Raj Kapoor’s 97th birth anniversary: Remembering the ‘Showman’ with his top 5 iconic films

New Delhi: Film actor, producer, and director — Raj Kapoor — widely regarded as the greatest showman in the history of Indian cinema and entertainment would have turned 97 if he was alive today.

The legendary actor was born in Peshwar to father-actor Prithviraj Kapoor and his wife had an illustrious career spanning more than two decades and had won many accolades including 3 National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards in India. At the age of ten, he appeared in a Hindi film for the first time, in 1935’s ‘Inquilab’. Kapoor’s big break came with the lead role in ‘Neel Kamal’ (1947) opposite Madhubala in her first role as a leading lady.

Winner of several accolades, the iconic Bollywood star has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1971 for his contributions to the arts. In 1987, the late actor was bestowed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He was also a two-time nominee for the Palme d’Or grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his films ‘Awaara’ (1951) and ‘Boot Polish’ (1954).

Here is remembering the legend of Indian cinema by revisiting some of the iconic movies that made him an irrepressible star:

1. ‘Mera Naam Joker’ (1970): Raj Kapoor donned the director’s hat apart from playing the lead character in this film. The movie is considered one of the lengthiest films of Indian cinema and the second Hindi film to have two intervals, the first being Sangam (1964). The film is based on the life of a clown who uses his sorrows to make his audience laugh. Three women, Mary (Simi Garewal), Marina (Kseniya Ryabinkina), and Meena (Padmini), are each sent a toy clown and invited to the last performance of the famous clown Raju (Raj Kapoor), in his first time on stage in 20 years. The stories of these three women and their relationships with Raju are told through a series of flashbacks during his performance.

The film also gave Indian cinema evergreen songs like–‘ Jeena yahan marna yahan’, ‘Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo’, ‘Jane kahan gaye woh din’ and more. This movie also marked debut of Rishi Kapoor in Bollywood.

2. ‘Sangam’ (1964): The romantic film was directed, produced and edited by Raj Kapoor at R. K. Studio. Apart from Kapoor, the movie stars Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar in the lead roles, with Iftekhar, Raj Mehra, Nana Palsikar, Lalita Pawar, Achala Sachdev and Hari Shivdasani appearing in supporting roles. The film revolves around the story of Sunder (Kapoor) who gets rejected by Radha (Vyjayanthimala). He then sets out to prove his worth to her by becoming a pilot. He eventually manages to marry her, unaware that she had been planning to marry his best friend (Rajendra Kumar).

The film also gave some of the iconic songs in Hindi cinema like— ‘Har dil jo pyar karega’, ‘Dost dost na raha’, and more.

3. ‘Shree 420’ (1955): The comedy-crime drama was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1955, and the song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’ sung by Mukesh, became popular and a patriotic symbol of the newly independent India at that time. The film was directed and produced by Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The movie also gave Indian cinema one of the most iconic songs ‘Pyar hua iqraar hua’.

The movie stars Nargis, Nadira, and Kapoor in the lead roles. The film centres on Raj Kapoor, a poor but educated orphan who comes to Bombay with dreams of success. Kapoor’s character is influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s “little tramp”, much like Kapoor’s character in his 1951 ‘Awaara’. The music was composed by the team of Shankar Jaikishan, and the lyrics were penned by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri.

4. ‘Awaara’ (1951): The crime-romantic drama was produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Kapoor along with his father Prithviraj Kapoor, as well as Nargis, Leela Chitnis and K. N. Singh in lead roles. Other members of the Kapoor family also made special appearances, including Kapoor’s youngest brother Shashi Kapoor, who plays the younger version of his character, and Prithiviraj’s father Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor, playing a cameo role in his only film appearance. The film’s music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

A poor young man named Raj (Kapoor) joins a criminal gang to feed his mother. But when he falls in love with Rita (Nargis), he decides to reform himself for her. ‘Awaara’ is considered a milestone in the history of Bollywood.

5. ‘Teesri Kasam’ (1966): The comedy-romantic drama was directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra. It is based on the short story ‘Mare Gaye Gulfam’, by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Renu. The film stars Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman in lead roles. The duo Shankar-Jaikishan composed the film’s score.

It is the story of a naive bullock cart driver Hiraman (Kapoor), who falls in love with Hirabai (Rehman), a dancer at a theatre. ‘Teesri Kasam’ won the National award for best film.