In Calcutta, twenty thousand feet are running tangled up, all barefoot. They are rickshaw pullers, slowly disappearing out of the city’s landscape. Among them are Manoj, a languid young man; Mohammed, a lovely trickster who more often fails then succeeds; Husein, the street sage who knows all about the city; and Shallim, an ordinary man, a husband, and a father. For Shallim, an old and tired rickshaw has been his only means of hope. He has run endless miles with it to save...more

In Calcutta, twenty thousand feet are running tangled up, all barefoot. They are rickshaw pullers, slowly disappearing out of the city’s landscape. Among them are Manoj, a languid young man; Mohammed, a lovely trickster who more often fails then succeeds; Husein, the street sage who knows all about the city; and Shallim, an ordinary man, a husband, and a father. For Shallim, an old and tired rickshaw has been his only means of hope. He has run endless miles with it to save up money to buy an auto rickshaw that will realize his dream: A house for his family. However, despair comes to the weakest first. Shallim’s wife is found to be seriously ill and his son catches swine flu while working at a factory. Hospital charges are mounting and Shallim’s dream is on the verge of collapsing. Feeling dejected, he sheds tears-the tears of fathers. As the shadow of despair creeps over Shallim, the trauma of Manoj's father’s death is revealed. Is there any hope left for barefoot Calcutta? less