of the word; so what's so bad about a film having too much? Nothing wrong at all with Good beating Evil! Imho, even though poverty still breeds crime while Our Betters still deny it, Raj Kapoor's finest film.

Perhaps Raj Kapoor's greatest film. Release in 1951, the film was a huge hit not only in India but also in the then Soviet Union, Turkey and other nations. Raj Kapoor plays his Chaplinsque character in this character. Nargis delivers a great performance as Rita. The film is a commentary on the society that exists. It showcases how a petty thief wants to transform himself but the conditions prevalent around him don't allow him. He has to tread the path of evil. The film also showcases the poor living conditions of the slums. The chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Nargis is perfect. The boat scene between them is perfect. It's a craftily put classic. Performances put by Pritviraj Kapoor and Leela Chitnis are also good. The musical score seems perfect.The title song-"Awaara Hoon" was a huge hit when the film was released. The movie is both entertaining while at the same time conveying a strong social message.

Ah, the Indian film industry. The only place where it's acceptable to burst out into song regardless of the depressing, dire straights of turmoil you may find yourself in. While it wasn't as jarring as having characters belt out jaunty numbers in the middle of their family crises in Mother India, Raj Kapoor's Awara is most definitely melodramatic enough to have the singing seem both out-of-place and completely appropriate.The film is a bit of a social plea to LOOSEN UP, depicting a harsh but respected judge (Prithviraj Kapoor, the director's own father) who sentences an innocent man on the conviction that a criminal's son would end up on a criminal. His blind belief is put to the test when he is estranged from his wife and son, Raj (director Raj Kapoor), who in turn grows up to become a petty thief.The film's plot, criticism and metaphor are fairly obvious, and the film is of course WAY too long (at a whopping 168 minutes), but more fascinating to examine is the relationship between Raj Kapoor and his father Prithviraj. Is it just a matter of both being actors so playing father-son helps the resemblance, or is there some sense of offspring rebellion, that his father expected his son to synthesize his steps incrementally, and that the son, despite the fact that it DID come true, still resents the father for pushing so hard? This is all speculation, but it's intriguing stuff.As for the film, the leads are what keep this bloated ship afloat. Both Kapoof men, as well as the coincidental female love interest Nargis (who he keeps seeming to run into AND was adopted by his dad, who has a kind of creepy subtextual desire in his eyes about her). There's an extended dream sequence packed into the middle of the film brought to mind the finale of the same year's An American in Paris, in that it is impressive and beautiful, but ruins the flow of the film and serves no bearing to the plot at large. Every subtext of the sequence has already been spelled out, and it proves an unwelcome impediment to the resolvement of the plot.The film's last reels involve a genius bit of setting, as some of the most nakedly emotional moments in the film are set on an extremely windy beach, getting around the criticism of the 'wind in the hair' cliché by positing its characters in a place where that sort of wind could be expected. It gets that sort of grandiose, but never falls apart, and despite its length and simplistic plot, it never lost me for good, and although it didn't knock me out like the greatest of Indian cinema, it was definitely a worthwhile marathon jaunt.{Grade: 7.75/10 (B/B-) / #12 (of 16) of 1951}