Awaara

Extremely rare original old Raj Kapoor film poster of the cult Bollywood movie, Awara (1951) for sale.

This is an actual surviving original East German publicity poster of the 1951 black and white Bollywood film produced, directed by and starring the greatest entertainer of all time in Bollywood, Raj Kapoor (also known as The Show Man of Indian cinema).

This extremely unique promotional mini-poster (roughly A4 size) was designed and printed in East Germany during the Cold War for publicity of Awara in East German theaters.

The unique hand painted artwork seen in this old Bollywood movie poster was designed exclusively for the film’s promotion inside East German theaters and was only used in East Germany, making it truly one-of-a-kind and highly collectible.

This old Raj Kapoor Bollywood poster was printed and circulated during the original first release of the film in East Germany during the Cold War (mid 1950s). This was the official promotional poster designed and printed for publicity of the film in East German theaters in the mid 1950s but never ended up being used.

Printed in the mid 1950s on vintage East German paper, very few posters of this type were made and only a handful have survived till date.

Featured here for sale is an almost impossible to find original East German Raj Kapoor Bollywood movie poster!

This old hand painted Bollywood poster bears an extremely unique design that features a brilliant hand painted portrait of Raj Kapoor & Nargis holding hands. The title of the film is seen in German as well as translated into English in brackets below.

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.