Watch Raj Kapoor's Films On OTT

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.