Awaara

Beautiful vintage Bollywood poster of one of the greatest Hindi films ever made in the history of Indian cinema, Awara (1951) for sale.

Awara (sometimes spelled as Awaara) is a 1951 blockbuster directed and produced by Raj Kapoor, featuring him in a leading role opposite Nargis. The film is considered Raj Kapoor’s finest performance ever.

This is an actual surviving old Raj Kapoor movie poster of the Jaipur Release of Awara. Printed and circulated somewhere in the 1960s/1970s, this vintage movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

Raj Kapoor and Nargis had unbeatable chemistry together, and Awara much like Raj kapoor’s other films, showcased the sensuality and beauty of Nargis to perfection. This is reflected in the poster with a large dreamy hand painted close up of Nargis. Raj Kapoor’s ‘tramp” character in the film was influenced heavily by Charlie Chaplin as is evident from his hand drawn portrait in the poster.

This is the only film ever made in the history of Bollywood that had so many generations of the Kapoor family starring together on screen.

Awara (Tramp) is an iconic 1951 Hindi film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor. Music of the film was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The film stars Raj Kapoor and Nargis in lead roles while Raj Kapoor’s father Prithviraj Kapoor stars as his on-screen father. Kapoor’s youngest real-life brother Shashi Kapoor also plays the younger version of his character in a cameo. Prithiviraj’s father Dewan Bashwanath Kapoor also has a cameo role in Awara – his only film appearance.

The film became a rage throughout South Asia and found overseas success primarily in the Soviet Union. Songs of the film such as “Awara Hoon” (I am a Tramp) and “Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi” became blockbuster hits, which are remembered and played till today. The film was also nominated for the Grand Prize of the Cannes Film Festival in 1953. Owing to its popularity in so many countries, in 2012, Awaara was included in the 20 new entries added to the coveted All-Time 100 greatest films list by TIME.

After the widespread success of the film, Raj Kapoor carried this “tramp” character (influenced heavily by Charlie Chaplin) forward in subsequent films such as Shree 420.

The music for this film was composed by Shankar Jaikishan while the songs were written by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. Songs from the film find place on the list of 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks of all time.

In 2003, Time magazine added Awara to a list of “10 Indian Films to Treasure”. Time magazine also chose Raj Kapoor’s performance in Awaara as one of the top ten greatest performances of all time. In India, the film grossed a record of over Rs. 12 million.

In the Soviet Union, Awara is estimated to have drawn between 40 to 63 million viewers to cinemas across the nation. It remained the most successful Indian film in the Soviet Union up until films like Bobby, Seeta Aur Geeta and Disco Dancer achieved a similar level of success there.

The film was also a nationwide success in China, where the song “Awara Hoon” and actor Raj Kapoor became widely known across the nation, much like in the Soviet Union. The film’s success in both the Soviet Union and China has been attributed to the socialist themes expressed in the film. The film Awara and the song “Awara Hoon” are believed to have been Chairman Mao’s (founder of People’s Republic of China 1949) favourite film and song, respectively. Due to the film’s remarkable success in Turkey, Awara was remade in Turkey as Avare in 1964 with a local cast.