My Barefoot Friend – The Story of Shallim and His Old Rickshaw

Shallim is a Muslim who has been pulling his rickshaw barefoot through the streets of Calcutta for 35 years. Like most of his colleagues, including the older Hussein and the melancholy Manoj, he comes from Bihar, the poorest part of India. Every day, regardless of monsoon rains, stifling heat and omnipresent smog, he takes his rickshaw in search of another customer who will take him a little bit closer to getting what he longs for - an auto-rickshaw. Just when he is gradually getting close to achieving his goal, his hopes begin to unravel. His wife falls seriously ill and then his son gets sick soon after. Most of his life savings are spent on medicines. As if this wasn't enough, the Indian government is now drafting a law to ban pedestrian rickshaws... This enormously moving and deeply human story could only have been made thanks to Korean director Seong-Gyou Lee's decade-long friendship with the film's main character. This documentary offers a uniquely authentic look at the life of Calcutta's rickshaws, and it faithfully captures all the colours, aromas and odours of this overpopulated Indian metropolis.