Film Analysis- 4 things to learn from the film 'Awaara'

Even before I got interested in the notion of Left-wing cinema in college days, dozens of people had already suggested me to watch the film 'Awaara' seeing my interest in Arts & Socialism. I never understood their reasons for connecting the two contrasting things with a film un-till I was actually exposed to this gem in one of my Film Studies class. Since then I have watched this film around 7 times, and every time it has something new to provide me with. This is the first article of the series wherein I am expressing my take-aways from the film Awaara (1951) Directed & Produced by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.

Connecting dots

There is a small boy sitting under a lamp post, living the same kind of life which the protagonist is about to live in the film. This boy is the signifier of a vagabond which may also be the reflection of this film's protagonist, Raj. The whole narrative gives us a sense that, ’one who has nothing to lose is the one who can actually give to others'. A small boy is feeding a stray dog (who has the same fate like his) even though it's evident that a street boy who is deprived of every material belongingness, never has food in abundance for himself. That character of someone passionate about other’s need and pain is clearly visible in that boy. The trait is in consonance with that of our protagonist, Raj. If this romanticization with the underprivileged is the heart of this film then the empathetic mise en scène is its vein. A child, who is generally considered to be possessive about their things, is shown as a compassionate character who is there to sacrifice a bite of his food for a stray dog. The giving of food could also be perceived as a ‘giving of happiness to unknowns’. By this the basic trait of an ‘Awaara’ (Vagabond) has been glorified as someone who is marginalized, still ready to qualify the fundamentals of humanity that lie in love and compassion.

Later on, as the film proceeds, we can see this scene from the credit score in a broader aspect. Raj, when fired from the factory, during his quest to be like others i.e a productive citizen who is not ‘Awaara’ but civilized as per the norms of the society, takes the refuge on a footpath. He shares his food with a stray dog, as was done by the child in the credit score scene. 

This is how the film's narrative completes the cycle. In a way, every initial scene in the film produces a base for a similar thematic representation to be seen later on. This cyclic scene (one of the small boy and the other of Raj) portraying the same intensity of happening is somehow a stage from where the traditional concept of ‘Awaaragi’ is being challenged. The discourse of ‘only rich can donate or share’ is destroyed and a new synthesis of ‘compassion in poverty and unemployment’ is highlighted. These two scenes are separated in terms of their placement in the film but work united to demolish our preoccupied ideas about vagabonds. 

Infusing Politics 

Let's try to understand the political side of the scenes mentioned above. Both the scenes produce before a critique of the bourgeoisie class that "feeds on labor". It questions its selfish character and its tendency to be too individualistic. It challenges the basic utility of ‘capital’ and ‘material wealth’ (the tool of the bourgeoise class) when all of them are unable to produce humanitarian considerations in the human mind. It poses new questions around Modern Capitalism that gave the corporate lifestyle that speaks about wealth, competition and reward. The capitalistic notion that "the one who is unable to create wealth for the nation is of no use" gets challenged. As in the film, the wealth creators are the ones who are too selfish, too self-centered to think about beyond their own sphere. In fact, a vagabond Raj (who has no contribution in creating wealth) is the one who is there to embrace the society, the nation with all the empathy and love.

However, the film's argument that the ones who are creating wealth are actually degrading standards of human relations and love but it does ask a relevant question. Why Seth Raghunath, in fear of his material considerations and fame, ousted his pregnant wife even after having heaps of wealth? How, the state, the governance system which is considered unquestionable, is prompting officials to fill its jails, even when the only crime committed the demand for food? How these structures have been a failure for society as a whole? How the basic idea of ‘creating wealth for the social good’ is crushed under loads of human selfishness? These questions are raised in the film and strengthened in these scenes in particular. All these have been traditional arguments of Socialists and Communists around the world. Now it also makes sense that why the film ran successfully in the then USSR (a Socialist state) and why Raj Kapoor was a celebrity in that country. 

The inner conflicts, though are necessary for the development of the human minds, but proves to be fatal when inserted and plastered by force in the society through various pillars of its structures. Why was Raj fired from the factory, just because of his malign past, even when he was trying to be under the guidance of bourgeois society? Were the structures so ruthless that they were not able to accept a new human being into their civilization? Why this ruthlessness is not inside a child or Raj when they willingly shared their moments, in the times of deprivation, with someone whom they don’t even know (a stray dog). If vagabonds can be better humans than the ones ‘civilized’ and ‘useful,' then why to degrade their existence just because they do not fulfill the criteria of the dominant bourgeoise structure. The scenes are acting as an agent to make people believe that love and compassion (the qualities of a true independent society) is not the monopoly of wealth or capital. It's a basic but powerful Socialist argument. 

