The
world
is
celebrating
Raj
Kapoor’s
birth
centenary,
but
when
was
the
last
time
you
watched
an
RK
film?
The
younger
generation
perhaps
may
have
never.
They
may
not
know
his
tremendous
contribution
to
the
film
industry
as
an
actor,
producer
and
director.
Deepa
Gahlot
shows
you
where
you
can
watch
RK
films
on
OTT,
and
even
gives
you
a
quick
recap
of
his
extensive
work.
The
list
below
are
the
films
he
directed;
since
he
acted
in
the
early
ones,
they
also
give
a
glimpse
of
his
acting
style.
Aag
(1948)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
YouTube
The
search
for
the
perfect
woman
and
unconditional
love
was
a
favourite
subject
of
Raj
Kapoor’s
films.
In
his
first
film
as
producer-director-star,
written
by
Inder
Raj
Anand,
he
played
Kewal,
a
theatre
company
owner
and
actor,
whose
face
is
disfigured
in
a
fire.
After
two
women
he
loved,
named
Nimmi
(Kamini
Kaushal,
Nargis),
leave
him,
he
marries
a
woman
(Nigar
Sultana),
who
first
screams
on
seeing
his
burnt
face,
but
after
hearing
his
story,
reveals
that
she
is
the
real
Nirmala,
his
childhood
sweetheart.
The
story
had
faint
echoes
of
the
life
of
his
father
Prithviraj
Kapoor,
who
like
Kewal,
did
not
want
to
follow
the
family
tradition
of
becoming
a
lawyer,
but
wanted
to
be
in
the
theatre,
for
which
he
was
thrown
out
of
the
house.
Shashi
Kapoor
played
the
young
Kewal
in
the
film,
and
his
best
friend
was
played
by
Premnath,
whose
sister
Krishna
went
on
to
marry
Raj
Kapoor.
A
long
16-film
association
with
Nargis
commenced
with
this
film,
and
also
a
personal
relationship
that
ended
when
she
married
Sunil
Dutt.
The
film
did
not
do
well
at
the
box
office,
but
he
was
not
disheartened.
The
songs
composed
by
Ram
Ganguly
were
hits,
and
Mukesh
remained
the
voice
of
Raj
Kapoor.
Barsaat
(1949)
Where
to
watch: Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5,
YouTube
Ramanand
Sagar,
who
was
associated
with
Prithviraj
Kapoor’s
theatre
company,
wrote
this
film,
the
story
of
two
friends
with
opposing
views
on
love.
Pran
(Raj
Kapoor)
believes
in
true
love
and
loyalty,
while
Gopal
(Premnath)
is
the
philanderer.
While
travelling
from
the
city,
their
car
breaks
down
in
a
village.
Pran
meets
and
falls
in
love
with
Reshma
(Nargis),
while
Gopal
flirts
with
Neela
(Nimmi).
Both
men
leave,
promising
to
return
when
it
rains.
After
a
lot
of
tribulations,
Pran
and
Reshma
are
reunited
but
Neela
commits
suicide,
leaving
a
contrite
Gopal
to
light
her
pyre
as
the
rains
arrive.
The
film
was
a
blockbuster,
funding
the
establishment
of
RK
Studio
in
1950.
It
was
the
debut
film
of
actress
Nimmi,
and
beginning
of
a
long
musical
partnership
with
Shankar-Jaikishan,
with
Shailendra
and
Hasrat
Jaipuri
as
his
preferred
lyricists.
The
pose
of
Raj
Kapoor
holding
a
swooning
Nargis
with
one
hand,
and
a
violin
in
the
other,
became
the
iconic
RK
Films
logo.
Awara
(1951)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
This
film
with
the
classic
theme
of
nurture
versus
nature
is
one
of
India’s
most
successful
exports
abroad,
where
the
title
track
Awara
Hoon
still
greets
an
Indian
visitor
to
Russia,
East
Europe
and
China
among
other
countries.
