The Jewel Thief You Must Watch Instead

Re-watching
1967’s

Jewel
Thief
evokes
the
joy
of
cinema,
with
its
perfect
blend
of
thrill,
suspense,
romance
and
music.
A
film
like
that
can
never
be
remade
or
be
tampered
with
in
any
way,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.

The
makers
of
the
new
Saif
Ali
Khan-Jaideep
Ahlawat-starrer, Jewel
Thief, did
themselves
a
disservice
by
using
the
title
of
Vijay
Anand’s
1967
classic.

It
made
movie
buffs
nostalgic
for
the
old
film.

Re-watching
the
Dev
Anand-starrer
evokes
the
joy
of
cinema,
with
its
perfect
blend
of
thrill,
suspense,
romance
and
music.

Over
the
opening
credits
of
the
film,
a
gloved
hand
steals
jewellery
from
a
store,
leaving
display
counters
and
mannequins
bare.

The
newspapers
are
full
of
sensational
headlines
about
this
elusive
thief.
The
police
commissioner
of
Bombay
(Nasir
Hussain,
who
practically
wore
the
uniform
as
second
skin)
promises
to
catch
the
burglar
soon
or
resign.

Dev
Anand
plays
Vinay,
the
estranged
son
of
the
commissioner,
who
bags
a
well-paid
job
(Rs
1,000
was
a
princely
sum
back
then)
with
jeweller
Vishambhar
Das
(Sapru)
and
flirts
with
his
daughter
Anjali
(Tanuja).

Suddenly,
people
he
meets
casually
call
him
Amar.

At
Anjali’s
birthday
party,
Shalini
(Vyjayanthimala)
claims
he
is
her
fiancé.

Her
irate
brother
Arjun
(Ashok
Kumar)
forces
Vinay
to
take
off
his
right
shoe
to
prove
that
he
does
not
have
six
toes,
like
Amar.

Vijay
Anand,
who
also
wrote
the
screenplay,
from
an
KA
Narayan
story,
inspired
by
Alfred
Hitchcock’s To
Catch
A
Thief,
makes
this
simple
scene
full
of
drama
and
intrigue.

Even
a
viewer
who
has
not
seen
the
film
would
guess
some
sinister
game
is
afoot
to
take
advantage
of
Vinay’s
resemblance
to
Amar,
who
is
the
suspected
burglar.

A
couple
of
hints
for
the
attentive
viewer:
Shalini
winning
a
dance
and
acting
competition
in
Gangtok
(Sikkim)
and
the
abduction
of
a
child
(Sachin),
who
was
wildly
applauding
the
presentation
of
the
trophy,
by
Sikkim
royalty.

There
is
a
heist
at
Vishambhar’s
store,
and
it
is
believed
that
Amar
pulled
it
off
by
pretending
to
be
Vinay,
while
an
innocent
Vinay
was
with
Anjali.

Vinay
is
convinced
to
impersonate
Amar,
and
meet
the
criminal
mastermind’s
associate,
Helen
(Helen).

Vinay
meets
the
other
members
of
Amar’s
gang
(that
include
Fariyal
and
Anju
Mahendru)
and
eventually
learns
that
he
has
gone
to
Gangtok.

Meanwhile,
Vinay
and
Shalini
fall
in
love.

If
Vyjayanthimala
looks
a
bit
out
of
sorts
in
many
scenes,
it
is
because
she
and
the
director
were
having
a
battle
of
egos
on
the
set.

Ashok
Kumar’s
ill-health
required
schedules
to
be
worked
around
him,
and
she
resented
that,
refused
to
rehearse
and
was
reportedly
sulky
all
through
the
making
of
the
film.

The
plan
in
Gangtok
is
to
steal
the
crown
jewels
and
make
sure
the
real
thief
gets
away.

Shalini
is
forced
to
facilitate
the
entry
of
the
gang
by
staging
the
spectacular
dance
number, Hothon
Mein
Aisi
Baat, which
was
an
example
of
the
director’s
wonderful
song
picturisations
that
film
students
reportedly
study
to
learn
how
songs
can
be
used
to
enhance
a
sequence.

The
dance,
with
its
fast
and
frenzied
steps
and
constantly
moving
camera,
was
choreographed
by
Sohanlal,
whose
assistant
was
Saroj
Khan,
before
she
made
a
name
for
herself. 

The
other
songs,
like
the
teasing Yeh
Dil
Na
Hota
Bechara,
romantic Aasmaan
Ke
Neeche and Dil
Pukare
Aa
Re
Aa
Re,
the
sad Rula
Ke
Gaya
Sapna, Helen’s
cabaret Baithe
Hain
Kya
Uske
Paas, and
Tanuja’s
sexy Raat
Akeli
Hai
— composed
by
SD
Burman
and
written
by
Majrooh
Sultanpuri
—
are
all
musical
masterpieces.

All
the
songs
add
to
the
scene
and
take
the
story
forward.
There
are
no
wasted
moments.

The
big
reveal
of
who
made
the
whole
complicated
plan
is
revealed
at
the
right
point,
and
it
comes
as
a
surprise
to
the
viewer.

Those
who
have
seen
the
film
will
also
be
tempted
to
do
a
recall
and
figure
out
where
the
red
herrings
were
placed.
It
is
brilliant
writing
and
clever
misdirection.

A
film
like
that
can
never
be
remade
or
be
tampered
with
in
any
way.

A sequel,

Return
of
Jewel
Thief, was
released
in
1996,
with
Dev
Anand
and
Ashok
Kumar
reprising
their
roles,
and
stars
like
Dharmendra
and
Jackie
Shroff
joining
the
cast.
It
was
a
flop.

Directed
by
Ashok
Tyagi,
it
lists
as
one
of
the
writers
as
Sanjay
Nirupam,
who
went
on
to
quit
films
and
enter
politics.

One
other
thing
that
marks
the
passage
of
time:
Anjali
and
her
friends
go
for
a
picnic
at
Mumbai’s
north
eastern
suburb
of
Powai,
which
is
a
large
empty
tract
of
land.
Mumbai
residents
know
what
the
area
looks
like
now.