zen Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Awara (1951) v Shree 420 (1955) While the tone of both films is different, they are connected by one of Bollywood's most popular characters - Raju. These films got the formula of mixing masala with quality spot on, creating the Bollywood flavor esp. of its Golden Age (1950-1985) that most of us love. The comparison here is from two angles: Better film -> which is a better film when looked it at from the perspective of storytelling, direction, cinematography, score, acting, etc. Favorite film -> which is your favorite when looked at from the perspective of how the film connects with you, engagement, rewatchability, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 I have not seen these two films recently but based on the impression of my last viewing: Better film: Awara. It has a relatively more serious theme. Once Raju grows up, the film is superb. Has memorable characters in Judge Raghunath & Jagga. Great mix of arty and masala elements. Favorite film: Shree 420. Gets rid of the "growing up" part. The comedy is great (the villain's car number plate is 840 i.e. 420*2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ankit_sharma03 Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 my father introduced me to Raj kapoor n Guru dutt at a very very young age . Dont recollect much now but my fav of raj kapoor then were - Jaagte raho, Mera naam Joker and Aag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariyam Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 17 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said: my father introduced me to Raj kapoor n Guru dutt at a very very young age . Dont recollect much now but my fav of raj kapoor then were - Jaagte raho, Mera naam Joker and Aag You have missed out the best from Guru Dutt: Pyaasa Vijy and Prakat 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ankit_sharma03 Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 11 minutes ago, Mariyam said: You have missed out the best from Guru Dutt: Pyaasa actually i hve always liked guru dutt more - saheb biwi ghulam , pyaasa, kagaaz ke phool ill prefer all of them over raj kapoor films Vijy, Mariyam and coffee_rules 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Awara is more classical and has repeat value as you age. Shree420 is more wholesome entertainment. Awara is the beginning of modern Indian cinema . We turned more commercial in the 60s, the golden period ends around 1970. So Awara is a text book for Indian cinema. Sad the RajKapoor went downhill from Sangam onwards, showmanship ka bhoot jo uspe sawaar tha. I watched Awara recently and Shree420 some 20 yrs ago, so I might be a little skewed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariyam Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 @coffee_rules Say what? You didn't watch Shree 420 first day first show at Minerva? coffee_rules, nevada and Vijy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariyam Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Shree 420 has far superior music! coffee_rules 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 11 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said: actually i hve always liked guru dutt more - saheb biwi ghulam , pyaasa, kagaaz ke phool ill prefer all of them over raj kapoor films My kind of films. RK started out great , but Gurudutt perfected his art. Pyaasa, though self-indulgent, has great cinematic experience in songs, editing and great cinematography from a Kannadiga - V K Murthy, a regular for his movies. Music and lyrics into cinema, one has to learn from Pyaasa. Sahir Ludhianvi and SD Burman. Wikipedia says Sar jo Tera chak raye is a composed by RD Burman, but that is some RDB fans editing Wikipedia on whims. SDB baap hota hain aur Beta beta hota hain. Vijy and Mariyam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 6 minutes ago, Mariyam said: @coffee_rules Say what? You didn't watch Shree 420 first day first show at Minerva? That must’ve been @Straight Drive. I watched it on a cheap VHS tape from Jignes Video here in NJ nevada and Mariyam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, coffee_rules said: Sad the RajKapoor went downhill from Sangam onwards, showmanship ka bhoot jo uspe sawaar Many folks rate his post Sangam films like Mera Naan Joker, Bobby, etc. highly Edited June 7, 2022 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Mariyam said: Shree 420 has far superior music! Both films have good music. Awara's music has a touch of 40s (Shamshad Begum lends her voice to a song too). Below a Lata that is yet to peak: My favorite song from the two films is probably "Awara Hoon", followed by “Ramaya Vastayaiya”. PS talking about song picturisation, Awara has this nice dream sequence - Link (There is a tune in it which is used in Yash Chopra films too iirc) ... I like RK's acting in the "Ichak dana bichak dana" song in Shree 420 (usually cracks me up)! Edited June 7, 2022 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Mariyam said: You have missed out the best from Guru Dutt: Pyaasa Evil brothers scheming against Guru Dutt almost has that Lalita Pawar's saas-bahu angle to it (and the film has Mehmood play Lalita Pawar) ... Guru Dutt is a male cinderella with poem slippers. He finds solace in princess charming on streets, while lecturing on the unwarranted hypocrisy of just about everyone ... No wonder he was Pyaasa! Edited June 7, 2022 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijy Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 since the OP's question is on awaara vs shree 420, I will say that both my fav and the more "great" film of the duo is "awaara". it's significance for indian cinema cannot be underrated, and moreover it is an enjoyable film too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 8, 2022 Author Share Posted June 8, 2022 4 hours ago, Vijy said: since the OP's question is on awaara vs shree 420, I will say that both my fav and the more "great" film of the duo is "awaara". it's significance for indian cinema cannot be underrated, and moreover it is an enjoyable film too. Got to pick one! The topic is about making the "difficult" choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 18 hours ago, zen said: Evil brothers scheming against Guru Dutt almost has that Lalita Pawar's saas-bahu angle to it (and the film has Mehmood play Lalita Pawar) ... Guru Dutt is a male cinderella with poem slippers. He finds solace in princess charming on streets, while lecturing on the unwarranted hypocrisy of just about everyone ... No wonder he was Pyaasa! Good for nothing vagabond, turns thief , traps a rich girl and fakes a Rona dhona reform tale, confused and dazed. No wonder he was Awara (any movie can be trashed if you want to) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 8, 2022 Author Share Posted June 8, 2022 10 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: Good for nothing vagabond, turns thief , traps a rich girl and fakes a Rona dhona reform tale, confused and dazed. No wonder he was Awara (any movie can be trashed if you want to) We are talking about masala films here (also there is no trapping a rich girl if you have actually seen the film recently) ... I have not even thrashed Pyaasa yet, which I think I should Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijy Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 25 minutes ago, zen said: Got to pick one! The topic is about making the "difficult" choice. Greater film - Awara Fav film - Awara it is an easy choice for me, because I find both personal and cinematic reasons to like awara more zen and coffee_rules 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijy Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 2 minutes ago, zen said: We are talking about masala films here (also there is no trapping a rich girl if you have actually seen the film recently) ... I have not even thrashed Pyaasa yet, which I think I should you should trash DDLJ or KKHH from the 90s. more fun doing so for them Mariyam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 8, 2022 Author Share Posted June 8, 2022 Just now, Vijy said: you should trash DDLJ or KKHH from the 90s. more fun doing so for them Those films need no thrashing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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