Raj Kapoor Birthday: Dev Anand’s discovery Zeenat Aman was stolen by the blue-eyed boy, who was none other than showman Raj Kapoor

December 14 marks the 101st birth anniversary of Raj Kapoor. Let's try to understand the story of his journey to becoming a showman here.

Raj Kapoor B'day: Zeenat Aman, who made her mark as a bold heroine of the 1970s, was often rumoured to be having an affair with showman Raj Kapoor. The buzz about their affair was fuelled by none other than the most handsome star of Hindi cinema, Dev Anand.

Dev Anand wrote in his book 'Romancing With Life' that Zeenat fell in love with Raj Kapoor during the filming of 'Hare Rama, Hare Krishna'. In an interview given decades ago, Dev Anand also said, "I had thrown a party to celebrate the success of the film Hare Rama, Hare Krishna. At that party, Zeenat, who was my discovery, was stolen away from me by the blue-eyed boy." More than five decades after Dev Saheb's claim, Zeenat broke her silence and spoke about her relationship with Raj Kapoor himself, saying, "He was passionate about his work, and I was passionate about mine."

Janice turned Rupa made this claim about Raj Kapoor

The claim that both were passionate about their work is 100 percent true. Zeenat gained fame with the film 'Hare Rama, Hare Krishna' and became a bold and fashion-conscious actress in Bollywood. She played the character of Jasbir in this film. In the film, she was called Janice at parties of the hippie group.

Raj Kapoor had the art of turning Janice into Rupa

Raj Kapoor persuaded this dazzling Janice to play the role of Rupa, a village girl, in 'Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram'. Rupa, who is a simple, innocent, religious girl with a melodious voice, and has half her face burnt. Sunil Dutt, in a formal conversation with the author of these lines in 1997, while talking about Raj Kapoor, said, "He was an extremely genius, multi-talented person. He groomed many stars in Hindi films. Most of his films were very popular and successful. His understanding of music was very deep."

'Two Films Are Necessary to Understand Raj Kapoor's Direction'

Praising Raj Kapoor's direction, Sunil Dutt had said that he was a director who could transform a dazzling character like Zeenat Aman into the village girl Rupa. He added that if one wants to understand Raj Kapoor's direction, they should watch both 'Hare Rama, Hare Krishna' and 'Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram'.

The Tune of 'Awaara Hoon...' Was Composed to a Song by the Russian PM

Raj Kapoor's film 'Awaara' was released in 1951. The film and its songs achieved immense popularity. Wherever Raj Kapoor went, be it Russia, China, or any corner of the world, songs from 'Awaara' were sung and played in his honour. The tune of this song also has a very interesting story. In fact, the Prime Minister of Russia, Nikolai Bulganin, sang a song during a banquet, which formed the basis for the tune of 'Awaara Hoon...'. The lyrics of this song were written by the great lyricist Shailendra, and the music was composed by the duo Shankar-Jaikishan.

Raj Kapoor was the Kabir of Hindi Films: Jaiprakash Chouksey

Writer Jaiprakash Chouksey had a very close relationship with Raj Kapoor. He used to call Raj Kapoor the Kabir of Hindi cinema. He believed that Raj Kapoor expressed the pain, love, and struggles of the common man through his films like poetry. He also wrote a book on the showman titled 'Raj Kapoor: The Creative Process'.

Why Raj Kapoor Became Extremely Popular in Russia

In his book, Jaiprakash Chouksey, quoting screenwriter Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, mentions a very poignant anecdote about the popularity of 'Awaara' in Russia. When Khwaja Ahmad asked Nikita Khrushchev why Raj Kapoor was so popular in Russia, Khrushchev replied: The people of Russia suffered immense pain during World War II. The public here paid a heavy price for the war. The country was burning in the fire of poverty, and only films about war were being made here. In this environment, Raj Kapoor's films came into the lives of the Russian people like joy. His films acted as a balm on their wounds.

In another conversation, Jaiprakash Chouksey praised Shailendra, Mukesh, and Raj Kapoor, saying that Shailendra's lyrics, "My chest is full of wounds, yet my carefree gaze smiles," and Raj Kapoor's common man characters, resonated deeply with people.

It has been 37 years since Raj Kapoor left this world. Decades have passed since his films 'Awaara', 'Shree 420', 'Mera Naam Joker', 'Teesri Kasam', 'Aah', etc., were released, but the charisma of showman Raj Kapoor remains intact. The songs from his films are still on people's lips.