Beggars, Bootleggers, and Boot Polish
The clash of idealism with reality. Moral lessons from an oppressive State. The role of agency.
हमने किस्मत को बस में किया है।”
Translation: “Our fate is in our hands, we are the masters of our fortune.”
There cannot be a better song about human agency than this old classic from the Hindi movie Boot Polish(1954). I remember watching this movie with much fondness and a lot of tears in my eyes. As a ten year old, I did not analyse the song the way I do now, but I was intuitively attracted to the optimism and idealism of the idea that we can shape our fortune with hard work, dedication and sincerity. If you place the movie in the time that it was made, it is not hard to figure out where this sentiment was coming from. India had just gained independence, and there was optimism in people about a new beginning. ‘नन्हे मुन्हे बच्चे तेरी मुठ्ठी में क्या है?’ (meaning- O little one, what lies in your hands?) can be seen as a song that is wondering about the future of a newly independent country. What lies in its future? Well, that future will have to be shaped by the spirit and hardwork of its people. Wah! It is no surprise that the movie and its songs continue to strike a chord even today.
But this would be a simplistic analysis. This interpretation has been employed by many film critics. The happy ending of young Indians marching towards a new future must have aligned well with the ruling party’s official line at the time. But I want to scratch beyond the obvious.
A side note on one of our Puliyabaazi led me to searching up the song, and I ended up watching the full movie. And oh the revelation I had!
This was a movie as much about the harsh reality of the country at the time, as much as it was about the idealist dream of a new future. It is impossible for us to know this today, unless one comes across interviews with the writers of the movie, on whether the portrayal of this dichotomy was intentional or was it just the reflection of reality as it was. I would like to believe that it was intentional because the dialogues and the movie situation contrast the idealism of the state with the reality of its people again and again.
Moral Idealism vs Abject Reality of Begging
In one scene, some rich people are giving alms to the poor. John Chacha, played by actor David, comes in and sermonizes, “Inhe bheekh mat do, kuch kaam do, Sahab.” At this point, the rich people leave angrily, while the crowd of poor men turns to John Chacha and says, “Kidhar hai nayi duniya, hum kal bhi bhukha marta tha, hum aaj bhi bhukha marta hai.” Where is this new world? We were hungry yesterday, we remain hungry today. If there is a new world, it has not come for the poor of this country.
One can also see this as a social commentary in the context of the US loan of $190,000,000 to India for the purchase of 2 million tons of wheat in 1951.
I see many parallels with Nehru Chacha in the highly idealistic character of John Chacha. The kind hearted, but helpless John Chacha has to come to terms with reality at some point. The kids have worked hard polishing shoes, but they have not gathered enough money to buy a new piece of clothing. John Chacha decides to take matters in hand. He has no option, but to do the illegal business of bootlegging to buy a new frock for the girl Belu. This theme of high ideals confronted with dire reality repeats again and again in the movie.
Moral lessons from an oppressive state
In the movie, the State presence is mostly portrayed as oppressive. It starts off with the childrens’ father being sent off to kalapani. The boy speaks at one point, “Kudarat ne maa chheen li, sarkaar ne baap chheen liya.” The kids have to run away from the police because they are selling knick-knacks without a licence. Old John Chacha is seen as a bad man by the society, because he is doing the illegal business of bootlegging. He does the dirty job of selling liquor! At a pivotal point in the movie, the children get separated in a hurry to escape from the police.
As Pranay Kotasthane emphasises in his book ‘Missing in Action’, the State is portrayed as omnipresent and omni-absent. In the movie, John Chacha summons rain with his singing, only to realise the tragedy that it will bring to the poor children who were left to fend for themselves without shelter. Later on, the oppressive State returns only to displace the basti and make life even more difficult for them.
The Yin and Yang of Idealism and Reality
So, what is this movie about? It is about the dream of a society where anything is possible with hard work and agency? Or is it a social commentary on the reality of a young India where a part of society felt left behind? I think it is both. It is an acknowledgment of reality in pursuit of a better ideal.
In the movie and in life, idealism and realism sit uncomfortably side by side. They are two sides of the same coin. If realism throws light on the immediate, idealism is the guide for the future.
But this is a movie from the 1950s. What is its relevance today?
If the movie strikes a chord even today, it is because we see parallels of each of the issues depicted in the movie even today. Child beggars are still a reality. And so are bootleggers. The State still wants to control what we drink, what we eat and who we marry, but goes missing when the rains hit the cities.
But like the ending in the movie, I would like to end on a positive note. There is no denying that we have made progress as a people and as a nation. We have come afar from where we were in the 1950s. Many problems remain, and we need to work towards them. I continue to hold the optimism in this brilliant line from ending verse of the same song…
Badalega Zamana Ye Sitaron Pe Likha Hai!
-Khyati
Recommendation:
Thank you for reading till the end. If you have enjoyed reading this, you would also enjoy listening to this podcast by Amit Basole, where he deconstructs old Hindi cinema in search of reformist poetry.