Actor-producer-director Raj Kapoor has given many excellent movies to the Hindi movie audience, yet Aawara stands tall among them all. It's a movie which is not only considered a classic by critics from all strata and categories but also got thumping commercial success also. Its song in Mukesh's immortal voice - Aawara hoon, found itself echoeing not only in the streets and corners of India but also Russia and China.
Nature vs. Nurture is an ages old controversy starting from the plants and small creatures but extended to human-beings also. Can the acquired characteristics be transferred through genes ? Is it necessary that a baddie's offspring will turn into a baddie only and good soul's offspring will develop as a good and virtuous human-being only ? No ! The movie answers. As far the development of characteristics and personality traits are concerned, nurture has a much bigger (perhaps the only) role in that instead of nature or the acquiring of things by birth.
Aawara starts with the trial of Raj Kapoor with his biological father, Prithvi Raj Kapoor being on the other side and his lady-love, Nargis as his defence attorney. The story moves to flash back with the abduction of Prithvi Raj Kapoor's wife, Leela Chitnis by a baddie, K.N. Singh. However when she returns, she has to face the horrible truth of suspicion in the eyes of her household members that she was raped by K.N. Singh and the child being carried by her in her womb belongs to K.N. Singh and not Prithvi Raj Kapoor. The insect of suspicion, eats up the wisdom of Prithvi Raj Kapoor and he expells his pregnant wife from his home. She gives birth to a son and fosters him under the hope that he will become a learned man like his father. However, poverty and hunger throws him in the arms of K.N. Singh only who is hell-bent upon inflicting a life-long bitter revenge upon Prithvi Raj Kapoor who had ensured a harsh sentence for him. He develops Raj Kapoor as a baddie only and one day himself gets killed by him. When Raj Kapoor is tried for the murder charge, Nargis reveals the truth that Raj Kapoor is none else but the son of Prithvi Raj Kapoor himself. Ultimately the father recognizes and embraces his son who is sentenced to prison for the murder.
Aawara emphatically underscores the fact that it is ultimately the nurturing and the environment which matters in the development of the personality of a child. The child of a highly learned, pious and virtuous family may become a criminal in the company of bad guys and the child of a sinful person may become a very nice and admirable person by getting the fosterage of a pious family / group. Raj Kapoor has given admirable direction to the story, written by Khwaza Ahmed Abbas. The narrative has been made entertaining, not sermon-heavy. There is ample doz of comedy, romance and melody in the movie. The scene in which Raj Kapoor beats himself behind the wall to win the heart of Nargis, is hilarious. The master story-teller has used symbols quite artistically to signify different events. The use of moon in the song - Dumb Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere is a marvellous example in this context.
Raj Kapoor was a shrewd filmmaker. He used to deliver entertainment enveloped in message instead of delivering message enveloped in entertainment. He has done the same thing in Aawara too. The movie supposedly underscore the supersession of nurture over nature. However when Nargis tries to convince Prithvi Raj Kapoor that Raj Kapoor is indeed his son, she brings the point of his anger which is a ditto of his father. What does it underscores ? Definitely the transition of acquired characteristic through genes. Further, if Raju becomes a good man in the end, ultimately the theory of his father only comes true that a good man's offspring is meant to be a good one. This shows the triumph of nature, not nurture.
The technical and production value aspects are quite according to the standards set by Raj Kapoor for the movies of his banner. This black and white movie reminds of the noir cinema of the forties. Raj Kapoor's permanent cameraman, Radhu Karmakar has caught the mood of the movie very well through his camera.
The music of Shanker-Jaikishan is great. The song - Aawara hoon had almost become the national anthem at the time of the release of the movie and even today, after sixty years, it is as popular as it was at that time. The other songs of the movie are also no less by any means.
The performances of Nargis, Leela Chitnis, K.N. Singh etc. are very good. I will mention two actors- Prithvi Raj Kapoor who has delivered a towering performance in the role of judge Raghunath and Shashi Kapoor who has played the childhood version of Raj Kapoor quite briliiantly at the tender age of 13 years. Raj Kapoor, as the perennial Raju, has again done well with his mannerisms.
In the end, I just put up one point which always haunts me whenever I read any such thing or any such movie (including the Ramayan) that to which extent it is justified to harass a woman under suspicion of being raped and carrying an illegitimate child in her womb due to that incident. Though the movie was made in 1951, still the people's psyche is more or less the same in the Indian society. Had Raj Kapoor's mother, Leela Chitnis been actually raped by K.N. Singh, would Prithvi Raj Kapoor be justified in expelling her from the house (that too in the pregnancy state) ? Why should a woman be punished for a crime committed by a man and that too by quoting Lord Rama and justifying this injustice to the woman with the example of Lady Sita ? This question always makes me uncomfortable.
