By Mansi M.
Toronto
Mumbai cinema veteran Shekhar Kapur who has directed films like Masoom, Bandit Queen, Elizabeth and Four Feathers amongst others was at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to present Awara, a film from the 50s.
It was the world premiere of the newly restored film Awara which commemorates the 100th anniversary of director Raj Kapoor. The Greatest Showman as Raj Kapoor was known directed this recently restored Bollywood classic that stars the famous Prithviraj Kapoor and actress Nargis.
However, the 4K restoration of the film is not complete yet, says Shekhar Kapur at TIFF.
“We are still working on the sound and the idea of restoration is as we believe the director would have intended it. Please appreciate that. What you may not know about Awara is that if you compare dollars then and dollars now, it has been the biggest international grossing film In India ever and it continues to be despite what you may hear. At that time, it did 40 million dollars outside India.”
Awara addressed questions of morality and social reform and was screened free for TIFF audiences. The film is a highly influential classic of Bollywood cinema and was nominated for the Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
