Plot
Raghunath is a wealthy district judge. He convicts Jagga, son of a criminal, of rape with thin evidence. He believes that "good people are born to good people, and criminals are born to criminals." Jagga later escapes and kidnaps the judge's wife Leela for revenge. When he finds out that she has just become pregnant, he releases her after four days and plans a different kind of revenge. People suspect her faithfulness to her husband and the judge throws her out of the house, rejecting her pleas that the child is his. Leela gives birth to Raj on the streets and they live in poverty. Raj befriends Rita in school. He is removed from the school rolls while trying to maintain a job as a shoeshine and Rita moves to another city. Jagga convinces Raj to steal in order to save his starving mother. Raj grows up into a skilled criminal, going in and out of jail, and working for Jagga's gang. Leela thinks that he is a businessman. Raj never forgets Rita, keeping her birthday picture in his home. For a bank robbery, Jagga asks Raj to steal an automobile. He snatches a woman's purse when she steps out of the car, but finds no keys. He pretends to pursue the thief in order to ward off any suspicion and returns the purse to the woman, who is charmed by his personality and apparent selflessness. Later, when Raj successfully steals a car, he hides from the police in a mansion where he meets the same woman. Seeing the same birthday picture, Raj realises that she is his school friend Rita. He tells Rita he's a thief but his figurative statements makes her think he is a finance professional. Rita, now studying law, is a ward of the judge who is suspicious when he hears that Raj doesn't know who his father is. Raj and Rita fall in love. Worrying that Rita will not accept him due to his thievery, Raj starts working at a factory. He's fired him when the manager finds out that he was a thief. Rita invites him to her birthday party. Raj goes back to Jagga for a money loan so that he can buy a gift for her. Jagga mocks his attempts to reform and asks him to commit more crimes. Raj refuses but later steals a necklace from a man on the street, not knowing the man was the Judge. At Rita's birthday, when Raj gives her a necklace without a case and the Judge gives her a case without a necklace, she realises that Raj is indeed a thief. Rita goes to Raj's mother and learns his whole life story. She decides that Raj is not bad, but was forced into committing crimes by bad influence and the desperation of living in poverty. Raj is ashamed, still believing he is no good for her, but she forgives him. Raj goes to the Judge to ask if he can marry Rita, but the Judge turns him away. Meanwhile, Jagga and the gang commit the bank robbery, but it goes wrong and they have to run from the police. Jagga hides in Raj's house, where Leela recognizes him and he attacks her. Raj enters and fights him off, killing Jagga in self-defense. Raj goes on trial for Jagga's death with Raghunath as the judge. When Leela goes to the courthouse to provide her eyewitness account, she sees Raghunath and chases after him but is struck by a car. Rita collects the testimony from Leela in the hospital, and later Raj is allowed to visit her. Leela tells Raj that the judge is his father and asks her son to forgive him. But Raj becomes angrier at the judge for making him and his mother suffer. He escapes from jail and tries to kill the judge for revenge, but is stopped by Rita. Rita defends Raj in the trial for assault, who reveals the father-son relationship. Raj chooses not to defend his actions and says that he is a bad man. He asks the court not to think of him, but the millions of other children who grow up in poverty and end up turning to crime because high society does not care about them. While he awaits his verdict, Raj is visited by Judge Raghunath, who finally accepts that Raj is his son and tearfully asks for forgiveness. In the end, Raj is spared execution but sentenced to 3 years in prison for his crime. He promises that after getting released, he will reform himself for Rita, who promises to wait for him.Cast
* Prithviraj Kapoor as Judge Raghunath * Raj Kapoor as Raj * Nargis as Rita * K. N. Singh as Jagga * Cuckoo Moray, Cuckoo as Bar dancer * B. M. Vyas as Dubey * Leela Mishra as Raghunath's Sister-In-Law * Leela Chitnis as Leela * Shashi Kapoor as Young Raj * Baby Zubeida as Young Rita * Honey O'Brien as Dancer * Basheshwarnath Kapoor as Judge ;Supporting cast * Rajoo, Mansaram, Rajan, Manek Kapoor, Paryag, Ravi, Vinni, Bali, Shinde.Soundtrack
