Director Raj Kapoor राज कपूर, 1951, 168 mins, Hindi with English subtitles

The son of a judge abandons his pregnant wife and turns to a life of crime. Years later, he appears before his father on a murder charge.

This melodrama, which carries a strong social reformist message in tune with the Nehru era, was released in China at the height of Sino-Indian friendship during the 1950s. Known as Liulangzhe 流浪者 in Chinese, Awara is one of the best-known Bollywood films in the People’s Republic. But it was only in the 1970s that the film achieved wider circulation. Awara hoon (I’m a vagabond), the film’s title song, is said to have been a favourite with Mao Zedong.

This film screening is part of the China and India in the Modern World: From (Semi)Colonies to Nation-States Workshop.