chronicles-of-legendary-raj-kapoor-ahead-100th-anniversary

The showman of Indian Cinema, Raj Kapoor's 100th birth anniversary on December 14 will mark the biggest event of the film industry. The members of the Kapoor family, unitedly, paid a visit to the national capital and extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grace this event on Tuesday. 

Spanning 101 cinemas across 34 cities from December 13 to 15, the gala -- organised by PVR INOX Limited and the Film Heritage Foundation -- will be one of the most extensive retrospectives ever dedicated to Raj Kapoor's filmography.

Ahead of the mega event, let's take a memory lane down to the legend's work:

It all started with “Aag” in 1948 and ended with “Ram Teri Ganga Maili” in 1985. From being praised for its portrayal of a man in search of the woman of his dreams and the other panned by some for its male gaze.

In the 37 years in between, Raj Kapoor directed 10 films and produced many, each in its way highlighting the showman image.

Given the impact of his films, one wonders does his films wrinkled with time or stood the test of the decades in an ever-changing India.

"Yes, they have, just like a fine wine," said film historian SMM Ausaja.

He sees 100 years of Raj Kapoor as a "momentous" occasion for the Hindi film industry.

"His films had a message and got the social issues right. That is the reason why they were also popular outside India, especially in the Russian republic. Those were the days of socialism and Nehruvian socialism. And his father Prithviraj Kapoor was close to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru," Ausaja said. 

Raj Kapoor, who would have been 100 on December 14, made his first film “Aag” when he was just 24.

It was the year after Independence and the young filmmaker mirrored many of the preoccupations of a young nation in the films that followed.

The burning passion of the Hindi cinema pioneer, inspired by his father Prithviraj Kapoor, led to the birth of RK Studios that year.

Noting the influence of his movies, a celebration of his classics has become a must on the 100th anniversary. Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan took to Instagram and thanked PM Modi for inviting them all to New Delhi ahead of the milestone anniversary.

 

"We are deeply humbled and honoured to have been invited by the Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to commemorate the extraordinary life and legacy of our grandfather, the legendary Raj Kapoor," read the post.

 

"Thank you Shri Modi ji for such a special afternoon. Your warmth, attention, and support in celebrating this milestone meant the world to us," she captioned a series of pictures of the family with the prime minister, " continued the post. 

 

In her post, Kareena also said: "As we celebrate 100 glorious years of Dadaji's artistry, vision, and contribution to Indian cinema, we honour the timeless impact of his legacy, which continues to inspire us and generations to come." 

 

"We are proud to showcase his iconic films and remember the impact he had on Indian cinema with the 'Raj Kapoor 100 Film Festival'. Dec 13-15, 2024 | 10 films | 40 cities | 135 cinemas. #100YearsOfRajKapoor" said the actor, who is the younger daughter of Raj Kapoor's eldest son Randhir Kapoor.

The banner's films, starting with "Aag" and going on to "Awara", "Barsaat", "Jagte Raho", "Mera Naam Joker", "Bobby" and "Ram Teri Ganga Maili", chronicled the different phases of a filmmaker in tune with an India on the move. 

All his films are remembered for their music. There has been a dramatic change in the times, socialism is no longer considered a viable option and consumerism is considered a valuable activity, said sociologist Sanjay Srivastava.

"Hindi films since the 1990s reflect these themes. It is not that Raj Kapoor's films have aged badly but that Indian society has aged differently," Srivastava said. 

"Most of his films were heroine-oriented. Look at the bravery of this man that he launched his son Rishi Kapoor in a film called 'Bobby'. Which producer in the world will do this?" Ausaja asked.

The 1973 teen romance, which catapulted newcomers Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, playing the titular role in "Bobby" into stardom, was a runaway hit.

Despite suffering a "colossal disaster" in the ambitious, pensive "Mera Naam Joker" (1970), Raj Kapoor bounced back three years later with "Bobby, which the veteran filmmaker helmed when he was 50, said his grandson Ranbir Kapoor.

"He dared to make a film with newcomers, a 50-year-old man making a film for the youth. That means that he kept up with the times. He was not high up in his ivory tower. He was constantly in touch with the common man," Ranbir said at a retrospective of the showman at the recent International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

He remembered Raj Kapoor as someone who "constantly took risks and pushed the boundaries" of cinema.

"Raj Kapoor, the filmmaker, always explored different themes at different times of his life. If you look at his earlier films, like 'Awara' was based on casteism. If you see 'Shree 420', he spoke about greed and the underprivileged trying to make something of their lives," maintained Ranbir. 

"He made films with strong Indian moral values, spoke about society in such an honest and a frank way while making it commercial and entertaining," the actor said.

According to film historian Amrit Gangar, Raj Kapoor infused "modernist" ethos into the veins of the history of Indian cinema and that's what keeps his films relevant.

"Raj Kapoor had a wonderful sense of rhythm and music which substantially contributed to the non-ageing of his films. To my mind, Raj Kapoor's films in his birth centenary year, remain evergreen, brimming with youthful modernism always in tension with feudal mindsets," Gangar said. 

"Awara", which became a legend in the erstwhile Soviet Union and even in today's Russia, "Boot Polish" and "Shree 420" were made on the themes of humanism. "Sangam", "Bobby", "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" and "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" explored sensuality and erotica.

Some of his films like "Jagte Raho" are still relevant in as much as they are deeply concerned with middle-class hypocrisies and self-serving morality, said Srivastava.

"In many ways, Raj Kapoor held up a mirror to the hypocrisies of Indian life - and did it in a way that had mass appeal - and that is why they remain relevant," he said.

When it comes to women characters in his cinema, Raj Kapoor has both admirers and naysayers.

While his narratives always centred around the heroine, the veteran filmmaker also courted controversy with many criticising him for showing his heroines through a titillating lens.

The most controversial is actor Mandakini's scenes of breastfeeding and bathing in a transparent saree under a waterfall in "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" and Zeenat Aman’s village girl look in “Satyam Shivam Sundaram”.

"His vision of the woman in white, which started with Nargis till 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' was also something unique. He faced a lot of criticism when he put the woman in a white saree under the waterfall," said Asuja. 

"Even if you look at the original posters of his early films, there is a marked difference between his presence and Nargis' on the posters. Nargis was far bigger on the posters. She was also a bigger star at that time. Only a man who is not insecure could launch his son in a film which has a woman in a title role," continued Ausaja.

Ranbir argued that Raj Kapoor made women-centric films, be it "Prem Rog" or "Ram Teri Ganga Maili".

"If you see 'Prem Rog', he spoke about widow remarriage. If you talk about 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili', he compares the protagonist to River Ganga, how it starts so pure, and by the time it reaches down, because of society it becomes impure," said his grandson Ranbir Kapoor. 

For Gangar, Raj Kapoor's women characters were the "products of his imagination".

"They looked pious and progressive but inherently surrendered to the patriarch and the veiled male dominance. All the same, Raj Kapoor did bring in his interpretation of femininity, its resoluteness and devotion, its beauty and purity," continued Ranbir Kapoor. 

"Raj Kapoor was an ingenuous showman and sensitive artist who was in search of both 'mother' and 'wife' in his women characters. He needed his Radha and also Yashoda at the same time. His women characters were complex and not simplistic," he said.

According to Srivastava, the women characters in Raj Kapoor's films --- say, those portrayed by Nargis -- represented the 'modern' woman trying to express an independence that women in Indian society were generally not allowed.

"What was particularly unusual was that the 'modern' woman in his films was not necessarily evil or (like the vamp portrayed by Helen) had to, eventually, die or be 'reformed' into a Sati-Savitri character," concluded Srivastava.