Jagte Raho (1956)

In the throbbing heart of Kolkata, a humble peasant finds himself out of place, lured by the promise of a better life in the city's labyrinthine maze. Arriving penniless under the cloak of darkness, his simple quest for a drink of water turns into a Kafkaesque journey into the depths of urban chaos. A serenade from a drunken reveler offers a glimmer of hope, only to be cruelly snatched away by a taxi-driver as quickly as it appeared. In his parched desperation, he attempts to drink from a fire hydrant, only to be thwarted by the city's law enforcement. Finding solace in the shadows of a sprawling apartment complex, his thirst brings him face-to-face with the twisted intricacies of urban life. Misinterpreted as a thief, the peasant becomes the object of a frenzied manhunt. This once peaceful man is now the prey in a concrete jungle teeming with a thousand souls, all convinced of his criminal intent. His flight for survival takes him on a wild chase through over 200 living units, each housing its own unique brand of deceit and duplicity. In one unit, he encounters Kailash, an illicit alcohol manufacturer whose daughter is entwined in a clandestine romance. Another door opens to reveal a husband poised to steal his wife's jewels, a desperate bid to fund his gambling addiction. His journey of evasion leads him to a chilling encounter with Ramnarayan Malik, a mastermind of counterfeit currency, where his fate takes an even darker turn. The peasant's night of terror spirals into a vertiginous climax high above the city streets, where he teeters on a drain pipe under a hailstorm of stones, with Malik's henchmen lying in wait for him on the rooftop. Jagte Raho uncovers the hypocrisy of the middle-class society, as it spins a riveting tale of a man's desperate search for water, that morphs into a fight for survival in a world quick to judge and slow to understand.

Jagte Raho is a comedy movie featuring Raj Kapoor.

It is possible to buy Jagte Raho on Amazon Video.