The music for this film was composed by Shankar Jaikishan while the songs were written by Shailendra (lyricist), Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. The soundtrack was listed by Planet Bollywood as number 3 on their list of 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks. The song Awaara Hoon was used in the Malayalam Film Vishnulokam directed by Kamal (director), Kamal starring Mohanlal. ''Awaara'' was the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of the 1950s.Production
The film is a collaboration of the famous team of director/producer Raj Kapoor and writer Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. K. A. Abbas originally wanted Mehboob Khan to direct the film, but the two disagreed over the casting. Khan wanted Ashok Kumar to play the judge and Dilip Kumar the son. In the event, Abbas withdrew his script from Mehboob Studios and Raj Kapoor decided to direct it. In his column for the ''The Indian Express, Indian Express'', Kapoor wrote, "In ''Awara'' I tried to prove that Vagabonds are not born, but are created in the slums of our modern cities, in the midst of dire poverty and evil environment."Critical reception
It was entered in the 1953 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or, Grand Prize of the Festival (Palme d'Or). In 1955, it was voted the best film of the year by readers of Turkish daily ''Milliye''. In 2003, ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine included it in 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 2005, ''Indiatimes Movies'' ranked the movie amongst the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films", writing: "Whenever Raj Kapoor and Nargis came together on screen, sparks flew. Their chemistry was electrifying and it crackles with raw passion in Raj Kapoor's ''Awaara''. Nargis's wild and carefree sensuality pulsates and Raj Kapoor's scruffy hair-rebellious persona only adds fuel to the fire". ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine included the film among the 20 new entries added to Time's All-Time 100 Movies, All-Time 100 greatest films in 2012.Box office
In India, the film grossed a record of in 1951, making it the highest-grossing film in India up until that time. This record was later beaten the next year by Mehboob Khan's ''Aan'' (1952), starring Dilip Kumar, which grossed in 1952. In Turkey, ''Awaara'' released in 1955. The film sold 100,000 tickets in its first week of release in Turkey. The total number of box office admissions in Turkey is currently unknown.Soviet Union
In the Soviet Union, ''Awaara'' was released in 1954,Bollywood affair: how Indian cinema arrived in the USSRChina
The film was also a success in China, where it first released in 1955. In its opening week, the film sold tickets, including admissions earning a Theatrical rental, distribution rental income of about in Beijing alone. Its opening-week ticket sales were equivalent to estimated opening-week rentals of approximately (). Prior to its 1978 re-release, the film's initial run had sold a total of 40million tickets in China. The film's 1978 re-release was a greater commercial success in China. Following its re-release, the film went on to sell a total of more than 100million tickets, and was the second highest-grossing Indian film in China behind only Nasir Hussain's ''Caravan (1971 film), Caravan'' (1971).Legacy
The song "Awaara Hoon" and actor Raj Kapoor were widely known across China and 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 ''Awaara'' and the song "Awaara Hoon" are believed to have been among Mao Zedong, Chairman Mao's favourite films and songs, respectively. ''Awaara'' was referenced in the 2000 Cinema of China, Chinese film ''Platform (2000 film), Platform''.Remakes
Due to the film's remarkable success with Turkish audiences, ''Awaara'' was remade in Turkey a total of eight times. The first and most prominent Turkish film remake was ''Avare'' (1964) starring actor Sadri Alışık and actress Ajda Pekkan. There was also an Iranian film remake, called ''The Wheel of the Universe'' (1967). However, this version may have been a remake of the Turkish remake ''Avare'', rather than a direct remake of the original ''Awaara''.See also
* "Awaara Hoon" * 100 Crore Club * Bollywood * List of films by box office admissions * List of highest-grossing films in the Soviet Union * List of highest-grossing Indian films * List of highest-grossing Indian films in overseas markets * List of highest-grossing non-English filmsNotes
References
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