Justice
Raghunath
(Prithviraj
Kapoor)
disowns
his
pregnant
wife
(Leela
Chitnis)
because
she
had
been
kidnapped
by
a
criminal,
Jagga
(K
N
Singh).
Her
son,
Raj
(played
as
a
child
by
Shashi
Kapoor),
grows
up
to
be
a
thief,
groomed
by
the
same
Jagga.
He
meets
and
falls
in
love
with
Rita
(Nargis),
a
lawyer
and
Raghunath’s
ward.
Circumstances
bring
him
as
a
criminal
to
his
father’s
court
and
with
Rita
defending
him,
he
makes
a
case
for
the
poor,
neglected
by
society
and
forced
into
crime.
This
film
marked
the
collaboration
between
K
A
Abbas,
whose
own
ideology
permeated
the
story.
Wearing
trousers
rolled
up,
a
jacket
and
batttered
hat,
Raj
Kapoor
acquired
his
Chaplineque
image
with
this
role.
It
had
a
superhit
S-J
soundtrack
and
the
most
lavish
dream
sequence
filmed
till
then,
to
the
song
Ghar
Aaya
Mera
Pardesi.
Shree
420
(1955)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
Carrying
on
in
his
Chaplin
style
Raj
Kapoor
played
Raj,
a
poor
man
from
Allahabad
who
walked
to
Bombay
to
seek
his
fortune.
He
is
accepted
by
a
cheerful
bunch
of
slum
dwellers
and
falls
in
love
with
schoolteacher
Vidya
(Nargis).
But
he
is
dazzled
by
the
glamourous
and
wealthy
life
promised
by
Seth
Sonachand
(Nemo)
and
bewitched
by
his
moll,
Maya
(Nadira).
He
is
lured
by
them
into
a
ponzi
scheme
that
promises
the
poor
homes
for
Rs
100.
Raj
soon
realises
that
he
fell
into
the
pit
of
corruption
and
tries
to
undo
the
damage.
The
film
was
again
a
blockbuster
and
cemented
Raj
Kapoor’s
place
as
a
fine
film-maker
and
actor.
The
song
Pyaar
Hua,
Ikraar
Hua,
with
him
and
Nargis
standing
under
an
umbrella
in
the
rain,
is
remembered
for
the
appearance
of
three
children,
played
by
Raj
Kapoor’s
own
kids,
Randhir,
Ritu
and
Rishi.
Sangam
(1964)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
Sangam
was
a
love
triangle,
written
by
Inder
Raj
Anand,
but
shot
in
a
grand
and
opulent
manner.
It
is
the
first
Indian
film
to
be
shot
in
Paris,
London
and
Switzerland.
Raj
Kapoor
and
Rajendra
Kumar
played
the
two
friends
in
love
with
Vyjayanthimala,
and
both
willing
to
sacrifice
for
the
other.
Between
1955
and
1964,
Raj
Kapoor
produced
but
did
not
direct
Boot
Polish,
Jagte
Raho,
Ab
Dilli
Door
Nahin
and
Jis
Desh
Mein
Ganga
Behti
Hai.
He
did
some
of
his
best
work
as
an
actor,
films
like
Chori
Chori,
Phir
Subah
Hogi,
Parvarish,
Anari
and
Chhalia.
After
her
cameo
in
Jagte
Raho,
Nargis
did
not
work
with
him
again.
In
1958,
she
married
Sunil
Dutt
and
retired
from
films.
Vyjayanthimala
got
the
elegant
woman-in-white
role
that
Nargis
might
have
played,
and
there
were
rumours
of
a
romance,
which
she
denied
in
her
autobiography.
The
conservative
Southern
star
was
persuaded
to
wear
a
swimsuit
and
cavort
in
a
pool
for
the
Bol
Radha
Bol
song.
