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Aag
(Fire). 1948. India. Directed by Raj Kapoor. Pictured: Kamini
Kaushal (left) and Raj Kapoor (right). Image courtesy of Indian
International Film Academy.
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Largely unknown in North America—except, of course, to millions of fans of South Asian descent— Kapoor is revered not only in India but throughout the former Soviet world, the Middle East, and beyond for the films he made during the Golden Age of Indian cinema. This exhibition of eight legendary Kapoor films, presented in newly struck 35mm prints, offers an introduction to one of the most ravishing and influential periods of world cinema. Kapoor founded RK Films in 1948, and it became the most important Hindi studio of the post-Independence era—and the one most commonly associated with that nebulous and often misunderstood expression, “Bollywood.”
Fire (1948), Kapoor’s first film as producer and director, reflects German Expressionist influences, and established the modern-day, hyper-romantic style that would become his trademark—combining contemporary Hollywood melodrama with the moral lessons and metaphors of the “mythologicals”: special-effects-laden versions of tales from the Indian epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Kapoor took the latent romanticism of prewar Indian commercial cinema and made it frank, intense, and personal, creating a new idiom for the expression of emotion that had little place in traditional Indian literature and drama.
As Elliot Stein writes in Raj Kapoor: The Showman Auteur of Indian Cinema, “Kapoor’s singular and gargantuan talent subsumes a variety of influences and affinities—[Charles] Chaplin, Frank Capra, Orson Welles—with even a touch of Russ Meyer apparent in the later work. At times, his oeuvre recalls the work of a 19th-century European literary giant whose sympathy for the underdog, protean activity, inexhaustible energy and penchant for excess earned him fame and a national reputation as early in life as Kapoor. Yes, Raj Kapoor is—to a degree—the Victor Hugo of Indian cinema.”
More than six decades back, a very young man proved his talent at a very tender age of 24 years and within less than a decade, that young man started being called as the showman of Indian cinema and amassed a lot of respect. This 24 years old youth was Raj Kapoor who had demonstrated his worth in his directorial debut itself which was Aag (1948).Aag (fire) is an emotional story whose protagonist Kewal (Raj Kapoor) wants to make it big in the world of theatre. He starts cherishing this dream since his childhood itself and one more extension of his dream is to stage the classic story of Sanskrit poet - Bilwamangal and his sweetheart - Chintamani with himself playing the role of Bilwa, the hero and his childhood buddy - Nimmi playing the role of Chintamani, the heroine. Destiny separates Nimmi from him and after growing up, not only he starts pursuing his dream with the help of Rajan (Prem Nath) but also searches his Nimmi only in every girl he comes across. consulta online medico online pediatra online medico online doctor online dermatologo online veterinario online veterinario online psychologist online consulta online abogado online abogado online abogado online abogado online abogado online psicologo online doctor online psicologo online abogado online abogado online However, his thirst of getting the association of his childhood-love, Nimmi in his life and his theatre-world remains unquenched. The ladies entering his life have to leave him due to the worldly constraints. One day, out of frustration, he sets his own theatre on fire and gets burnt. His face is disfigured and uglified due to the burnings suffered. However, finally he gets married to a girl selected by his parents, only to get the most pleasant surprise of his life on their first conjugal night.
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