"Awaara Hoon" (transl. I am a Vagabond) is a song from the 1951 Indian film Awaara, directed by and starring Raj Kapoor, which was internationally popular.[1][2] The song was written in the Hindi-Urdu language[3] by lyricist Shailendra, and sung by Mukesh.[4] "Awaara Hoon" immediately struck "a chord in audiences from various classes and backgrounds all over India and beyond: in China, in the Soviet Union, in the Middle East."[5] In China, "both the song and film were said to be Chairman Mao's favourites."[1] In a May 2013 BBC poll, the song was rated the second-greatest Bollywood song of all time.[6]
| "Awaara Hoon" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Mukesh | |
| from the album Awaara | |
| Language | Hindi-Urdu |
| Released | 1951 |
| Genre | Film song |
| Songwriter(s) | Shailendra |
| Composer(s) | Shankar Jaikishan |
Local versions
editThe popularity of "Awaara Hoon" led to the creation of localized versions of the song in Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, China,[7] and Romania.
Example verse
editThe refrain of the song is "Awaara Hoon", which means "I am a vagabond/tramp", here the world vagabond symbolises the free and resilient spirit of singer and he have no sorrow or tentions on his face , his verses symbolizes hope and optimism in the world of harships . It has a catchy, rhythmic tempo with several short lines interposed with a few slightly longer ones. It is still considered to be a timeless song of much of South Asia, China, the Balkans, Russia, and Central Asia.
References
edit- ^ a b Linda Badley; R. Barton Palmer; Steven Jay Schneider (2006), Traditions in world cinema, Rutgers University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8135-3874-7,
... To this day 'Awaara hoon' ('I'm a vagabond'), the title song of Raj Kapoor's Awaara ('The Vagabond', 1951) remains well known throughout Russia, which the director- star visited, and China, where both the song and film were said to be Chairman Mao's favourites ...
- ^ Natasa Ďurovičová (31 August 2009), World cinemas, transnational perspectives, Taylor & Francis, 2010, ISBN 978-0-415-97653-4,
... hearing the hit theme song "Awaara Hoon" ("I am wayward") hummed on the streets of Nanjing. Then, traveling through a small town in a more remote part of China, Seth has to perform the song on request at a local gathering: 'No sooner have I begun than I find that the musicians have struck up the accompaniment behind me: they know the tune better than I do ...
- ^ "This Chinese man singing Raj Kapoor's Awara Hoon will light up your day". India Today. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
The song was written in Urdu and immediately became a favourite of many people around the globe.
- ^ Ashraf Aziz (2003), Light of the universe: essays on Hindustani film music, Three Essays Collective, 2003, ISBN 978-81-88789-07-8,
... Its title song Awaara hoon, written by Shailendra, remains the best-appreciated Hindustani film song in foreign countries ...
- ^ Bhaskar Sarkar (20 May 2009), Mourning the nation: Indian cinema in the wake of Partition, Duke University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8223-4411-7,
... When Raj sings cheerfully about the pleasures of being a street-smart vagabond ("Awaara Hoon"), he strikes a chord in audiences from various classes and backgrounds all over India and beyond: in China, in the Soviet Union, in the Middle East ...
- ^ "100 Greatest Bollywood Songs of All Time"
- ^ Tejaswini Ganti (25 June 2004), Bollywood: a guidebook to popular Hindi cinema, Psychology Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-415-28853-8,
... Their title track for Awaara, "Awaara Hoon" (I'ma vagabond) was immensely popular world-wide, leading to local versions of the song in Greece, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, and China ...