Shree 420

Extremely rare original old Raj Kapoor film poster of the cult Bollywood classic, Shree 420 (1955) for sale.

This is an actual surviving original East German publicity poster of the 1955 black and white Bollywood film produced, directed by and starring the greatest entertainer of all time in Bollywood, Raj Kapoor (also known as The Show Man of Indian cinema).

This extremely unique promotional mini-poster (roughly A4 size) was designed and printed in East Germany during the Cold War for publicity of Shree 420 in East German theaters.

The unique hand painted artwork seen in this old Bollywood movie poster was designed exclusively for the film’s promotion inside East German theaters and was only used in East Germany, making it truly one-of-a-kind and highly collectible.

This old Raj Kapoor Bollywood poster was printed and circulated during the original first release of the film in East Germany during the Cold War (late 1950s). This was the official promotional poster designed and printed for publicity of the film in East German theaters in the late 1950s but never ended up being used.

Printed in the late 1950s on vintage East German paper, very few posters of this type were made and only a handful have survived till date.

Featured here for sale is an almost impossible to find original East German Raj Kapoor Bollywood movie poster!

This old hand painted Bollywood poster bears an extremely unique design that features a brilliant hand painted portrait of Raj Kapoor, who is seen in his iconic “Tramp” character inspired heavily from Charlie Chaplin. The charcoal pencil sketch effect used in Raj Kapoor’s portrait is also seen in the background where a silhouette of the Taj Mahal appears. The title of the film is seen in German as well as translated into English in brackets below.

Shree 420 is a 1955 Bollywood classic directed and produced by Raj Kapoor, featuring him in a leading role opposite Nargis. The film is widely regarded as a cult classic in Indian cinema.

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 Awara. 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.