Mysterious, cynical and urban, the film Awaara’s (1951) netherworld–a grimy basement pub for heroes and villains, was the perfect setting for Cuckoo Moray to display the allurement of the Other woman. She was the precursor to the Vamp or Item Girl; coquettish yet daring, clad in western clothes- a sign of loose morals, against the austerity of traditional Indian clothes. She flaunted her taut midriff, peek-a-boo garter, and flamboyant dance movements - an antithesis to the pious and restrained heroine of the film.
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