Uma Dutt

Chor Chor ( 1974) is a crime thriller with Vijay Anand and Leena Chandravarkar in lead roles.Produced by Vijay Anand, the film was directed by his long time associate Prem Prakash. It is a two hour suspense thriller without any songs in it, which is surprising because one always expects the Vijay Anand films to have a number of melodious and artistically filmed songs. The only thing close to a song in Chor Chor is that Goldie himself sings two or three lines of the House Number 44 song- Phaili Hui Hai Sapno Ki Rahe- in a party, and his voice is used by the villain to frame him in an act of bank robbery. Aakash ( Goldie) is a bank manager, and his father (played by Iftekhar) is a retired police officer who tells his son one day that he saw a criminal named Chandan he thought had died twenty years ago. The same evening, the criminal attacks and kills Iftekhar who, before he dies, manages to tear a piece of the criminal's shirt collar. It is seen that the collar has the label of Stylo Tailor of Panchgani. Goldie gets himself transferred to the Panchgani branch of the bank so that he can investigate about the murder. There, he meets the beautiful girl Hema (Leena Chadravarkar) who , with her mother, runs a guest house. Goldie stays in this guest house as a paying guest which reminds the viewers of the film Kala Pani in which Dev Anand stays in a similar guest house in Hyderabad. Right from the beginning, the viewer knows the killer(played by Trilok Kapoor, brother of Prithvi Raj Kapoor, and known mostly for his role as Lord Shiva in the religious films) .The killer also knows that the hero is looking for him. So the suspense is how would the hero figure out who the killer is .There are two sub plots and about half a dozen red herrings to keep the hero confused. The first sub plot is that the killer has a dual identity. He was a criminal Chandan, accused of five murders, but he is also seen as Dr. Dharam Veer of Panchgani who has secret plans to rob forty lac rupees from the local bank . It is the same bank where the hero Aakash has joined as a replacement to the regular bank manager (played by Jairaj) who is faking illness because he is blackmailed by the killer which brings us to the second sub plot. The killer knows that Jairaj is the biological father of the heroine as he was in love with the heroine's mother Kamala whose parents arranged her marriage with someone else. As Kamala was pregnant with Jairaj's child, her husband had a fight with Jairaj in which the latter unintentionally killed the former . This knowledge gives the killer doctor Dharam Veer leverage over Jairaj to make him confine himself to his house pretending to be a heart patient, for one month , so that the killer can rob the bank and put the blame on the hero Aakash( Goldie) . There ensues a battle of wits between the hero and the killer and some interesting incidents take place like a threat letter typed from a typewriter with a defective key, and a letter shabbily written by a blind woman. The killer also manages that Aakash comes across a number of red herring suspects like an unknown lover of the heroine, a retired army colonel, the perpetual sharabi Keshto Mukherji, and the philanderer showroom owner, Vibhuti Bhushan (played by Mohan Sherry). The break through is when the hero comes to know that the killer , in spite of knowing who the hero is, doesn't kill him though he gets more than one opportunities to do so. He realizes that the killer wants to use him for some purpose before eliminating him. The hero changes his strategy and is able to outwit the killer in the end. The best part of the movie is the divinely beautiful heroine Leena Chandravarkar, and the way the director has shown her courtship with the hero Goldie. It has been presented in an absolutely natural and decent manner, without any flamboyance or aggression on hero's part and without any coyness or nakhra( attitude) on heroine's part and without any nok jhonk or ladai jhagda( lovers' tiff) between them. Their first two meetings are when the hero is driving his car and the heroine wants to cross the road and they very politely signal- you go first. The heroine conveys that she is attracted to the hero by cooking the vegetables that he likes which she comes to know when he orders from a menu in a restaurant .Their relationship develops in a very smooth and mature fashion, and the way the hero makes a marriage proposal and the way the heroine accepts it is absolutely unique. It was totally devoid of the usual romantic trappings, yet it was absolutely engaging. Maybe this reflects Goldie's idea of an ideal woman, and the ideal format of man -woman relationship which should be based on respect, mutual understanding, and commitment. Highly recommended.

Old friends Munish and Jai become enemies when they end up loving the same girl. But Munish decides to save Jai when he gets caught in a case involving a faulty railway bridge. Munish and JK were friends, bound together in many ways. JK has helped Munish in his education, a trip to England for higher education and has now made him Engineer-in-charge for his prestigious dam project. JK's brother Ravi is engaged to Munish's sister. But these bonds of friendship are severely tested when Munish finds out that JK's vast empire is not built on totally honest business practices and refuses to support him. JK interprets Munish's behavior as avenging the fact that JK loves his girl, Meena, and expects Munish to give way for him in return for his favours. But Munish knows otherwise. He knows that though he loves JK dearly and would sacrifice his life, his love for him, he will not compromise on his principles. How will the conflict between emotion and principle be resolved? Will Munish have to choose between his heart and his conscience? —gavin (gunmasterM@hotmail.com) A wealthy and independent industrialist, JK alias Jai Kishan befriends a young man from a middle-class background by the name of Munish Mehra, assists him financially to go abroad and get necessary qualifications as an engineer, and then hires him on one of his construction projects. Jai meets with and falls in love with Meena Khanna, who is the daughter of a government official. Shortly after this, Jai finds out that Munish is also attracted to Meena, and is enraged. He subsequently fires Munish, and ensures that he will not get hired anywhere else. After several vain attempts to obtain employment, Munish gets hired by the government, and is assigned to investigate the collapse of a railway bridge. Munish finds out that Jai was directly responsible for this mishap as he used sub-standard materials. Munish now has the tools to avenge his humiliation at the hands of Jai, and accordingly informs his employer. But when the time comes for Munish to make a full report, he declines, and the government has no alternative but to prosecute him in a court of law for taking bribes and destroying his report. And the main witness appearing against him is none other than Jai. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Noor Jahan, the empress of the Mughal empire, becomes the favourite wife of Emperor Jahangir and steadily begins to exert more influence on the throne through her love for him.

