Shree 420
Shree 420 | |
---|---|
Directed by | Raj Kapoor |
Screenplay by | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas V.P. Sathe[1] |
Story by | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas[1] |
Produced by | Raj Kapoor |
Starring | Raj Kapoor Nargis Nadira |
Cinematography | Radhu Karmakar |
Edited by | G.G. Mayekar |
Music by | Shankar–Jaikishan |
Release date |
|
Running time | 168 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Box office | est. ₹49.4 million |
Shree 420 (also spelled as Shri 420; transl. Mr. 420) is a 1955 Indian Hindi
Shree 420 was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1955,[2] the highest grossing Indian film of all time at the time of its release and the song "Mera Joota Hai Japani" ("My Shoes are Japanese"), sung by Mukesh, became popular and a patriotic symbol of the newly independent India.
Plot
Raj (
Meanwhile, Sonachand comes up with a Ponzi scheme to exploit poor people, whereby he promises permanent homes to them at just Rs. 100. The scheme pays off, as people start hoarding money for a home, even at the cost of other important things. Vidya's contempt for Raj increases even more. Raj becomes wealthy but soon realizes that he paid a very high price for it. When Raj discovers that Sonachand has no plans to fulfill his promises, he decides to make wrongs right.
Raj takes all the bond papers of the people's homes and tries to flee Sonachand's home, only to be caught by Sonachand and his cronies. In a scuffle that occurs, Sonachand shoots Raj and he falls unconscious. When people hear the shooting, they come and see Raj nearly dead. Sonachand tells police that Raj was trying to flee after stealing money from his safe, hence Sonachand shot him.
Upon this, the "dead" Raj springs back to life, and using pure logic, proves Sonachand's guilt. Sonachand and his partners are arrested, while Vidya happily forgives Raj. The film ends with Raj saying "Yeh 420 Nahin, Shree 420 Hain" ("These are not simply con men, they are respectable con men").
Cast
- Cast in order of the opening credits of the film
- Nargis as Vidya
- Nadira as Maya
- Raj Kapoor as Ranbir Raj / Rajkumar Saxena
- Nemo as Seth Sonachand Dharmanand
- Lalita Pawar as Ganga Mai
- M. Kumar as Beggar
- Indira Billias Seth Sonachand Dharmanand's daughter
- Hari Shivdasani as Philachand
- Nana Palsikar
- Bhudo Advani as Dharmanand's valet
- Pessi Patel as Pawn Shop Owner
- Ramesh Sinha as Street Dweller
- Rashid Khan as Raddiwala
- Jaikishanas Johny
- Sheila Vaaz as dancer
- S. P. Berry
- Kathana as Customer
- Satyanarayan
- Shailendra lyricist
- Rajoo as young boy
- Mansaram
- Iftikhar as Police Inspector
- Uma Devi as Maya's Neighbor
- Anwari
- Mirajkar as Inspector
- Bhagwandas
- Bishamber
Allusions
The title refers to
In
The title of one of the songs in the movie is "Ramaiya Vastavaiya" is in Telugu, which means "Ramaiya, come quickly". Apart from that, the rest of the song's lyrics (and the film) are in Hindi.[4]
At the beginning of the movie, the main protagonist explains to a policeman that one needs to stand on one's head to make sense of this world. He mentions that this is the reason why even great leaders stand on their heads. This is an allusion to several political leaders of that time who enjoyed practicing the
Production
"I had to give a shot and it was raining that day. It was difficult for the crew to make me prepare for the shot. I had just to walk without any expression. It was Nargis who came up with the idea to offer me chocolate to get the shot done. In that sense, I started taking bribes when I was two-year-old."
– Rishi Kapoor, January 20, 2017
Raj Kapoor's real life children Randhir, Ritu and Rishi were featured in the song "Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua", Rishi revealed that Nargis bribed him with chocolate and recalled it in a 2017 interview.[5]
Reception
The song "Mera Joota Hai Japani", in which the singer asserts his pride in being an Indian, despite his clothes being from other countries, became, and remains, a patriotic favourite among many Indians. It is often referenced, including in an acceptance speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2006 by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi.
