Originally titled Ab Dilli Dur Nahin, Boot Polish was produced (but not directed)
by prolific Indian filmmaker Raj Kapoor. The main adult character,
played by Kapoor, is a carefree vagabond who befriends a pair of enterprising
orphans (Baby Naaz and Rattan Kumar). Unwanted by society in general
and by their family in particular, the kids stay alive by running
a shoe-shining business. When Kapoor is arrested, the children dedicate
themselves to being reunited with their boon companion. Bearing unavoidable
traces of Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine, Boot Polish was reasonably
well-received when distributed in the U.S. |