Raj Kapoor in Georgia

The Bollywood star's fame reaching beyond the borders of India

By Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

Poster of Awaara (2018-06/2018-06)Art Deco Mumbai

Released in the USSR in 1954 (three years after its India premiere), the movie Awaara and its star Raj Kapoor became extremely popular in the former Soviet Union countries.

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The film was watched by 64 million people in the USSR alone. It ranked third in the number of tickets sold among the foreign films released on screen during the Soviet Era.

The "Apollo" movie theater in Tbilisi, an Art Nouveau building which was still in use in the 1950s, was undoubtedly one of the venues which attracted the most audience to see the Bollywood drama.

Raj Kapoor in Georgia (1954)Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

Like others, the Georgians also fell in love with Indian cinema and its outstanding representative - the talented and charming Kapoor, who, in the early fifties following the overwhelming WWII, appeared as a symbol of optimism and courage and inspired the audience to brave through hardship.

Raj Kapoor in Georgia (1954)Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

In 1954, together with an Indian delegation, Raj Kapoor visited Georgia, where, by that time, the motion-picture had already strengthened its roots.

Raj Kapoor in GeorgiaArt Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

Guests were welcomed by the People’s Artist of the USSR Akaki Khorava.

Raj Kapoor in GeorgiaArt Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

The members of the delegation visited pavilions of the Georgian film studio and attended the filming process of Masters Of The Georgian Ballet...

Raj Kapoor in Georgia (1954)Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

... as well as the set of the Georgian movie Isini Chamovidnen Mtidan (They Came from the Mountains).

Raj Kapoor in Georgia (1954)Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

Kapoor met with prominent representatives of Georgian Cinema: Leila Abashidze and Akaki Khorava.

Raj Kapoor in Georgia (1954)Art Palace of Georgia - Museum of Cultural History

In the framework of the 1965 Moscow International Film Festival, the legendary actor and his wife visited Georgia for the second time.

Credits: Story

Georgian State Museum of Theatre, Music, Cinema and Choreography - Art Palace of Georgia-Museum of Cultural History

George Kalandia
Mariam Kikvadze
Irakli Zambakhidze

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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