Rajendra
Kumar
got
the
role
that
others
like
Dilip
Kumar,
Dev
Anand
and
Uttam
Kumar
turned
down,
reluctant
to
play
second
fiddle
to
Raj
Kapoor.
By
the
time
this
film
came
out
—
and
was
a
huge
success
in
spite
of
its
unwieldy
four-hour
runtime,
that
necessitated
two
intermissions
—
Raj
Kapoor,
at
40,
didn’t
look
fit
enough
to
play
romantic
hero
any
more.
He
did
star
opposite
Hema
Malini
in
her
Hindi
movie
debut,
Sapnon
Ka
Saudagar
(1968),
but
must
have
realised
he
was
miscast.
His
career
as
a
leading
man
was
coming
to
an
end
but
the
Showman
stumbled
in
his
next
film.
Mera
Naam
Joker
(1970)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
Mera
Naam
Joker
was
his
most
autobiographical
film
and
also
the
most
lavish,
with
K
A
Abbas
as
the
writer
again.
The
story
of
Raju,
a
circus
clown,
who
loves
and
loses,
sprawled
over
five
hours
with
two
intermissions,
and
had
stars
like
Dharmendra,
Manoj
Kumar,
Rajendra
Kumar,
Padmini
and
Simi
Garewal
doing
cameos.
Rishi
Kapoor
played
the
young
Raj
Kapoor,
infatuated
with
his
teacher
(Garewal).
His
life
is
full
of
sadness
and
tragedy,
but
he
has
to
keep
entertaining
people,
his
anthem
being
Jeena
Yahan
Marna
Yahan.
The
film
took
six
years
to
make,
crashed
at
the
box
office,
and
wiped
him
out
financially.
Later,
it
was
considered
a
cult
classic
but
back
then,
the
failure
of
the
film
not
just
broke
his
heart,
he
was
at
risk
of
losing
his
home
and
studio.
It
was
love
that
came
to
the
rescue.
Bobby
(1973)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
The
story
was
that
Raj
Kapoor
went
to
meet
K
A
Abbas
in
tears
and
asked
for
a
story
that
would
pull
him
out
of
the
doldrums.
Abbas
came
with
a
simple
story
of
young
love
and
class
conflict.
Rishi
Kapoor
was
cast
as
a
rich
young
man,
and
a
fresh
face,
Dimple
Kapadia
played
the
title
role
of
a
Catholic
fisherman’s
daughter.
Their
meet
cute,
with
her
opening
the
door
with
batter
on
her
face,
and
him
falling
in
love,
was
a
recreation
of
the
moment
when
Raj
Kapoor
saw
Nargis
for
the
first
time
and
sparks
flew.
The
romance
is
opposed
by
the
families,
and
the
young
lovers
decide
to
elope.
The
story
had
nothing
new,
it
was
the
treatment,
the
music
(by
Laxmikant
Pyarelal)
and
the
spot-on
casting
that
worked
its
magic
at
the
box
office.
Raj
Kapoor’s
debts
were
paid
off,
his
reputation
as
a
hit-maker
restored.
Satyam
Shivam
Sundaram
(1978)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
By
the
time
Satyam
Shivam
Sundaram
came
out,
Raj
Kapoor
had
slid
into
character
roles
that
were
few
and
far
between.
He
returned
to
his
theme
of
Aag,
of
spiritual
love
over
physical
beauty.
It
was
reported
that
he
was
inspired
by
Lata
Mangeshkar,
who
was
plain
to
look
at
but
had
a
divine
voice,
like
his
heroine,
Roopa.
He
needed
an
actress
to
play
a
tribal
woman,
and
most
were
wary
of
the
skin
show
the
costume
required.
It
was
reported
that
Zeenat
Aman,
wore
the
blouseless
white
sari
he
had
in
mind,
and
went
to
meet
him.
