Raj Kapoor Movies

Unlike the more succinct 1950 MGM version, the 1984 TV movie adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Kim (filmed on location in India) takes its own sweet time establishing characters and exposition. You'll have to stay with the film for its first half hour to determine who is who and what is what, but the end result is worth the effort. Ravi Sheth stars as Kim, a street orphan in Lahore, India during the height of the British Raj. Kim's amazing adventures get under way the moment he learns that he's actually the son of a British soldier. One such exploit involves horse trader Bryan Brown (playing a character essayed by Errol Flynn in the 1950 film), who uses Kim as a spy for the British against Russian infiltrators in the Himalayas. The big-money act in Kim is Peter O'Toole as a wizened Buddhist monk. O'Toole's acting is impeccable, though his false beard and bald wig make him resemble the woebegone hermit who always shows up in the opening credits of Monty Python's Flying Circus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jagte Raho (Under Cover of Night) was selected from literally hundreds of candidates as one of India's two entries in the 1957 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. In search of water, a rural man gets into trouble with the Bombay police when he wanders into the wrong house. The rest of the film details his slapstick efforts to avoid arrest. This very thinnish continuity is held together by the charisma of star Raj Kapoor, who only occasionally overplays his hand. Despite its essentially Indian appeal, Jagte Raho played well before viewers of all nationalities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Ab Dilli Dur Nahin, Boot Polish was produced (but not directed) by prolific Indian filmmaker Raj Kapoor. The main adult character, played by Kapoor, is a carefree vagabond who befriends a pair of enterprising orphans (Baby Naaz and Rattan Kumar). Unwanted by society in general and by their family in particular, the kids stay alive by running a shoe-shining business. When Kapoor is arrested, the children dedicate themselves to being reunited with their boon companion. Bearing unavoidable traces of Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine, Boot Polish was reasonably well-received when distributed in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Indian film icon Raj Kapoor directs this Oedipal family drama centering on Raju (Kapoor), the disaffected son of renowned Judge Raghuath (played by the director's father Prithvaraj Kapoor), who finds himself on the street pursuing a life of crime. Soon he runs into Jagga (K. N. Singh), the untouchable criminal who brought shame on his mother. Though he plots to kill both Jagga and Raghuath, Raju saves his real father, restoring his father's love for the lad and at the same time winning the heart of his one and only love Rita (Nargis). ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Raj Kapoor directs this meditation on love. Pran (Kapoor), a wealthy lad with a poetic soul, is passionately in love with impoverished country lass Reshma (Nargis). When she attempts to run away with Pran -- over the objections of her traditionalist father -- she slips and falls into a river, and apparently drowns. As Pran and his womanizing buddy Gopal (Premnath), who just cruelly dumped another girl, Neela (Nimmi), are driving through the country, they are more than a little surprised to see Reshma about to be married to a fisherman (K.N. Singh). Pran runs off the road and wrecks his car, halting the wedding, and eventually marries Reshma. Gopal is crushed and penitent when he learns that Neela committed suicide. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Bollywood film icon Raj Kapoor stars in this melodrama -- directed by Mahesh Kaul -- about the troubles and travails of a beautiful young country lass. Abandoned by her family, the low-caste Gopta (Tripti Mitra) is left at the home of the handsome upper-caste Mohan (Kapoor). Though she has fallen for the lad, he lusts for the glamour and sophisticated ways of movie star Neela Devi. Just when the longing and powerlessness of her situation drives his wife insane, Mohan decides that he in fact prefers Gopta over the fickle and demanding Devi. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Though a commercial failure, this romantic melodrama -- directed by Kidar Sharma -- is significant because it features the debuts of two of Bollywood's most important figures, Raj Kapoor and Madhubala. Set in the royal court of Janakgarh, the film opens with the palace coup lead by the villainous Mangal Singh, resulting in the deaths of the king and queen. Princess Kamala (Madhubala) and her sister are spirited out the court and given over to a family of untouchables. Later, she and her sister fall in love with a rakish artist (Kapoor), resulting in Kamala having to commit suicide. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide