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Shree 420 (1955)Wearing torn Japanese shoes, English trousers, a red Russian cap, and a Hindustani heart, orphaned Ranbir Raj comes to Bombay to make his fortune. He pawns his gold medal, gambles with the ... See full summary » Director:Raj Kapoor |
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Title: Shree 420 (1955)
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Cast
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| Nargis | ... |
Vidya
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Nadira | ... |
Maya
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| Raj Kapoor | ... |
Ranbir Raj /
Raj Kumar of Pipli
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Nemo | ... |
Seth Sonachand Dharmanand
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Lalita Pawar | ... |
Ganga Mai
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M. Kumar |
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Hari Shivdasani | ... |
Philachand
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Nana Palsikar | ... |
Gambler with goatee
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Bhudo Advani | ... |
Gambler
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Pesi Patel | ... |
(as Pessi Patel)
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Ramesh Sinha |
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Rashid Khan | ... |
Radiwala
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Sheela Vaz | ... |
(as Sheila Vaaz)
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S.P. Berry |
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Kathana |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Wearing torn Japanese shoes, English trousers, a red Russian cap, and a Hindustani heart, orphaned Ranbir Raj comes to Bombay to make his fortune. He pawns his gold medal, gambles with the money, loses everything, & the balance is pick-pocketed. He ends up on the beach, meets with Vidya Shastri, a teacher who runs a private school, and both fall in love. Ranbir gets a job in a laundry. When he goes to deliver some clothes to Maya, she notices that he has a way with cards, gets him to accompany her to a casino of sorts, where he wins Rs.20000/-, which unfortunately is pocketed by Maya. Then a rich industrialist, Sonanand Dharmachand, approaches Ranbir, hires him to work for him, and soon Ranbir is on his way to a wealthy life. Vidya gets a first hand look at this wealthy life, and decides to break up with him. Sonachand teaches Ranbir that in order to make money one must never discriminate between the rich and poor. So they set out to offer homes to the homeless for Rs.100/-. Watch ... Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
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Details
Country:
IndiaLanguage:
HindiRelease Date:
6 September 1955 (India) See more »Also Known As:
Mr. 420 See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)Color:
Black and White
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Music by Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi & Jaikishan Dayabhai Pankal
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Soundtracks
"Ramaiya Vastavaiya"Music by Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi & Jaikishan Dayabhai Pankal
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Shree 420 is a classic Bollywood "social" of the 1950s. Its romanticized populism deserves comparison to Frank Capra's films. As in Kapoor's earlier Awara, the hero is a Chaplinesque tramp, another vagabond (as in Awara). Poor but honest (and happy), he falls in love with Vidya (Nargis), but is soon tempted to partner with a fat millionaire who makes money through fraud. Raj soon becomes rich but just as quickly regrets his choice, with Vidya serving throughout as the voice of his conscience. Songs in Kapoor's films are classics, but beyond their quality, the way Kapoor uses them is an important aspect of his directorial technique. In a pivotal scene, Raj (Kapoor's hero shares his first name) staggers drunk from a nightclub to encounter a stone-faced Vidya outside her poor home. The narrative problem here is that she – and the viewer – must condemn Raj but, at the same time, the movie has to communicate that she still loves him. Kapoor deftly solves this problem by showing Vidya staring coldly while a white-robed specter of Vidya sings a love song to the departing Raj: two Vidyas, one who censures him, another who reaffirms her love for him. And a good song. Imagine how a Hollywood film might resolve this. How many words would it take? How many tears? Kapor allows the stone-faced Vidya to image our disapproval while the spectral Vidya's song reveals what is going on in her mind.