It
was
her
persistence
more
than
her
minimal
acting
talent
that
got
her
the
role,
with
Padmini
Kolhapure
playing
the
young
Roopa,
whose
face
gets
burnt
in
an
accident.
He
wanted
Rajesh
Khanna
to
play
the
male
lead,
but
chose
his
brother
Shashi
Kapoor,
even
though
he
was
in
his
multi-shift
‘taxi’
phase.
It
had
the
ridiculous
plot
(by
Jainendra
Jain),
of
an
engineer
visiting
a
village,
and
falling
in
love
with
the
voice
of
a
woman
singing
in
a
temple.
She
covers
the
burnt
portion
of
her
face,
so
he
sees
only
a
statuesque
beauty
and
marries
her.
When
he
sees
her
disfigured
face,
he
rejects
her,
but
continues
to
meet
Roopa
with
her
face
covered,
not
realising
it
is
the
same
woman.
The
film
was
panned
by
critics,
possibly
the
first
time
one
of
his
films
got
such
brutal
reviews.
There
were
controversies
and
court
cases
over
the
alleged
obscenity.
Later,
when
the
film
did
well,
it
was
said
snidely
that
Zeenat
Aman’s
body
ought
to
be
given
credit.
Prem
Rog
(1982)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
After
the
mixed
response
to
his
earlier
film,
Raj
Kapoor
returned
to
a
film
with
the
social
causes,
of
class
conflict
and
widow
remarriage.
A
poor
orphan
Devdhar
(Rishi
Kapoor)
is
in
love
with
the
village
Thakur’s
daughter
Manorama
(Padmini
Kolhapure),
who
does
not
return
his
feelings.
She
happily
marries
a
man
of
her
own
caste
and
social
status,
who
unfortunately
dies
in
an
accident
soon
after
the
wedding.
Manorama
has
to
wear
widow’s
white
and
narrowly
avoids
hair
tonsure
on
the
intervention
of
a
sympathetic
relative.
After
being
raped
by
her
brother-in-law,
she
is
sent
back
to
her
parents’
home.
There
Devdhar,
as
a
true
friend,
tries
to
help
her
get
over
the
trauma,
but
marriage
is
still
unthinkable,
as
all
the
age-old
customs
come
in
the
way.
For
the
first
time,
much
after
his
days
as
leading
man
were
past,
Shammi
Kapoor
acted
in
his
brother’s
film,
as
Manorama’s
uncle.
Written
by
Jainendra
Jain
and
Kamna
Chandra,
this
film
was
appreciated
and
awarded.
Ram
Teri
Ganga
Maili
(1985)
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video,
ZEE5
Raj
Kapoor’s
last
film
as
director
had
some
of
the
social
commentary
of
his
earlier
films
but
was
criticised
for
the
exploitative
way
in
which
he
portrayed
his
leading
lady,
Ganga,
played
by
newcomer
Mandakini.
In
a
modern
version
of
Shakuntala,
a
city
man
Naren
(Rajeev
Kapoor)
falls
in
love
with
mountain
dweller
Ganga
after
seeing
her
bathing
under
a
waterfall.
They
get
married,
but
he
leaves
telling
her
he
will
return
for
her,
and
does
not
know
that
she
is
pregnant.
In
her
journey
to
hunt
for
her
husband
in
Calcutta,
she
has
to
go
through
a
lot
of
trouble,
ends
up
in
a
brothel
and
dances
at
Naren’s
wedding,
in
the
hope
that
he
will
recognise
and
accept
her.
The
film
got
into
censor
trouble
because
of
Mandakini’s
transparent
wet
sari
scene
and
a
breast-feeding
shot,
but
the
film
was
a
hit
and
a
fitting
end
to
a
splendid
career.
Raj
Kapoor’s
health
had
started
deteriorating
by
this
time,
and
he
passed
away
in
June
1988,
when
had
gone
to
Delhi
to
receive
the
Dadasaheb
Phalke
Award
for
Lifetime
Achievement.
