Awara

When I think of a musical, what immediately comes to mind are the films of Rogers and Hammerstein, which include The King and I, South Pacific, and Oklahoma! Each of these films consists of an interesting plot accompanied throughout by song and dance routines. The songs are catchy and memorable, and keeps the audience's attention on the story. When I compare the film Awara to these Hollywood musical masterpieces, I notice a lot of similarities.

Therefore, yes, I would consider Kapoor's film to be a musical. While overall it appears to be more of a drama, it does contain elements of a musical including numerous song and dance routines throughout the film. Awara begins as a courtroom drama, recounts the life and times of the main character Raj Raghunath, and ends back in the courtroom with Raj receiving his sentence. While it seems most Hollywood musicals start off with a riveting scene filled with music, this is by no means a requirement for all musicals.

One detail about Awara, is that it seems most of the songs and dances are there for entertainment purposes only. However, this is not always the case; the musical interludes add to and help tell the story on more than one occasion. This is not too different from Hollywood musicals which incorporate many song and dance routines into the actual story and use them as a means of telling the story. In addition, sometimes Hollywood films also include a song or dance number that feels out of place. This is just how musicals are. They are focused on integrating music into the story as a means of capturing audience attention, and promoting the range of the actor's talents. Song and dance are not merely passive parts of the film, they are actively telling parts of the story.