The 1973 classic captured a changing India, from youthful romance and new fashions to a new musical and cinematic language. By the early 1970s, Raj Kapoor had reached a curious point in his career. He was one of Hindi cinema’s most recognisable filmmakers, an institution whose name was inseparable from films such as Awaara, Shree 420 and Sangam. Yet his most ambitious film, Mera Naam Joker, had proved a commercial disappointment. Kapoor, who had spent decades building a disti