The film proved to be popular in other countries, including the Soviet Union, Romania, and Israel. In Russia, it was said that Raj Kapoor was as popular as Jawaharlal Nehru, due to the success of Awaara and Shree 420. In Israel, the song "Ichak Dana Beechak Dana" (transliterated as "Ichikidana") became popular and was re-recorded by local singer Naim Rajuan.
In 2023, Time Out ranked it #23 on its list of the "100 Best Bollywood Movies."[6]
Box office
At the Indian box office in 1955, the film
It was released in the Soviet Union in 1956, coming second on the
Territory | Gross | Adjusted gross | Footfalls |
---|---|---|---|
Domestic (India) | ₹3.9 crore[7] ($8.19 million)[n 1] in 1955 | $93 million ( | 35,000,000+[13] |
Overseas (Soviet Union) |
8.75 million | $25 million (₹128 crore)[12] | 35,000,000[10] |
Worldwide | ₹4.94 crore ($10.38 million) |
₹618 crore ($92 million) |
70,000,000+ |
Soundtrack
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Dil Ka Haal Sune Dilwaala" | Shailendra | Manna Dey | 5:36 |
2. | "Mera Juta Hai Japani" | Shailendra | Mukesh | 4:33 |
3. | "Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh" | Shailendra | Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle | 6:34 |
4. | "Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua" | Shailendra | Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey | 4:22 |
5. | "Ramaiya Vastavaiya" | Shailendra | Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh | 6:10 |
6. | "Ichak Dana Beechak Dana" | Hasrat Jaipuri | Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh | 5:08 |
7. | "O Janewale" | Hasrat Jaipuri | Lata Mangeshkar | 2:20 |
8. | "Sham Gayi Raat Aayi" | Hasrat Jaipuri | Lata Mangeshkar | 4:00 |
Awards
- 1956: Filmfare Awards
- Best Cinematographer: Radhu Karmakar[16]
- Best Editing: G.G. Mayekar
- National Film Awards[17]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b Shree 420|1955. 1:17.
{{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Box Office 1955". Box Office India. 12 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012.
- ^ "Shree 420 - Full movie". www.youku.com. RK Films / You Ku. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "Humming SRK's 'Not Ramaiya Vastavaiya'? Know the story behind the phrase". India Today. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Did Shree 420 role only after a chocolate bribe: Rishi". India Today. 20 January 2017.
{{cite magazine}}
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ignored (help) - ^ "The 100 best Bollywood movies". Time Out. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Boxofficeindia.com". 30 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013.
- ^ "B-Town rewind: The tale of the first Bollywood crore - Entertainment". Mid-day.com. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-going After Stalin, page 86, Indiana University Press, 2005
- ^ a b c Rajagopalan, Sudha (2005). A Taste for Indian Films: Negotiating Cultural Boundaries in Post-Stalinist Soviet Society. Indiana University. p. 163.
- ^ "Pacific Exchange Rate Service" (PDF). fx.sauder. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Yearly Average Rates". OFX.
- ^ "Most Watched Bollywood (Hindi) Movies of All Time (1940-2019) - Movies with Highest Footfall Ever". Addatoday. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War, page 48, Cornell University Press, 2011
- ^ Archive of Bank of Russia http://cbr.ru/currency_base/OldDataFiles/USD.xls
- ^ "Filmfare Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Deep750.googlepages.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF). Iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
Further reading
- Brown, Rebecca M (2007). "Partition and the uses of history in Waqt/ Time". Screen. 48 (2). Oxford University Press: 161–177. OCLC 365246366.
- Blanco, Maria del Pilar; Peeren, Esther (1 April 2010). Popular Ghosts: The Haunted Spaces of Everyday Culture. A&C Black. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4411-6401-8.
- Hillier, Jim; Pye, Doug (24 May 2011). 100 Film Musicals. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 206. ]