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Boot Polish (film)
Encyclopedia
Boot Polish is a 1954
Hindi film directed by Prakash Arora and produced by Raj Kapoor
. It won Best Film
at the Filmfare Awards
and was nominated for the Palme d'Or
at the Cannes Film Festival
.
A bootlegger John Chacha (David) teaches them to lead a life of self-respect and work for a living instead of begging. They scrimp and save to buy a shoe-polish kit and start shining shoes
. Kamla finds out about what they have been doing behind her back, beats them and throws them out of the house.
Meanwhile John Chacha is arrested and the kids are left to fend for themselves. When it rains and people don't get their shoes polished any more, the children are in danger of starving. But Bhola believes that he will never beg anymore but on one rainy night, a man tosses him a coin and he rejects it, but Belu takes it as she is very hungry.
Bhola slaps Belu for that and she drops the coin. Lastly, the police comes and is taking children with them. Belu rushes in an unknown train, but Bhola is arrested. In the train, Belu is adopted by a rich family and she mopes for her brother.
Bhola after getting out tries to search for Belu but to no avail. Through a turn of events, he ends up in an orphanage which he doesn't like and runs away. Unable to find any work and extremely hungry, Bhola starts begging again. Bhola incidentally runs into Bhelu when he is begging at railway station where Bhelu along with her new family has come to onboard train for a vacation. Humiliated, Bhola runs away while his sister runs for him. John Chacha has also come to the station to say final good bye and he sees Bhelu following Bhola and he also runs after Bhola. But he falls whlie chasing Bhola and starts bleeding. Bhola stops running and Bhelu and Bhola are again united.
And then the rich family adopt both of the siblings and live happily ever after.
Moral: Begging gives the beggar little, and takes more from him. (This means that a beggar loses all his/her selfrespect by begging).
1955 Cannes Film Festival
Filmfare Awards
Bollywood films of 1954
A list of films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai in 1954. Boot Polish produced by Raj Kapoor went on the won the Filmfare Best Movie Award in 1955....
Hindi film directed by Prakash Arora and produced by Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor
Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
. It won Best Film
Filmfare Best Movie Award
The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years...
at the Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
and was nominated for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
Plot
Belu (Baby Naaz) and Bhola (Ratan Kumar) are left to the care of their wicked aunt Kamla (Chand Burque) when their mother dies. She forces them to beg in the streets and grabs all the money they get.A bootlegger John Chacha (David) teaches them to lead a life of self-respect and work for a living instead of begging. They scrimp and save to buy a shoe-polish kit and start shining shoes
Shoeshiner
Shoeshiner or boot polisher is a profession in which a person polishes shoes with shoe polish. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job is traditionally that of a male child. In the leather fetish communities, they are often called bootblacks...
. Kamla finds out about what they have been doing behind her back, beats them and throws them out of the house.
Meanwhile John Chacha is arrested and the kids are left to fend for themselves. When it rains and people don't get their shoes polished any more, the children are in danger of starving. But Bhola believes that he will never beg anymore but on one rainy night, a man tosses him a coin and he rejects it, but Belu takes it as she is very hungry.
Bhola slaps Belu for that and she drops the coin. Lastly, the police comes and is taking children with them. Belu rushes in an unknown train, but Bhola is arrested. In the train, Belu is adopted by a rich family and she mopes for her brother.
Bhola after getting out tries to search for Belu but to no avail. Through a turn of events, he ends up in an orphanage which he doesn't like and runs away. Unable to find any work and extremely hungry, Bhola starts begging again. Bhola incidentally runs into Bhelu when he is begging at railway station where Bhelu along with her new family has come to onboard train for a vacation. Humiliated, Bhola runs away while his sister runs for him. John Chacha has also come to the station to say final good bye and he sees Bhelu following Bhola and he also runs after Bhola. But he falls whlie chasing Bhola and starts bleeding. Bhola stops running and Bhelu and Bhola are again united.
And then the rich family adopt both of the siblings and live happily ever after.
Moral: Begging gives the beggar little, and takes more from him. (This means that a beggar loses all his/her selfrespect by begging).
Cast
- Kumari Naaz ... Belu (as Baby Naaz)
- Rattan Kumar ... Bhola
- David Abraham ... John (as David)
- Chand Burke ... Kamla Devi (as Chand Burque)
- Veera
- Bhupendra Kapoor
- Shailendra
- Mohanbali
- Nissar (as Master Nisar)
- Bhudo Advani ... Pedro (as Budho Advani)
- Prabhu Arora
- Prithviraj KapoorPrithviraj KapoorPrithviraj Kapoor , 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was a pioneer of Indian theatre and of the Hindi film industry, who started his career as an actor, in the silent era of Hindi cinema, associated with IPTA and who founded Prithvi Theatres, a travelling theatre company based in Mumbai, in...
... Himself - ritual performed in the beginning of the movie (uncredited) - Raj KapoorRaj KapoorKnown as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
... Man asleep on train (uncredited)
Awards
1955 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Pagnol *Marcel Achard *Juan Antonio Bardem *A. Dignimont *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Leopold Lindtberg *Anatole Litvak *Isa Miranda *Leonard Mosley...
- Special Mention to a child actress - Naaz
- Prakash Arora was nominated for the Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
Filmfare Awards
- Best Cinematographer - Tara Dutt
- Best Film - Raj Kapoor
- Best Supporting Actor - David
Soundtrack
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raat Gayi Phir Din | Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey | |
| 2 | Nanhe Munne Bachche | Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi | |
| 3 | Thehr Zara O Janewale, Babu Mister Gore Kale | Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Madhubala Jhaveri | |
| 4 | Lapak Jhapak Tu Aa Re Badarwa | Manna Dey | |
| 5 | Chali Kaun Se Des | Asha Bhosle, Talat Mehmood | |
| 6 | Saari Duniya Hai Mujhpe Deewani | Asha Bhosle | |
| 7 | Tumhare Hain Tumse Daya Mangte Hain | Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi | |
| 8 | Tu Badhta Chal | Manna Dey |