Jewel Thief (1967)

Jewel Thief is a wonderful classic film that I can’t get enough of. This stylish 1967 suspense film is thoroughly mod – from set design to costumes, from the brilliant soundtrack to its bold, sexually forward women.

Dev Anand stars as Vijay, who has loved gems all his life and secures his dream job as an appraiser for a jeweler. The jeweler’s daughter (played with adorable and sexy energy by Tanuja, who went on to be the mother of contemporary superstar Kajol) takes a shining to Vijay, but he is smitten with the lonely and heartbroken Shalini (Vyjayanthimala). Shalini is one of many people who mistakes Vijay for the mysterious “Amar,” who, it appears, is responsible for a series of high-profile jewel burglaries. Having convinced all and sundry that he is not Amar, Vijay goes undercover, slipping into Amar’s life in an attempt to track down the slippery thief – he visits high-tone nightclubs, gets seduced by several women, and travels to the exotic eastern province of Sikkim, nestled in the Himalayas.

Above all else, Jewel Thief is a whole lot of fun.  It is chock full of explicit homages to early James Bond films, from Amar's extravagant, high-tech lair to his slinky, sexy women.  Dev Anand saunters through his adventure with a perpetual wink, and there's not a moment in which the screen isn't washed in lively color and fantastic style, complemented perfectly by the crisp, sparkling S.D. Burman score.  One of Amar's women, Helen (played by Helen, of course) wears elbow-length gloves with a pearl bracelet - the look is a direct reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's, another feast of mod style.  The universe of Jewel Thief is one in which dancers in jewel-encrusted bodysuits shake their moneymakers in nightclubs festooned with colorful flashing lights.  It's one in which homes are decorated with amber and purple mood lighting and shelves in the shape of martini glasses, and women wear saris studded with tufts of rabbit fur.  And it's a universe in which beautiful women, extravagant parties, and vast adventures await around every corner.  It's 200 minutes of stylish, escapist bliss.      

But there's more to Jewel Thief than its superficial fun - there are a number of interesting aspects that set it apart among Bollywood films.  This interesting page sets forth the thesis that Jewel Thief exemplifies an Indian strain of fetishization of the exotic West, a contemporaneous and mirror-image view of Hollywood's fascination with elements from the exotic east.  The super-modern style of the characters and the interiors, the James Bond-esque aspects of the Jewel Thief's life and lair, the sexual emancipation of many of the film's female characters are all aspects of this.  In the thoroughly delightful  “Raat akeli hai,” Tanuja's sexy-yet-innocent attempt at seducing Vijay, the symbols of the west are double-loaded; Tanuja interrupts her song to pour drinks for herself an Vijay and the drink she serves is Coca-Cola.  What more powerful symbol of the West could there be?  But the Cokes also serve to highlight the character's extreme youth.  It's one of many subtle touches in a film that, superficially, seems to have nothing subtle about it. 

I can’t say enough good things about this delightful film, a favorite even among my favorite films, Bollywood or otherwise. The stylish mod designs can’t be more over-the-top and the songs can't be more fun.  In addition to Tanuja's turn in "Raat akeli hai," the soundtrack also includes Vyjayantimala’s extravagant classical performance in “Honton mein aisi baat,” and “Baithe hain kya,” a wild bar-top dance number by Helen; Bollywood's queen of over-the-top item numbers does not disappoint here, clad in sequins and ostrich feathers.

NOTE: the comments to this post contain SIGNIFICANT spoilers for the film's main plot twists.

Comments

[Paul]

I love this movie and I really love the beautiful Tanuja. However, I am still a bit confused on the plot details. For example, can anyone tell me how Tanuja found out what day the next heist would take place? I ask this because I assume that is what she told the Police Commissioner about when she went to visit him. Or maybe I am mistaken on what she told him? Feel free to email me as well. haymes@msn.com

[carla]

Hi Paul - thanks for the comment. My recollection of the moment you are talking about is that Dev Anand passed Tanuja a letter in his last meeting with her - presumably the letter explained everything, and she went to his father and saved the day. I'll be seeing the film again this weekend and so I'll edit this comment if I can add anything else helpful.

