Bollywood Home » Popular Movie Reviews » Bollywood Tragic Movies » Mera Naam Joker Mera Naam Joker is one of the finest Bollywood movies of the 1970's. It was directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The story is about a clown who must entertain his audience but behind the colorful and smiling mask lies the face signifying a loneliness and sadness. Mera Naam Joker won several accolades and awards.

Mera Naam Joker released in 1970 and was one of the finest movies of that time. It was highly appreciated and its songs and dialogues are famous even today. The music and performances are the strength of the movie. With this movie, Rishi Kapoor also made its debut. The film is regarded by many to be inspired by Raj Kapoor's own life and the role of a joker a symbolization of his own life as an actor.

Cast of Mera Naam Joker

• Raj Kapoor plays the lead role as Raju -The Joker
• Manoj Kumar can be seen in the role of David
• Simi Garewal as Mary
• Rishi Kapoor as Young Raju
• Dharmendra as Mahendra
• Dara Singh as Sher Singh
• Kseniya Ryabinkina as Marina
• Padmini as Meena
• Rajendra Kumar as Himself
• Achala Sachdev as Raju's Mother
• Eduard Sjereda as Member of the Soviet State Circus

Story of Mera Naam Joker

The film depicts the story of Raju- circus clown who is trained to entertain his audience and his emotions and his sorrows underneath his mask. Raju had a natural affinity towards the circus world and it could have been attributed because of the fact that his father was the best circus clown ever. His father died in a trapeze accident during his performance.

Raju's is quite fascinated by the circus and the clowns. He soon enters the world of circus. The film depicts the story of Raju's journey from childhood to his last performance. The movie shows that Raju falling in love about thrice and each time he suffers heartbreak.

Raju- the Joker is made to realize that this world of happiness is not for him but he is only send by god to make others laugh in spite of his sorrows and loneliness. He has to go up to the stage and perform even on the day of the death of his mother signifying that he is just a tool to make others happy. He is required to entertain by hiding his tragic experiences. In the film, Raju is seen to carry a clown doll which belonged to his father. Whenever he fell in love, he gifted it to his beloved only to see it come back to him.

Awards

• Filmfare Best Music Director Award- Shankar Jaikishan
• Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award- Radhu Karmakar
• Filmfare Best Male Playback Award- Manna Dey for the song "Ay bhai zara dekh ke chalo"
• Filmfare Best Director Award- Raj Kapoor
• Filmfare Best Sound Recordist- Allauddin Khan Qureshi

Mera Naam Joker is a classic tale of sadness and loneliness, which is remembered even today for the performance delivered by Raj Kapoor.

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