''Boot Polish'' is a 1954 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

directed by Prakash Arora and produced by

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

(who also ghost directed the film). It won Best Film at the

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

. The film has starcast Ratan Kumar, Naaz,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

in the lead roles.

Plot

Bhola and Belu are left in the care of their wicked aunt Kamla, a prostitute, after their mother dies. She forces them to beg on the streets and takes the whole collection at night, often by beating them brutally. A bootlegger and neighbour of Kamla, named John teaches them self-respect and to work for a living instead of begging. Both kids start saving from their begging money by giving less to Kamla, so they can buy a shoe-polish kit and begin shining shoes. The duo manage to buy a shoe-polish kit and starts the business. But when Kamla discovers this, she beats them and kicks them out of the house. Meanwhile, John discovers that Belu wants a new frock and Bhola needs a new shirt as their current rags are torn and worn out. Overwhelmed by the emotions to help Belu and Bhola, John decides to sell unauthorized liquor and gets arrested. The children, on the other hand, are left to fend for themselves. When it rains, and people stop having their shoes polished, the children are in danger of starving. Bhola wishes never to beg again and rejects a coin tossed to him on a rainy night. When Belu takes it out of hunger, Bhola slaps her, and she drops it. When the police come, intent on taking the children, Belu escapes onto a train, but Bhola is arrested. On board the train, Belu is adopted by a wealthy family, and she is sad for her brother. Bhola searches for Belu after being released but cannot find her. After running away from an orphanage, he is unable to find work and resorts to begging in extreme hunger. He encounters Belu while begging at the railway station where Belu and her adopted family are boarding a train for vacation. Humiliated, Bhola runs away, but his sister pursues him. John has also come to the station to say goodbye and joins the chase, but he falls and is injured. Bhola stops running, and Belu and Bhola are reunited. The wealthy family adopts Bhola also, and they live happily ever after.

Cast

* Ratan Kumar as Bhola * Naaz as Belu *

as John * Chand Burke as Kamla * Bhudo Advani as Pedro *

as himself

Production

In a piece for the ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

'' on 2 April 1954 issue titled 'Why I Produced Boot Polish',

wrote, "In ''

Awaara ''Awaara'', also written ''Awāra'' and known overseas as ''The Vagabond'', is a 1951 Indian crime drama film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Raj Kapoor along with his real-life father Prithv ...

'' I tried to prove that Vagabonds are not born, but are created in the slums of our modern cities, in the midst of dire poverty and evil environment. ''Boot Polish'' graphically shows the problem of destitute children, their struggle for existence and their fight against organised beggary. The purpose of this film is to bring home to you that these orphans are as much your responsibility as that of the Government. Individual charity will not solve this problem because the only solution is co-operative effort on a National scale."

Awards

; 1955 Cannes Film Festival * Special Mention to a child actress - Naaz ;

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

s * Best Cinematographer - Tara Dutt * Best Film - Raj Kapoor * Best Supporting Actor -

Soundtrack

Lyrics were written by

Hasrat Jaipuri Hasrat Jaipuri, born Iqbal Hussain (15 April 1922 – 17 September 1999), was an Indian poet, who wrote in the Hindi and Urdu languages. He was also a renowned film lyricist in Hindi films, where he won the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyri ...

, Shailendra and Deepak. Music for the songs were composed by Shankar–Jaikishan.

References

External links

*
Boot Polish (1954)
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Review Essay in Visual Anthropology: Virtue Ethics of ''Boot Polish'' and ''Dosti'', as Compared with ''Slumdog Millionaire''
1954 films 1950s Hindi-language films Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan R. K. Films films Filmfare Awards winners Articles containing video clips Films about poverty in India 1954 comedy-drama films Indian comedy-drama films Indian black-and-white films Films set in slums Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Mumbai Films about runaways Films about orphans Films about homelessness Indian children's drama films Hindi-language comedy-drama films Films about prostitution in India Films set on trains Indian prison films Films set in orphanages Rail transport films Films about adoption Films about alcohol Moonshine in popular culture {{1950s-Hindi-film-stub