[Paul]

Carla, thanks again for your quick response. Since you are going to see it again, I am going to point out and ask you some things, since I watched it twice and still have questions, LOL. I guess I am a slow learner. Anyway, I learned a lot from one of your message board posts when you mention how Tanuja learned about her father's involvement in the plot to trap Dev Anand and marches right to the commissioner. I guess I am more lost than I thought on this one. I remember seeing her going into a room and seeing a pile of jewels, and then going to see her father and he was clearly upset. You then see her go to a Hotel counter and ask for Dev and was visually upset knowing that he hasn't been there in days. The next time you see her is when she goes to the commisioner. I am not sure when she was handed a note or exactly how they were framing him. I know they brainwashed him to think he was Amar. Actually, being a fan of film noir from the US and Europe, I am very familiar with the femme fatale role and derivatives of it. I remember reading that Tanuja was looked at as a heroin in this film. I think that is only partially true and in some ways I think she has definite femme fatale qualities. I might have to understand the movie a bit more before I can make such a judgement but certain actions she made such as going to the commisioner and reporting on her father. Also, I am assuming that she informed the police of the exact date of the heist, because the next scene is with Ashok Kumar ranting while holding guns that the police were informed that the heist will take place today. You also get a close up shot of Shalu with a guilty look on her face. That also threw me a curve because I thought Tanuja was responsible for snitching on the heist. Anyway, thanks again and maybe when you get a chance you can help me understand this better, LOL. Have a great day.

[carla]

Okay. I tried to pay attention to the denoument when I watched the film over again yesterday.

First, Dev Anand was not brainwashed. He faked it; he was himself all along. You might not have caught this but the doctors remarked that the process took less time than they expected. And at the end, he says something like "Four days of the treatment would have made me insane; I thought it better to go insane after two days."

When Dev went to the commissioner's office and threatened him, he crumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it at the commissioner. The commissioner initially doesn't look at it, but at the end he says that he read the note so he did see it. Presumably the note included the date and location of the job, and explained "I will be pretending to be Amar," etc.

My understanding of Tanuja's role is that after she saw the jewels, she confronted her father. He was upset because he had just confessed to her his part in the nefarious plot. She goes to find Dev because she knows his life is in danger; she is upset that he isn't at the hotel because that means the bad guys are still trying to carry out the plan. Then she goes to see the commissioner. Between Dev's note and Tanuja's report of the jeweller's involvement, the commissioner can figure out the whole thing.

I hope that makes sense.

[Paul]

OK. You really did a wonderful job. It makes a lot of sense now. I recently got the sequel to this, but haven't watched it yet. I also became such a fan of Tanuja, that I got a whole bunch of her other movies. She really was very very beautiful. I am unique I guess in that I love beautiful women in negative or semi negative roles. Did you ever see Pryanka Chopra in Aitraaz? It is sort of a take off on Demi Moore's Disclosure but somewhat different. Do you have any recommendations on Bollywood negative female roles?

[carla]

Paul, I also was completely smitten by Tanuja in *Jewel Thief* but I haven't seen much more of her beyond that - yet. I look forward to your recommendations for Tanuja films.

I haven't seen *Aitraaz* - I really need to catch up on recent films; I've been watching mostly oldies for months and months and I've seen very few of the films of the past couple of years.

Negative roles: I highly recommend *Godmother*. Now that you've got me thinking about it, many of my favorite films are about women who, if not completely unredeemable, are at least morally ambiguous - *Godmother*, *Ankur*, *Fire* all can be viewed in that light, I think.

[Paul]

Hi. I guess negative is the term used mostly for Indian films. I would translate that in US films to mean femme fatale. I guess films that I have seen already that would fit that would be Fida with Kareena Kapoor, Aitraaz and to some degree Urmila Matondkar in Pyar Tune Kya Kia (please forgive my rotten spelling). I know it sounds crazy, but even if the role isn't completely negatative, but if there is a scene where the beauty either informs on or brings the hero down, I am interested. One great example would be Madhuri Dixit in Khal Nayak. If you recall, she used her beauty to seduce the villain played by Sanjay Dutt. She then sort of lead him on to trap him into getting caught, often calling her policeman boyfriend Jackie Shroff and tipping him off on there location. Dixit is beyond beautiful in that film. How about Sridevi? She has a mystical beauty and I particularly love her large hips, LOL.

[Paul]

Also, I find Nandita Das a very attractive and talented actess. If you would like to see her in a cold hearted but beautiful role, watch Supari. She is the head of a killing organization with very little compassion for her men. I remember in one scene she purposely drove a fork into a man's bicep for blundering on one of his jobs. You should join netflix. They have most of these movies.

[Miss Bolly]

Hi there!

I hadn't ever even heard of this movie until you mentioned it on my blog, but it sounds fun! I'll have to give it a watch. I must confess, I'm not a big fan of Bond films (I thought my then-boyfriend was going to break up with me on the spot when I turned to him 20-minutes into "Goldfinger" and said perfectly seriously, "When is this supposed to get interesting?"). Still, a stylishly mod BOLLYWOOD Bond-like film might just do the trick. I'll definitely check it out if I can get my hands on it. Thanks for the rec!

