Brief- Choose a movie, set in any city around the world (before the 1950s) and critically analyze

how the city lends to the

plot and how the city is characterized in the film.

MUMBAI - SHREE 420

‘Ye Bambai hai, mere bhai, Bambai’

Political philosophies, social ideals, group behaviour, speech, and attire in society are reflected in cinema and, like a true
mirror, are imitated from cinema, which then reflects back in society. As a result, the cinema can be viewed as a legitimate
metaphor for Mumbai and society in general, which aids in a better understanding of society.

The films of the 1950s were markedly different from those of the pre-independence era. India had just emerged from the
Independence movement which was immediately followed by the upheavals and horrors of the Partition. There was a burst
of cinematic innovation, and sensitive filmmakers began to produce a plethora of less verbose, more nuanced classics that
attempted to not only explore the flaws in humanity but also searched for the humanity in flawed characters. Many films
from this era used Mumbai to depict the possibilities and pitfalls of national modernism.
Alongside utopian visions of urban equality, narratives of urban alienation and moral corruption, typically expressed in
figures of the tramp and the refugee, were particularly prominent. One such film was Shree 420. It is a 1955 comedy-drama
film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.

Role of the City

Mumbai has been cautiously represented following Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of national modernism with planned and just
city that welcomes and assists migrants from all over India regardless of background. In the ‘city of hope’, symbolic
presence of trains, flyovers and wide roads signifies the new ‘modernity’. The song, ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’, lends to the
sentiment of nationalism in a newly globalizing era.
 Figure 2. The 420 here has a double-meaning, it references not just distance but a section of the Indian penal code
enforced for crimes of petty fraud and trickery connecting immorality with Bombay from the start

In this movie, the city itself is a protagonist that transforms its inhabitants and the directions of their lives. Shree 420
explores the destructive influence of a big city's bright lights on a simple soul. There is an undercurrent of honesty and
deceit throughout the movie. In the very beginning of the movie, Raj, an educated immigrant from Allahabad, gets a car
ride through deception but is thrown out due to his honesty, which implies the corrupting nature of the city could be
attributed to necessity. But characters like Vidya, who is a teacher with meagre resources, show that strong moral virtues
and personal agency play a role as well. Raj’s first transaction in the city is to sell his medal of honesty which symbolizes
his willingness to submit to the temptations of the city.

Figure 3. In a dramatic role reversal, Vidya ends up saving him from drowning on the Juhu Beach

There is an undercurrent of the period typical inherent patriarchy in the movie but it was ahead of its time with its
representation of gender equality. In a dramatic gender role reversal, Vidya ends up saving him from drowning.

The film casts Bombay as both a potential site of greed, moral corruption, and alienation, and as a potential site of
opportunity and justice. Raju is exposed to narratives of urban inclusiveness and justice through a group of pavement
dwellers he befriends in the city. For immigrants like Raj, who have nothing and nobody in the city, survival depends on
the goodwill and kind-heartedness of other migrant workers, who form a loose community. This contrasts with the
provincial and exclusionary nationalism that other characters, beset by greed, embody. A beggar on the street presents
Bombay as made up of “buildings of cement and hearts of stone”, suggesting the insensitivity and apathy of the city folk
towards the labourers and migrants living there.
 Figure 4. The dichotomy of the cramped footpath in front of a lavish and spacious mansion

Raj’s motivation for turning rogue highlights the close relationship between corruption and class. He questions the lectures
on honesty and truth given to the poor while the rich gather wealth by cheating. This showed the inherent exploitation of
the capitalist economy, in which cheating on a larger scale makes you a philanthropist, which was pointed out in the film
as well. Through poignant imagery of the dichotomy of the cramped footpath, which costs 1.50 rupees just for sleeping, in
front of a lavish and spacious mansion, the movie highlights the vast inequality between classes. As the movie
progresses, Raj becomes increasingly self centered and prioritizes self interest, which he justifies by pointing out the
callousness of the world when he was down on his luck and his desire to do the same.

For most of the film, Raj is caught between a traditional simplicity, represented by Vidya (meaning knowledge) and the
glitter and spangle of high-stakes capitalism, represented by Maya (meaning illusion). He joins forces with corrupt
businessmen who play on the working classes' bourgeois mostly unattainable aspirations of marriage, wealth, luxury, and
respect, and con them by ‘not selling houses, but selling dreams’. This shows the myriad of ways in which the proletariat
are taken advantage of, i.e., not just as labourers but also consumers and aspirants of the bourgeois lifestyle.

The movie ends on a note of optimism for the city and its future, Raj having righted his wrongs, looks out hopefully at the
panorama of the city. Shree 420 suggests to the viewer that the city, with commitment from the state and the public, can
be a site both for cosmopolitanism and progressive nationalism.

Figure 5. The film ends on a note of optimism for the city and its future, highlighted by the image of Raj and Vidya, looking
out hopefully at a panorama of the city in the final scene
Locations around the city shown in the movie

Figure 6. Bombay High Court

Figure 7. Marine drive – in the song ‘Pyaar Hua, Ikrar Hua’

Figure 4. Taj Hotel – gambling scene

- RISHIMA BANSAL