After a king is killed in a battle, the queen escapes with the prince in order to secure his life. The prince, Abdulla, grows up to become a brave man and decides to avenge his father's death.

A lower-caste male falls in love with an upper-caste princess. In order to disprove the prophecy of his Raj-Jyotsi, the Maharaja sends his soldiers to kill every newborn child in the region. One lower-caste woman hides her male baby in a basket and sets it afloat. The child is then found and adopted by the childless wife of upper-caste Thakur Ranjit Singh, and named Amar. 18 years later he grows up to be a muscle-man, comes to the rescue of Rajkumari Padma, is welcomed by the Maharaja and hired as a developer, and both fall in love - much to the chagrin of Mantri who wants to wed her. He finds out about Amar's low-caste birth, complains to the Maharaja, who not only has Amar but also his biological mother as well as foster parents jailed. Amar is then pitted against several wrestlers but emerges victorious. Mantri then uses deceit by drugging him, has him chained, and used as a captive slave abroad a ship. When Mantri proposes marriage with Padma, the Maharaja refuses, and the former has him imprisoned, takes over the kingdom, and is all set to forcibly wed Padma. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Inspector Dinesh goes undercover in order to infiltrate a gang that is counterfeiting banknotes. In the course of his investigation he becomes romantically entangled with a female reporter and makes a discovery of shocking personal significance. —van Goethem Dinesh lives a middle-class lifestyle along with his mother in Bombay. On his 5th birthday his father leaves them never to return. Now Dinesh has grown up, is working for the Criminal Investigations Department and has been assigned to stop the circulation of fake currency notes. His investigations take him to Sunderdas, who gets killed. He then masquerades as Social Worker Abdul Rashid to try and get some information from a jailed convict, Banwarilal, to no avail. Finally, he dons the disguise of wealthy Kunver Vijay Bahadur, rents a suite in Hotel Paris and befriends Manohar and several other gangsters. He gets himself arrested and lodged in the same cell as Banwarilal. From there both men break out and join Manohar and the rest of the gang. It is here Dinesh will find out the king-pin behind this racket but before he can do anything he will not only find himself confronting his past, but will be trapped in an underwater fortress along with his sweetheart, Press Report Renu. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Orphaned brothers Jagannath and Rajan turn to crime for survival. Jagannath, a seasoned criminal, leads a double life, while Rajan aids the police. Their paths cross unknowingly. The climax unfolds with a police chase and a family reunion. Jaggannath maintains his silence after being found guilty and about to be sentenced for the murder of Roshanlal Sharma under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. It is then his brother, Rajkumar, appeals to the Judge to hear their story, and the duo recollect their lives as homeless orphans, how circumstances separate them, and both turn to a life of crime. While Rajkumar gets arrested on a number of occasions and serves time behind bars, Jaggannath is married, ostensibly lives a honest life, but is a gangster in reality. Rajkumar masquerades as Raj Kapoor, meets with heiress, Madhu Sharma, and both fall in love - much to the chagrin of her uncle - who has already arranged her marriage elsewhere. Fate will then unite the unknowing brothers, pit them against each other, and Madhu will shun Rajkumar, while Jaggannath's expectant wife will get a rude awakening when she is told about her husband's criminal background. Watch as things spiral out of control for the duo, leading to Jaggannath's arrest with the Judge about to award a death sentence. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Amar and Malti, two orphans, lead a harmonious life with their son, Raja. However, Amar gets murdered and circumstances force Malti to marry Amar's boss, Prakash, which is not accepted by Raja. Amar, Malti, and their young son, Raja, live a middle-class, but very harmonious life. Both Amar and Malti were brought up in an orphanage, and are always ready to help other orphans. Amar works for a kind-hearted and generous employer named Prakash Mehta, who is envious of their lifestyle, and would himself like to get married. Then one day Amar intercepts some criminal activity, which results in two employees losing their jobs, with one ending up in prison. When the prison term gets over, he runs over Amar under his truck, killing him instantly. Devastated and heart-broken, Malti hides this news from Raja and tells him that Amar is hospitalized and unable to return home. Then the towns folks start linking her with Prakash, leading to rumors being spread about their intimacy, finally resulting in Prakash proposing to her and both getting married. This settled, the two hope that life will continue and wounds will heal. But Raja expects his dad to return home, starts hating Prakash - so much so he harbors thoughts of killing him. And then one day Raja gets hold of a gun - and this time he will make sure that he kills Prakash - who he blames for his parents' separation. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)