'Boot Polish', classic Indian film returns
By Gotot Prakosa
JAKARTA (JP): Moviegoers from the 1950s may well recall Boot Polish, a classic Indian neorealist children's film.
Imported by Persari, a company owned by Djamaluddin Malik (singer Camelia Malik's father), the film was screened in Indonesian cities in 1954.
The film, which has become one of the all-time best children's films, has been reimported and will rescreened in Jakarta's top commercial movie theaters starting on Oct. 20.
Apart from whether the film is a success of a flop, the rescreening of a quality old film deserves to be commended and hopefully will become a new phenomenon in Indonesia.
Normally, such classic films are screened only at noncommercial theaters like Kine Klub in Jakarta or at film festivals.
Reimported by film distributor Rahim Latif, Boot Polish tells the story of a boy named Bhola (Ratan Kumar, 10) and his sister Belu (Baby Naaz, 7) in Bombay, India, in the 1950s.
After their father is jailed for life and their mother dies, Bhola and Belu are cared by their aunt Kumala, a low-class prostitute who lives in a slum area.
Kumala treats the children as slaves, forcing them to beg and give every cent they earn to her. The only person who sympathizes with the children is their uncle John (David), a former alcoholmaker. John becomes a sort of ethics teacher for the children.
It is thanks to uncle John that Bhola and Belu eventually have the determination to seek dignified jobs.
Made in 1953, the film was directed by Prakash Arora and produced by RK Films, which was owned by Raj Kapoor, then India's "king of movies".
In Boot Polish, he also served as an extra. In a scene where Bhola and Belu are crying in a train, they see a mustached man asleep; that man is the real Kapoor.
So famous was Kapoor that the two children recognize him. Bhola whispers to his sister, "See that is the film actor Raj Kapoor." Belu replies, "No he isn't. Nowadays all the young people want to look like Raj Kapoor; they copy his mustache and tuft!"
The film obtained a Special Mention for Baby's acting at the 1954 Cannes International Film Festival. It also won awards at the 1954 International Film Festival in Bombay and the Southeast Asian Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix for best picture in Phnom Penh.
In one of its 1955 editions, Time magazine called the film "neorealist and a miniature masterpiece" from India.
The film tried to present real life in Bombay, something different from other Indian films of the time which sold mere fantasy and songs. Although the film still had songs, the approach was much influenced by the "Italian neorealism" spirit which at that time was beginning to sweep the world.
Perhaps Raj Kapoor was inspired by Vittorio De Sica's film Shoeshine (1946), which tells the story of shoe polishers working on the street.
The characteristics of a neorealism film are stark simplicity in the storyline and storytelling. Films that fall under this category are touching and tell stories of the lives of common people.
Last week Boot Polish was screened for hundreds of street children living under flyovers in West Jakarta and North Jakarta. The program was coordinated by their teachers, Rosi and Rian.
Though some children had some trouble following the Indonesian text, applause was often heard during the screening.
The rescreening of this black-and-white classic at commercial theaters is a courageous step, because it must compete with the more popular American films.