Visual narration was his strength, through which he connected with the audience and left an indelible mark.
Measuring up to that sobriquet, Raj Kapoor stayed ahead of his times as the greatest showman who celebrated the making of purposeful cinema with aplomb. Allowing creative imagination to stay in the lead, his storytelling had an un-compromising flourish that risked everything at the cost of saying something important. His defining film Mera Naam Joker, the story of a clown who makes other laughs hiding his own sorrows, did not connect well with the audience but attained the status of a classic nonetheless. For a creative genius, the product held value over profit: ‘I agree that there should be some kind of economics but, for a true filmmaker, the heart has to reign supreme.’In his four decades of an intensely engaging career, both as an actor and a filmmaker, Raj Kapoor could carve a distinct niche for his creative pursuits in holding a mirror to the society. From his directorial debut in Aag in 1948 to an unfinished Henna in 1991, he dealt with human emotions, demolished social taboos, and exposed the duality of society. Visual narration was his strength, through which he connected with the audience and left an indelible mark. In the illustrious company of the tragedy king Dilip Kumar and the eternal romantic Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor stood out for his creative versatility to complete the Hindi cinema’s iconic trinity.
In paying rich tributes to his mentor, Rahul Rawail reveals the eccentricity of the person behind the colossus. The Chaplinesque character on screen had a complimentary off-screen side to him, which was crazy, weird, affable, and amusing. Put together, it seemingly helped the actor and the director in him to have hugely appealing distinct identities. Need it be said that the dual identities epitomized a brand of film making that was unique to Raj Kapoor, guiding him to pick subjects which few had the courage to – Awara, Jaagte Raho, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Mera Naam Joker are few among many of his films that bear testimony to the sheer spectacle of content, form, technique and magnitude on celluloid.
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| Raj and Dimple on the sets of 'Bobby'. |
Rawail recounts the making of the song Aa ab laut chalen in the film Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, which engaged 60 chorus artists and 120 musical instruments to match the onscreen grandeur of the situation. Since no recording studio in 1950’s could accommodate a large ensemble, the song was recorded in the open just past midnight. Kapoor’s obsession with music was overwhelming, and his knowledge of film-making was extensive. It was only through an innate knowledge of all aspects of film making – camera handling, the lighting, shot arrangement, scene sequencing and editing – that his films could be larger than life.
Predominantly told through his association during the making of two iconic films - Mera Naam Joker and Bobby – Rawail reconstructs the aura of the greatest showman by pulling relevant anecdotes from the past that he had learnt from the master himself, and his close associates. Written with warmth and clarity, Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work makes for a delightful reading about the enigma who lived and breathed cinema. The book reveals that when it came to cinema, there was nothing that Raj Kapoor could not do.
Raj Kapoor’s legacy lives on across many countries, a reflection on the filmmaker who was more than the sum of his whimsical and creative facets. Himself an accomplished filmmaker, Rawail signs off his thoughtful memoir with a moving chapter on Kapoor’s untimely demise. ‘The flames engulfed the mortal remains of the Master and, as the fire rose, it heralded the birth of the immortal Raj Kapoor.’
by Rahul Rawail
Bloomsbury, New Delhi
Extent: 245, Price: Rs. 699.
First published in the Hindustan Times on April 13, 2022.
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