~ Miss Bolly

I have heard songs from Jewel Thief but have not the seen the movie as yet.

After reading your review, I have added it to my to be seen list

[moosa]

Best among the films of Dev Anand.

[Vivek]

Since you've mentioned about flashing colors and decors used. Women wearing sari's studded with jewels and embroidery. All these have many reasons attributing to it. Let's take them one by one.
Although, first Indian color film was Moti Gidwani's "Kisan Kanya (1937)", Indian (Hindi only) cinema had seen only 19 color films by 1959 and a lot them weren't full length color feature. When in 1960, Mughal-E-Azam glamorized eyes of Indian cine-goers by showing flashy colors and vast sets, people wanted to see more of technicolor.
1940s and '50s were full of (neo-)realist movies made by Guru Dutt, Bimol Roy and Raj Kapoor, but now people were going to cinema for entertainment and to forget about day-to-day problems of life. Romance was in color. Deviation from practical things were admissible to certain limits, if at the end of the movie they have seen something that is not happening in their day to day life. All lavish well decorated rooms and wealth apparent from getup and all.
If I had that kind of money in those days, my house would have looked the same. Rich women wearing all those jewel was also a common sight (in practical life). But what was not, women flashing skin except at bars in Bombay. Anand's were the ones who were serving it on silver screen for everybody. Dresses were hip, western style was coming fast in India, not only on cinema screen, but people were following celebrities. Almost everything was being copied, from Sadhana's haircut to Shaira Bano's short salwars. Shirt, pant, scarf, cap almost everything.
Actually a lot of 60's movies were being shot at foreign locations (a ploy used regularly by Anands in their later movies).

A lot being said about the time in which movie was made, this movie is still one of the best thrillers of Bollywood and hasn't lost it's charms after 40 years. Though there are a few impractical approach to show things (I am not naming them to avoid spoilers) which could have been accomplished otherwise, without twisting the story. But keep in mind this is not 50's Hollywood noir! People won't notice if you write a note inside matchstick box and throw it to commissioner, but they will notice paper rolled and thrown at his face.

It's getting long, may be boring as well. This movie still tops my list of Bollywood thrillers with Mahal (1949) and Gumnaam (1965).

Note: I've not seen '60s with my own eyes but in family albums, in eyes of baby boomers and in numerous books on cinema and movies itself.

[carla]

Vivek - thank you for that fantastic comment! *Jewel Thief* may well be my all-time favorite Hindi film - it's certainly in the top 5 - and I never tire of thinking about its context and symbolism.

I think of *Evening in Paris* as the apotheosis of 1960s films shot in exotic locations; in some ways it is similar to *Jewel Thief* in its fetishization of the West, but *Jewel Thief* just hangs together so much better as a film, for me.

[Darshana of Bollywhat]

!! Just yesterday I was writing a comment about the Jean Renoir film, The River, filmed in India in Technicolor in 1950, and wanting to know more about when color came to Indian cinema, as much was made (deservedly, in my opinion) of The use of color in The River.

So it's great to see this rundown of that exact topic only a day later, thank you, Vivek!!! Also to carry this further off-topic, or further into the sub-topic of Color - wasn't Shantaram's Navrang some kind of benchmark in its use of color in Hindi cinema?

[HemaAsha]

Fantastic film by Dev Anand! He truly is a legend, and the best when it comes to movies with mysterious plots.
Overall, the plot of the movie was just great. It really kept me on the edge of the seat since I didn't know who to believe in the beginning and in the middle of the film. At times I would think that a certain character was innocent, at others, some other character. Dev Anand's and Vyajayanthimala's acting/dancing truly added that extra "spark" in this film. Ashok Kumar playing the bad guy was too amazing for words.
The songs were also fantastic in this film. Numbers such as 'Aasmaan ke neeche' where Dev Anand was messing with Vyjayanthimala's head, 'Rula ke gaya sapna', a sad number from Vyjayanthimala, etc. were just superb.
Vyjayanthimala's dance in 'Hoton me aisi baat' was just wonderful. It was said that she completed the entire number in just one take.

[Ramsu]

Carla,

My dad made an interesting comment the other day. The central twist in Jewel Thief is inspired by Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Hadn't thought of it that way at all before he mentioned it. The rest of the movie is quite different, but his point is, I think, quite valid.

~r

ps: Awesome blog, by the way :)

[Paul]

Hi. I finally got around to watching Godmother with Shabana Azmi. I really thought it was great, especially the way she double crosses and uses her beauty and brains to get what she wants out of men. Do you have any other similar suggestions?