''Footpath'' is a 1953 Hindi film written and directed by

Zia Sarhadi Zia Sarhadi ( ur, ضیا سرحدی; born Fazl-e-Qadir Sethi 1914 in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province – 27 January 1997 in Karachi, Sindh) was a Pakistani screenwriter and director of films in the Indian Film Industry, whose career sp ...

. It stars

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...

in lead roles. The music of the film is by

Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, ...

and background score by Timir Baran.

Plot

The story is about black-marketeering in grains and medicines, a subject of perennial interest to everybody and of poignant importance to the poor and needy. The characters and drama are laid among the very poor, the homeless ones, the pavement dwellers, whence the picture derives its title. One of them, the central character, is a poorly-paid hack journalist named Noshu who lives, for lack of means, with his kindly elder brother Bani and Bani's nasty wife, Minna. Powerfully attracted to a pretty young girl of the neighborhood and wanting desperately to woo and win her, he decides to become a black-marketeer. The path of the transgressor is laid with roses. He mints money, becomes a wealthy and a respected citizen, and has everything he hankered for in his new world of luxurious ease. It all turns to ashes in his mouth. His brother, who brought him up and who has lost his teacher's job because he used the school's money to finance Noshu's first flutter, turns him out when he discovers what the money was for. So do his poor but honest friends. With a hardened heart, Noshu goes his own way, becoming more wealthy at each step. Awakening comes with the outbreak of an epidemic among the starving poor. With his racket in medicines, Noshu's conscience stirs in him as he sees the people he loved agonize and die for lack of the drugs he is hoarding for peak prices. The climax comes in his soul when he rushes to his stricken brother's side too late and arrives just as Bani breathes his last. Shocked into realization, Noshu repents, gives himself up to the police, denounces his companions in crime and goes to prison.

Cast

as Noshu *

as Mala *

Achala Sachdev Achala Sachdev (3 May 1920 – 30 April 2012) was an Indian actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi language film industry. She was from Peshawar and started her career as a child actor. She later became known for mother and grandmother ...

as Meena * Anwar Hussain as Ram *

Jankidas Jankidas Mehra (1910 – 18 June 2003) was an Indian actor of Hindi cinema, cyclist, production designer, and writer. He made over 1000 film appearances between the 1930s and 1997. Biography Sports Jankidas served as the only Indian member of ...

as Mathur *

Jagdeep Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffrey (29 March 1939 – 8 July 2020), better known by his stage name Jagdeep, was an Indian actor and comedian who appeared in more than 400 films. He played Soorma Bhopali in ''Sholay'' (1975), Machchar in ''Purana Mandir ...

as Pickpocket *

Romi Romi is a given name and may refer to: *Romi Dames (born 1979), Japanese-American actress *Romi Garduce (born 1969), Filipino mountain climber and IT Professional in Procter and Gamble Philippines *Romi Goldmuntz (1882–1960), Belgian businessman ...

as Monu

Soundtrack

all songs are penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri except " kaisa jadu dala re" which is by Ali sardar jaffri.

External links

* 1953 films 1950s Hindi-language films Films scored by Khayyam Indian black-and-white films {{1950s-Hindi-film-stub