Using lighting & ambiance as a message

After returning from the Jagga's (the dacoit) clutch, Seth Raghunath's wife is under constant suspicion of his husband. Seth develops a kind of insecurity towards his life. He thinks his stature, both personal and professional, to be under threat speculating that Jagga Dacoit is responsible for the child in his wife's womb. This alienates him from his own married life. He becomes more worried about his professional leverage neglecting his emotional bond under the threat that society may abandon him on knowing that his wife has given birth to a criminal's son. This inner conflict going on in this sequence inside Seth Raghunath is portrayed using 'Noir' ie. using sharp lights and shadows to develop a sense of radical viewpoints, sense of 'emotional twist' in the film's narrative. Later on, Seth Raghunath decides to leave his wife and that too in hard times of her pregnancy. That scene too is accompanied by the sharp lightning, sharp ambiance, high pitch background score, and unique mise en scène. The lighting and ambiance in itself become a message in this case as it conveys things that even dialogues or artists' expressions are not able to communicate. They give the idea of what the character is feeling, how it is trying to deal with its conflict and what feeling should the audience have while experiencing a particular scene.

Taking this example ahead, if we have a look on the song 'Dum bhar jo Udhar' in which Raj Kapoor and Nargis both are having a time of their own singing about love and optimism around it. The whole song has this beautiful soft lighting which communicates the emotional dominance filled with positivism. The ambiance and mise en scène communicate about the two lovers who have somehow freed themselves from the chains of the society and are in their boat looking up in the sky singing of the moon. That's completely a technique to show that the characters are filled with love and hope for a better future after their rebel from society. And the lighting and ambiance of the song play a major part in invoking this feeling in the audience. 

Another quick example that should be mentioned here is of Raj's introductory shot in the film- where he is behind a barbed cage in the courtroom, with reflections of wires falling upon his numb face. That was the moment when our protagonist was under suspicion not only in the story in front of the courtroom but also for the audience which was still ignorant of his story and was just seeing him as a criminal in a courtroom ready to convicted for something. That lighting was interestingly successful in invoking that sense of suspicion on a character in his first shot in the film.

Using song to push the story ahead

Right from the initial track, 'Nayyar Meri Majhdaar' the film gains a narrative which it sticks with up till the last shot of the film. This song is about a time of transition, maybe a signifier of the transition from the feudal land to bourgeois society, or may even be understood as a transition in the values of a society. It creates a sense of movement of the time, with changes not only the lifestyle of the subjects but also their thought process and worldview. Like all the songs of the film, this song in itself initiates a progression in the story. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mXHFJJHc4I  

The other song that I noticed is 'Rote Bhi Rahe Hanste Bhi Rahe'. With this song, the protagonist is able to convey his feeling of emptiness and incomplete desires, which he blames to the destiny that betrayed him every time. One of the famous songs sung by Mukesh Mathur, it explains the complexity of life amidst which one chooses to survive in search of love and care.

On the other hand, an extremely famous song 'Main Awaara Hoon' is one of the classics that is still ruling the music charts of Mumbai Cinema. In fact, it also gained popularity in the International spheres, particularly in Russia, the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. This song in a matter of few minutes establishes Raj's character, his objectives and his conflicts in the film. Doing that for a character might take multiple scenes in a film, but because of the genius minds involved, all that was beautifully established with a song. Its line, 'Ghar Baar nahin sansaar nahin mujhse kisi ko pyaar nahin' needs to be understood in a greater context. It tells us about an individual who is dejected, has no place to dwell and belong to no one. These are the basic characters of a vagabond in society. In the song, we see Raj, the protagonist, busy interacting with different sorts of employed people going for work only to end up being a subject of their dejection. In the last sequence of the song, he is singing the song amidst the other marginalized section of the city, i.e the slum dwellers. That was the only strata which accepted him as what he was. If we take the 'slum dwellers' to be the signifier of poverty and deprivation, which anyway we should, then the motif of the song becomes a bit clearer. It'a wonderful Socialist approach to carve out an opinion in the minds of the audience. 

Songs in the film are great examples to prove an argument that songs can be communication in themselves and need not be to be seen as a stand-alone component in a film. They can be used in a similar fashion like one uses dialogues to further the conflicts in a film or to explain a character.

The memory of this film is so vividly imprinted in mind and heart that it seems there is a lot yet to be written about this film. I will try to complete the thought some other time and will come forth with the second part of this essay. Keep Reading. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.