
Shree 420 (1955) on Netflix
NR19552h 48mComedyCrimeDramaMusicalRomance
Raj walks from Allahabad to Bombay to earn a living and falls for Vidya. He is drawn toward the easy riches offered by the businessman Seth Sonachand Dharmanand and by Maya.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.9/103,349 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
A country boy, Raj (Raj Kapoor), from Allahabad, travels to the big city, Bombay, by walking, to earn a living. He falls in love with the poor but virtuous Vidya (Nargis), but is soon seduced by the riches of a freewheeling and unethical lifestyle presented to him by an unscrupulous and dishonest businessman, Seth Sonachand Dharmanand (Nemo) and the sultry temptress Maya (Nadira). He eventually becomes a confidence trickster, or "420," who even cheats in card gambling. Vidya tries hard to make Raj a good man, but fails.[4] 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.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Shree 420 (1955)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Raj Kapoor's real-life children Randhir, Ritu and Rishi appeared in the song "Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua"; Rishi said Nargis bribed him with chocolate, a story he recalled in a 2017 interview.
- The song "Mera Joota Hai Japani", in which the singer asserts his pride in being Indian though his clothes come from other countries, became and remains a patriotic favourite; Bengali author Mahasweta Devi referenced it in a 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair acceptance speech.
- In Israel the song "Ichak Dana Beechak Dana", transliterated as "Ichikidana", became popular and was re-recorded by local singer Naim Rajuan.




























