Awaara (Movie)

Because Mangeshkar lent her voice to several generations of Bollywood stars, these movies double as a highlight reel for Hindi cinema.They called her the Queen of Melody.Lata Mangeshkar, the Bollywood singer who died on Sunday at 92, left behind a monumental body of work in a career that began in 1942, when she was just 13. Her singing for films, which continued until 2015, spanned numerous regional-language industries, but she defined mainstream Hindi cinema in a way few artists have. (Another artist who did, Mangeshkar’s sister Asha Bhosle, is also a playback singer.)Mangeshkar lent her angelic voice, with its four-octave range, to several generations of stars, from Madhubala in the horror classic “Mahal” (1949) and the historical epic “Mughal-e-Azam” (1960) to Hema Malini in the crime comedy “Dream Girl” (1977) to Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor in the romantic drama “Dil To Pagal Hai” (1997). In “Dil To Pagal Hai,” her recognizable voice emanates from both actresses, sometimes in the same scene, but this double duty isn’t distracting. With thousands of songs to her name, she was as common to Indian audiences as close-ups and scene transitions, accepted as a crucial element of cinematic language.Four of her most successful films are available to stream. Given the breadth of her career, they effectively double as a highlight reel for the history of Hindi cinema. An introduction to its riches would be nearly impossible without her.‘Awaara’ (1951)Stream it on MUBI; buy or rent it on Amazon Prime.Raj Kapoor’s “Awaara” straddles the line between art house and blockbuster. It was both a Grand Prix nominee at the Cannes Film Festival and an enormous financial success, a huge hit not only in India, but also in China and the Soviet Union.A false-imprisonment story with social reform on its mind, “Awaara” cemented Hindi cinema’s lasting theme of romance across economic lines, told here through Kapoor’s trenchant mix of gritty melodrama and lavish musical scenes. Mangeshkar, who provides the singing voice for the actress Nargis, captures the giddy excitement of new love in “Jab Se Balam Ghar Aaye” (“Ever Since My Beloved Returned”), which she deepens into intoxicating passion in “Dam Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere” (“If You Turn Away for a Moment”), an intimate duet with the renowned singer Mukesh.Mangeshkar’s vocals are just as suited to the story’s dreamlike turn in “Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi” (“My Stranger Came Home”), in which she projects an operatic longing. The film runs the stylistic gamut, and her dynamic voice aids in its transformations.‘Sholay’ (1975)Buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube.Ramesh Sippy’s musical “western” “Sholay” had a fabled theatrical run of nearly six years. Its box office success is partially owed to its musical set pieces composed by R.D. Burman.“Holi Ke Din” (“On the Day of Holi”), a colorful explosion set during the Hindu spring festival, is both a celebratory respite between violent action scenes and a romantic tête-à-tête between the roguish Veeru (Dharmendra), whose singing is voiced by Kishore Kumar, and the feisty Basanti (Hema Malini), voiced by Mangeshkar. Basanti struck a chord with audiences not only for her fast-talking bravado, but also for a memorable act of sacrifice: To save Veeru from a callous bandit, she agrees, in an act of heroism distinct to the Indian musical, to dance on broken glass in “Haa Jab Tak Hai Jaan” (“As Long As I Live”), which Mangeshkar sings lovingly and fearlessly.Five Movies to Watch This WinterCard 1 of 51. “The Power of the Dog”: More