The blockbuster of 1955 Shree 420 was screened at Bharat Bhavan to mark the closure of Ekagra Film Festival. The film festival was organised to pay a tribute to the showman of Bollywood Raj Kapoor. Last movie in the series Shree 420 was screened here on Sunday.
Shree 420 is a 1955 Hindi film, directed and produced by Raj Kapoor, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis. The number 420 refers to Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes the punishment for the offence of cheating; hence, Shree 420 is a derogatory term for a cheat.
The film centers on Raj, a poor but educated orphan who comes to Bombay with dreams of success. Kapoor's character is influenced by Charlie Chaplin's little tramp. The music was composed by the team of Shankar Jaikishan, and the lyrics were penned by Shailendra. Shree 420 was the highest-grossing Indian film of 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 money, loses everything, and 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 firsthand 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.