Thursday, May 8, 2008

Raj Kapoor Dilip Kumar.




Raj Kapoor Dilip Kumar.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

In India, the star system in bollywood films evolved in the late 40s, from the time Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar joined bollywood films. Raj Kapoor started his own production titled RK productions and his films right from the time of Aag, had created a social awakening.

Dilip Kumar with his soft style of dialogue delivery created a distinct identity for himself and films like Babul, Deedar, Aan, became very successful in the early 50s. Even in Andaz, Dilip Kumar impressed the crowds more than Raj Kapoor with his image of a sacrificer, as both Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar loved Nargis in the film.

From the 50s, the clownish performance of Raj Kapoor in Shree 420, had been totally opposite to Dilip Kumar’s tragic andaz in Devdas. No director had ever tried to compare each of them, and both of them were the most popular icons of the 50s. Even the songs of Raj Kapoor like “awara hoon”, “mera joota hai japani”, “kisiki muskurahato pe ho nisar”, were as popular as Dilip Kumar’s songs like “woh dur ke musafir”, “yeh mera diwanapan”, “mitwa”, etc.

Even in the 60s, the star image was intact, and while Raj Kapoor gave superhits like “jis desh me ganga behti hai”, “sangam” etc., Dilip kumar stormed bollywood with his hit films like Ganga Jumna, Leader, Ram Aur Shyam, etc.

Both of them also acted with most of the leading actresses of that era including Nargis, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Wahida Rehman, Vaijayantimala, etc.. From the mid-70s, Raj Kapoor concentrated only in direction while Dilip Kumar continued to perform in character roles.

In fact Dilip Kumar’s performance in films like Shakti, Mashal, Karma, are masterpieces which had influenced the actors of the following generation like Big B, Anil Kapoor, etc.

If Raj Kapoor’s showmanship in terms of direction and production of commercial films is acknowledged all over the world, Dilip Kumar’s acting skills are appreciated by directors of all ages. The films of both the stars of bollywood should be preserved for the future generation.

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