Movies - Mera Naam Joker

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	Movies - Mera Naam Joker

Mera Naam Joker (My Name is Joker in English) is a 1970 Hindi film directed by Raj Kapoor. The screenplay was written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. This film was the debut for Rishi Kapoor. Mera Naam Joker is a film about a clown who must make his audience laugh at the cost of his own sorrows. Mera Naam Joker (1970) is the story of Raju, whose father was a considered to be the best circus clown ever. Ever since Raju's father died in a trapeze accident during his performance, Raju's mother had always been repulsive of this world of ringmasters, sword-eaters, trapezes and lights.

As luck would have it, Raju had a natural affinity towards this world where the "show must go on". the film traces Raju's journey right from his childhood to the day of his last performance.

As is typical in Raj Kapoor movies, the ladies have a strong part to play. The movie is divided into 3 chapters. The first one is about the adolescent Raju where he is besotted with his teacher Mary. Raju's realisation of the fact that he was born to make the world laugh, even when his heart is crying is true poetic stuff and has been captured on film in a simply brilliant manner.

After his first heartbreak, story moves on to the adult Raju who is working with Gemini Circus as a clown. Here he meets Marina, a Russian trapeze artist and despite of the language barrier he manages to lose his heart to her, while having dreams of a married life with her. But what is not to be, cannot be. Raju faces a heart break once again when the circus is over and Marina has to return to Russia. It is in this chapter that Raju's mother dies just before Raju's performance, and he has to go up on stage because the show must go on. The scene when Raju cries for his mother on stage is easily one of the most haunting scenes of Indian Cinema.

In the final chapter Raju meets Meena. A woman who had big dreams and ambitions of becoming a famous actress, but is now struggling as a painter. She befriends him, manges to win his heart only to dump him in the end in her lust for success. Rahu always carries a clown doll which belonged to his father. Every time he fell in love he gifted his beloved the doll, only to see it coming back to him. One can see that the doll is used as a metaphor for Raju's simplistic heart where there is room for everyone.

A classic coming-of-age tale, Mera Naam Joker flopped miserbaly at the box-office plummetting the Kapoor family into a financial crisis until Raj Kapoor bounced back in style with Bobby. It was much later that this movie was acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of Indian cinema.

Cast

Raj Kapoor
- Raju (Joker)
Manoj Kumar
- David
Simi Garewal
- Mary
Rishi Kapoor
- Young Raju

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