A PASSAGE TO INDIA II: ATTACK OF THE SPICE

Raj Kapoor returns both to the marathon and with a character influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp character; here it's even clearer, yet despite some strong resemblance in terms of looks and to some extent its personality, Kapoor manages to distinguish Raj enough so the character becomes its own, a whimsical individual that for a myriad of reasons and decisions becomes this sort of tragic figure as the film turns into a bit of a cautionary tale of sorts. The film also shifts the enthralling surrealism of Awaara for a more grounded direction, which absolutely fits and helps the story. The cinematography remains really stunning and while neither the music nor the…

Raj Kapoor at his most Chaplinesque as well as his most cynical perhaps. While in most other Bollywood films, the hero ultimately finds some kind of way out of his socioeconomic trappings, all Raj Kapoor's character is able to do here is to walk away and leave the city. It's almost prescient in its indictment not just of the high level of unemployment that the country would continue to face for years but also Nehru's utopian idea of planned cities with affordable housing for all, the hypocrisy of politicians in a still relatively newly independent India and just this idea of a society that's attempting (and failing) to mix capitalism with socialist values. And all this packaged into a totally…

THE LEGACY OF RAJ KAPOOR: EPISODE #2

"zindagi badi 420 hai itni aasani se picha nahi chhodti" (life is a big fraud, it doesn't let go so easily)

Raj Kapoor, a.k.a. Ranbir Raj Kapoor, also known as the Greatest Showman of India, acted in, produced, and directed the masterpiece Shree 420. It was his fourth directorial venture and the sixth film produced under the RK Films banner. The film became a massive blockbuster and remained the highest-grossing Indian film for two years. By 1955, Raj Kapoor had become a household name in the Soviet Union due to the global success of Awara, and Shree 420 was also a major hit in that country.

THEMES

"ek nakli chehra utaarkar dusra nakli…

                              MILD SPOILERS 

Raj Kapoor directs and stars in this comedy-drama about a young man from the country who travels to Bombay and finds himself falling in with an unethical businessman while trying to make something of himself, beginning to question the priorities that were sacrificed along the way.

It’s a story about what it takes to get to the top, following an essentially honest person as he progresses down an increasingly shady road at the cost of the person he once was; the film uses this journey to explore whether someone can still keep their soul intact after selling out, so within its genre trappings…

As in Awaara, Kapoor channels Chaplin in a physical performance for the ages, modulating his facial expressions, gait, size and posture in almost every scene for great comedic effect, also noticeably shifting his face and body in relation to whomever he is interacting with, where on the class ladder they are and what his objective in the scene is. Kapoor's dynamic presence is countered by Nargis, who instead delivers swathes of emotion with so little; there is strength and grace to her every movement, but an unmistakable sadness in her eyes. When Nargis turns around, it's like suddenly staring into the face of truth itself - all that is good and honest in the world, forcing you to search your…