Nature vs. Nurture is an ages old controversy starting from the plants and small creatures but extended to human-beings also. Can the acquired characteristics be transferred through genes ? Is it necessary that a baddie's offspring will turn into a baddie only and good soul's offspring will develop as a good and virtuous human-being only ? No ! The movie answers. As far the development of characteristics and personality traits are concerned, nurture has a much bigger (perhaps the only) role in that instead of nature or the acquiring of things by birth.
Aawara starts with the trial of Raj Kapoor with his biological father, Prithvi Raj Kapoor being on the other side and his lady-love, Nargis as his defence attorney. The story moves to flash back with the abduction of Prithvi Raj Kapoor's wife, Leela Chitnis by a baddie, K.N. Singh. However when she returns, she has to face the horrible truth of suspicion in the eyes of her household members that she was raped by K.N. Singh and the child being carried by her in her womb belongs to K.N. Singh and not Prithvi Raj Kapoor. The insect of suspicion, eats up the wisdom of Prithvi Raj Kapoor and he expells his pregnant wife from his home. She gives birth to a son and fosters him under the hope that he will become a learned man like his father. However, poverty and hunger throws him in the arms of K.N. Singh only who is hell-bent upon inflicting a life-long bitter revenge upon Prithvi Raj Kapoor who had ensured a harsh sentence for him. He develops Raj Kapoor as a baddie only and one day himself gets killed by him. When Raj Kapoor is tried for the murder charge, Nargis reveals the truth that Raj Kapoor is none else but the son of Prithvi Raj Kapoor himself. Ultimately the father recognizes and embraces his son who is sentenced to prison for the murder.
Aawara emphatically underscores the fact that it is ultimately the nurturing and the environment which matters in the development of the personality of a child. The child of a highly learned, pious and virtuous family may become a criminal in the company of bad guys and the child of a sinful person may become a very nice and admirable person by getting the fosterage of a pious family / group. Raj Kapoor has given admirable direction to the story, written by Khwaza Ahmed Abbas. The narrative has been made entertaining, not sermon-heavy. There is ample doz of comedy, romance and melody in the movie. The scene in which Raj Kapoor beats himself behind the wall to win the heart of Nargis, is hilarious. The master story-teller has used symbols quite artistically to signify different events. The use of moon in the song - Dumb Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere is a marvellous example in this context.
Raj Kapoor was a shrewd filmmaker. He used to deliver entertainment enveloped in message instead of delivering message enveloped in entertainment. He has done the same thing in Aawara too. The movie supposedly underscore the supersession of nurture over nature. However when Nargis tries to convince Prithvi Raj Kapoor that Raj Kapoor is indeed his son, she brings the point of his anger which is a ditto of his father. What does it underscores ? Definitely the transition of acquired characteristic through genes. Further, if Raju becomes a good man in the end, ultimately the theory of his father only comes true that a good man's offspring is meant to be a good one. This shows the triumph of nature, not nurture.
The technical and production value aspects are quite according to the standards set by Raj Kapoor for the movies of his banner. This black and white movie reminds of the noir cinema of the forties. Raj Kapoor's permanent cameraman, Radhu Karmakar has caught the mood of the movie very well through his camera.
The music of Shanker-Jaikishan is great. The song - Aawara hoon had almost become the national anthem at the time of the release of the movie and even today, after sixty years, it is as popular as it was at that time. The other songs of the movie are also no less by any means.
The performances of Nargis, Leela Chitnis, K.N. Singh etc. are very good. I will mention two actors- Prithvi Raj Kapoor who has delivered a towering performance in the role of judge Raghunath and Shashi Kapoor who has played the childhood version of Raj Kapoor quite briliiantly at the tender age of 13 years. Raj Kapoor, as the perennial Raju, has again done well with his mannerisms.
In the end, I just put up one point which always haunts me whenever I read any such thing or any such movie (including the Ramayan) that to which extent it is justified to harass a woman under suspicion of being raped and carrying an illegitimate child in her womb due to that incident. Though the movie was made in 1951, still the people's psyche is more or less the same in the Indian society. Had Raj Kapoor's mother, Leela Chitnis been actually raped by K.N. Singh, would Prithvi Raj Kapoor be justified in expelling her from the house (that too in the pregnancy state) ? Why should a woman be punished for a crime committed by a man and that too by quoting Lord Rama and justifying this injustice to the woman with the example of Lady Sita ? This question always makes me uncomfortable.