Your RK film festival

Last week, Raj Kapoor would have turned 100 years old. India's original showman, Kapoor was a director, actor, producer, an empathetic and powerful storyteller. Whether playing the endearing underdog, the disillusioned lover, or the visionary behind the camera, Kapoor's filmography—imbued with lyricism, love, laughter and lamentation—transcends generations.

- RAJA SEN

With some of Kapoor's most celebrated films playing in theatres right now, I looked through Indian streaming platforms in order to offer you a do-it-yourself film festival. The show must go on.

AWARA (1951)—Amazon Prime Video
Kapoor's Awara didn't just conquer screens—it cemented itself as an international phenomenon. The wandering tramp, cheeky yet tragic, is a defining image of Hindi cinema. Paired with Prithviraj Kapoor (playing his on-screen father) and the luminous Nargis, this saga of sin and redemption remains electric. Plus, that title song—Awara Hoon—is the definition of a mood.

SHREE 420 (1955)—JioCinema
Mohe bhool gaye saawariya... croons Nargis, and Kapoor—as the iconic everyman Raj—stands a moment too late, his world crumbling to dust. Shree 420 is quintessential Kapoor: the rise and fall of a lovable rogue against a backdrop of post-independence morality. Complete with Mera joota hai japani as its eternal anthem, the film encapsulates ambition, greed, and the price of integrity. If Awara established Raj Kapoor, Shree 420 immortalised him.

BARSAAT (1949)—JioCinema
In Kapoor's Barsaat, every cloudburst drips with longing. The film announced Raj Kapoor's poetic mastery of visual symbolism: rain becomes a metaphor for doomed desire, and women gaze into the distance with devastating grace. Beyond the romance, Kapoor unveiled Nargis and his muse-like partnership with her—so incandescent, their screen chemistry feels like whispered secrets you're eavesdropping on.