A True Classical movie. Review on Shri 420

One of the masterpieces of 1950s Bombay cinema, this is the second film to feature Kapoor’s trademark character Raju, a Chaplinesque Indian Everyman. The title refers to section 420 of the Indian penal code, which deals with fraud; in everyday speech, to call someone ''a 420'' is to imply that he is a cheat; ''Shri'' is an honorific prefix. As the film opens, the hapless orphan, Raju (his name means, among other things, ''king'' and ''nation'') is seen hitchhiking along a rural road.

Feigning unconsciousness, he is picked up by a wealthy capitalist, Seth Sonechand Dharmanand (''wholesale-merchant, gold-silver, delighting in righteousness,'' played by Nemo), but is quickly thrown out of the car when it is perceived that he is a fraud; each man accuses the other of being ''a 420!'' Back on the road, he sings about his patchwork identity in Mera joota hai japani.

Traveling by every sort of rural transport, Raj arrives, bewildered, in the great metropolis of Bombay, where a beggar informs him that the city is a heartless place, where even Raj's ''BA-pass'' degree and prize for honesty will not assure employment.

He meets a kindly woman selling bananas who is so amused by his innocence that she gives him several for free. Entering a pawnshop, Raj sees Vidya (''wisdom,'' played by Nargis, then reputedly Kapoor's real-life mistress) pawning her bangles and is instantly attracted to her. He pawns the honesty-medal he received in college and gets 40 rupees, of which he is instantly relieved by a pickpocket. Crushed by the city's heartlessness, he is forced to spend the night on the street, but even the homeless pavement dwellers try to extract rent from him, until Gangamai (''Mother Ganges,'' Lalita Pawar), their collective ''mother'' (and the kindly banana-seller of the earlier scene) recognizes and adopts him. Raj then leads them in a song affirming their zest for life despite poverty(Dil ka Haal Sune dilwala).

The tumult angers Seth Sonechand in his adjacent mansion, and he summons the police.

Raj awakens on a city beach and is harassed by a policeman, then insulted by Vidya, out for a stroll, who calls him ''useless'' and tells him he'd be better off dead. But when he throws himself into the sea, she leaps in to save him and he then follows her home, where he ingratiates himself with her crippled father, who has started a school for poor children which Vidya runs.

Delivering clothes from the laundry to a posh flat, Raj meets the voluptuous Maya (''illusion,'' Nadira) and accidentally reveals his extraordinary skill at cards. Maya dresses him as an urban dandy and brings him to a nightclub, where he dances with the showgirls, wins a tidy sum for her, and catches the eye of Seth Sonechand. Abandoned by Maya, Raj is back in the laundry, but Sonechand finds him and offers to make him his ''partner.'' Captivated by the promise of quick wealth, Raj agrees. On the night of the Hindu festival of Divali (which honors Lakshmi, goddesss of wealth and fertility).

Raj returns to Vidya's house with a stylish sari, and asks permission to escort her to ''the temple of Lakshmi.'' This turns out to be the club, but the materialistic and sensuous (and ''Western'') atmosphere repulses Vidya, who is insulted by Maya and flees. Raj wavers, but Maya entices him to remain with a coy song that declares ''Don't ever look back!'' and Sonechand soon has him winning at cards. A drunken Raj stumbles into Vidya's courtyard late at night, clutching bundles of hundred-rupee notes. He curses poverty and honesty, even as Vidya denounces what he's become. As he leaves her, her divided heart sings an ironic counter to Maya's earlier refrain, ''Look back as you go....''

Sonechand sets Raj up with a scam ''The Tibetan Gold Company'' for which he sells shares to the gullible rich, even faking phone calls from investors in America and Japan. While Raj amasses money, Vidya's fortunes wane, and she is forced to close her school and even to pawn her father's treasured books. Raj meets her again when he comes to reclaim his pawned medal and tells her that ''honesty'' is worthless, only money matters. Vidya denounces his crass materialism and returns home. Raj is torn by her rebuke. Weighed down with worry and questioning his new life, he briefly goes back to visit the pavement dwellers, who appear carefree as they sing a song in praise of romantic love.

Sonechand's latest scam is for ''Janta (''people's'') Homes: Your Own House for 100 Rupees''—aimed at the city's homeless poor. Raj is willing to cheat the wealthy, but balks at this new scheme; however his partner threatens to expose his past swindles if he doesn't cooperate. The new company is launched and the poor are thrilled and manage somehow to assemble the required cash, collectively amassing a vast fortune which they hand over to Raj. They anxiously await the groundbreaking of a ''new Bombay'' of low-cost housing, but Sonechand's plan is to divide the money with Raj and flee. Maya has a still better idea: that she and Raj cheat Sonechand too, and escape India with the entire fortune. As always, Raj seems ready to cooperate....but with whom?

A true Masterpiece and a must to see movie