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. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Belu (Baby Naaz) and Bhola (Ratan Kumar) are left to the care of their wicked aunt Kamla (Chand Burque) when their mother dies. She forces them to beg in the streets and grabs all the money they get.
A bootlegger John Chacha (David) teaches them to lead a life of self-respect and work for a living instead of begging. They scrimp and save to buy a shoe-polish kit and start shining shoes. Kamla finds out about what they have been doing behind her back, beats them and throws them out of the house.
John Chacha gives them shelter, but then he is arrested and the kids are left to fend for themselves. When it rains and people don't get their shoes polished any more, the children are in danger of starving. But Bhola believes that he will never beg anymore but on one rainy night, a man tosses him a coin and he rejects it, but Belu takes it as she is very hungry.
Bhola slaps Belu for that and she drops the coin. Lastly, the police comes and is taking children with them. Belu rushes in an unknown train, but Bhola is arrested. In the train, Belu is adopted by a rich family and she mopes for her brother.
The climax is when Belu becomes rich and is now giving coins to the beggars, Bhola also comes to her. Humiliated, Bhola runs away while his sister screams for him. But, at last he returns and is reunited with his sister.
And then the rich family adopt both of the siblings and live happily ever after.
Moral: Begging gives the beggar little, and takes more from him. (This means that a beggar loses all his/her selfrespect by begging).
Movielore has it that Raj Kapoor did not like what Prakash Arora had made and re-shot the film himself. This is the only film credited to Arora.[citation needed]
The writer of the film Bhanu Pratap is also credited with just one film.
Raj Kapoor made a tiny appearance in the film as a man asleep in a train.
It was Baby Naaz's first film, she received a special mention at the Cannes Film Festival, but as a grown up her career did not reach great heights.
Raj Kapoor produced one more children's film Ab Dilli Dur Nahin in 1957.
Ratan Kumar acted as a child star in great films like Do Bigha Zameen and Jagriti. He migrated to Pakistan after Jagriti(1954) and started his acting career from Bedari(1957) which was a carbon copy of Jagriti.Four songs had similar tune and lyrics. Ratan acted as hero in many Pakistani films.
