Boot Polish
With a nod to Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine, Prakash Arora's tear jerking realist tale is set on the very same mean streets as Slumdog Millionaire.
Orphaned brother and sister Bhola (Ratan Kumar) and Belu (seven year old Baby Naaz) are forced onto the streets to beg by their wicked aunt until they are encouraged to join the boot polish trade by a kind stranger.
The children are separated when the monsoons arrive and the demand for boot polishing evaporates. Belu is sold off to a middle class couple and Bhola returns to a life of begging on the streets, until their inevitable reunion.
Embodying Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's campaign for social reforms, this was Kapoor's second film to be nominated for a Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1955, with Baby Naaz receiving a special mention for her performance.
New 35mm print. Screening includes an interval.
