Shree 420

Old Bollywood movie still photo of the Raj Kapoor cult classic, Shree 420 (1955) for sale.

This is an actual surviving  old Bollywood lobby card of the Hindi film Shree 420 (translated as Mr. 420 and sometimes also spelled as Shri 420).

Shree 420 is a 1955 Bollywood classic directed and produced by the Showman of Indian cinema Raj Kapoor, featuring him in a leading role opposite Nargis. Printed and circulated somewhere in the 1950s, this old Bollywood lobby card was designed and printed for publicity of the film inside theaters.

This beautiful vintage Bollywood movie lobby card was actually used inside a theater that screened Shree 420. The four corners of the lobby card feature punched holes and display tell tale sings of being pinned on the notice board of a movie theater.

The “Pyar hua ikrar hua” image depicting Raj Kapoor and Nargis singing and dancing under a shared umbrella in pouring rain is regarded as one of the most iconic images in Bollywood, making this old Bollywood still photo highly collectible!

An iconic scene from Shree 420 depicting Raj Kapoor and Nargis holding an umbrella on a rainy night, singing the blockbuster hit song, “Pyar hua ikrar hua” is seen in this old Bollywood movie still.

Shree 420 is widely regarded as a classic in Indian cinema. Raj Kapoor is remembered as the greatest showman in Indian cinema – an all rounder who produced, directed as well as starred in some of the leading films of his time.

In Shree 420, Raj Kapoor’s character is heavily influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s “little tramp”, similar to his character in a film that released four years prior in 1951 called Awaara. The film has to its credit some of the greatest songs ever made in Bollywood such as “Mera Joota Hai Japani” (My shoes are Japanese), which went on to become a patriotic symbol of the newly independent India. In India, Shree 420 became the highest grossing film of the year (1955). In Russia, Shree 420 received mass appeal and made Raj Kapoor a household name.