Barsaat

Raj Kapoor's first major success as a director is a moody film that effectively uses rain clouds to denote pain and longing.

The film explores the conflict between two aspects of man -– sensitive Pran (Raj Kapoor) falls deeply in love with Nargis, while Gopal (Premnath) seduces a shy maiden (Nimmi) with cold-hearted precision. The rains celebrate the lovers' bond during the joyous Barsaat mein tak dhina dhin, but when you see Premnath callously eat peanuts while Nimmi sings Yeh sama hai jaa rahe ho kaise manoon, you know he is going to go back on his promise to return with the next monsoons.

Positioned against billowing clouds, Nimmi spends a lifetime waiting for her beloved to return. Raj-Nargis' love story also follows a chequered course. The characters' agony is captured in songs that repeatedly play on the allegory between weeping clouds and eyes through lines like Aansoo ki barsaat balamwa dil mein aag lagaye, and Sharmayee meri aankh se sawan ki ghatayein.

The film opens with images of clouds and closes with them, mutely watching over the pain below them.