Indian Postal Stamp - Raj Kapoor (2001)

 

Combining in his career the diverse role of actor, director, producer and movie moghul Raj Kapoor (1924-1988) carved out a niche for him­ self in the history of Indian cinema.

Son of the illustrious Prithviraj Kapoor, the legendary film and theatre personality, Raj Kapoor made his debut as an actor at the age of eleven in Inquilaab, directed by Debaki Basu. By the time he directed his first film, Aag in 1948, he had already acted in eight more films. Raj Kapoor's second film was a much bigger success at the box office and established him and Nargis as the leading romantic pair of Indian screen. 

In 1950, he established the RK Studios at Chembur near Bombay which went on to become one of the best in the country. The following year saw the release of Awara, considered by many as the masterpiece of Raj Kapoor. The narrative of the film which established the power of truth and love in a decadent society struck a chord with viewers not just in India, but in different parts of the world. 

It was dubbed into a number of languages. Boot Polish and Jaagte Raho were two of his productions noted for their quality of direct realism, making them worthwhile documents of the prevailing social situations. Directed by Prakash Arora and Shambu Mitra respectively, these films were ahead of the times with regard to technical aspects like cinematography and sound recording.

Another popular film of Raj Kapoor was Shri 420, in which the character of the 'lovable tramp', already established with Awara, took on Chaplinesque undertones. Sangam, produced, directed and edited by Raj Kapoor in 1964, was his first in colour and turned out to be a big success at the box office. However, his most ambitious film Mera Naam Joker, released a few years later, failed to impress the audience. Learning from the failure of Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor came up with Bobby three years later. 

It was a charming commercial film with a fresh star-cast that included his son Rishi Kapoor and a new face Dimple Kapadia. Its breezy narrative style appealed to the youth and the film was a runaway hit. The nineteen seventies and eighties saw sweeping changes in the film industry and a whole new breed of filmmakers came and established themselves. However, Raj Kapoor still continued to hold his sway over the audience with films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Prem Rog.

Raj Kapoor's immense knowledge of religions and fables helped him to discover a format that appealed to the cross section of viewers. In his format, he combined fact and fiction to educate and entertain masses comprising of various socio­economic and religious groups. His themes were deeply rooted in the soil but his treatment gave them a look of modern fables and fairy tales. He portrayed the lives of the under privileged with rare sensitivity and portrayed the underdog as a glamorous rather than a reprehensible hero. Many awards and distinctions were conferred on him , the most prominent being the Dada Saheb Phalke Award and Padma Bhushan.