An Evening in Paris

Last updated

An Evening in Paris
An Evening in Paris (1967 film).jpg
Directed by Shakti Samanta
Written by Sachin Bhowmick
Ramesh Pant
Screenplay by Sachin Bhowmick
Story by Sachin Bhowmick
Produced by Shakti Samanta
Starring Shammi Kapoor
Sharmila Tagore
Cinematography V. Gopi Krishna
Edited byGovind Dalwadi
Music by Shankar-Jaikishan
Production
company
Shakti Films
Release date
  • 1967 (1967)
Running time
168 mins
Country India
Language Hindi
Box office15 million (US$180,000) [1]

An Evening In Paris (Hindi: Paris Ki Ek Shaam) is a 1967 Indian romantic thriller film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, with story by Sachin Bhowmick. It revolves in the French capital city of Paris. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore (in a double role), along with Pran, K. N. Singh as the villains, Rajendranath in the comic subplot.

Contents

Plot

After being unsuccessful in finding her true love in her own country, India, the rich Deepa (Sharmila Tagore) goes to Paris, France in search of it. Her father's secretary already lives there, so to take care of her in the unknown country, her father informs him and also hires an assistant, Honey, and a driver, Makhan Singh (Rajendra Nath). On one of her outings, Deepa meets Shyam/Sam (Shammi Kapoor), who immediately falls in love with her and begins to follow her around. After some initial resistance, Deepa eventually gives in to his charms.

Meanwhile, Deepa's father's secretary's son, Shekhar (Pran) needs money to clear his gambling debts. Knowing that Deepa is rich, he plans to marry her. Jack, a gangster to whom he owes the money, threatens him that he should repay the debts at the earliest. Shekhar tells him that he will do so soon by marrying a rich girl, Deepa. However, since Deepa does not love him, she refuses, telling him that she only loves Sam.

When Jack sees Deepa, he is taken aback and mistakes her to be someone he knows. But Deepa remains clueless. Jack then takes Shekhar to his casino/ hotel, where they see a girl who is identical to Deepa. Her name is Suzy (Sharmila Tagore), a club dancer in the same casino.

Shekhar, angry at Deepa, hatches a plan. He approaches Suzy and convinces her to be a part of his plan by offering her a huge amount of money. He takes Suzy with him and shows her Deepa with Sam, so that she can learn her mannerisms. When Jack kidnaps the real Deepa, Shekhar puts Suzy in her place at her home. Due to this replacement, initially, nobody finds out about Deepa's kidnapping. Suzy pretends to be Deepa and goes out with Sam. Eventually, Sam starts to notice the difference. He get suspicious when he notices Suzy (pretending to be Deepa) smoking and drinking.

Deepa's father learns of Deepa's kidnapping and flies to Paris. He and Sam discover that Suzy is Deepa's lost twin sister, who had been kidnapped when she was very young and her real name is Roopa. Deepa's father is overjoyed that he has found his daughter, but Suzy refuses to accept herself as his daughter.

Sam follows Suzy to find the whereabouts of Deepa. Suzy puts a condition that Sam has to marry her before she will tell him about Deepa. She has fallen in love with him while pretending to be Deepa. Sam refuses, saying that he only loves Deepa. This angers Suzy at first, but later she realises that she should not come between her sister and her love.

Jaggu, now working for Jack, who has also been an ex-employee of Deepa's father, goes to see him asking for ransom to release his daughter. Deepa's father agrees, but Sam knocks him unconscious, before which he tells them to go to a certain place with the ransom money. Shekhar overhears this conversation.

As the story climaxes, Suzy arrives with Jack at his hideout where he has kept Deepa to show her the resemblance and leaves them alone for a while to take care of some chores. Suzy then reveals to Deepa that she is her lost twin sister. Despite her refusal, she convinces Deepa to switch places and escape.

Sam and Shekhar go separately to Niagara Falls to ransom Deepa. Shekhar arrives at the secret hideout first. At the same time, one of Jack's men informs him about Sam's arrival. When Jack confronts him, Shekhar kills him and the real Deepa (pretending to be Suzy) escapes just before that. Shekhar then collects Suzy thinking she is Deepa. He learns that she is actually Suzy when she sees Sam and yells a warning that Deepa has escaped and is waiting for him at Jack's Boat. Angered, Shekhar shoots Suzy and tries to shoot Sam. Sam escapes, and just before following Shekhar, he tells Makan Singh to go and help the injured Suzy. Shekhar reaches the boat where Deepa is waiting for Sam and drives off with her. Sam also reaches just after Shekhar drives off. He jumps in the boat from a helicopter and beats Shekhar up. Sam throws him overboard, where he floats over the waterfall. Deepa and Sam escape to a small rock in the middle of waterfall from where they are rescued by the helicopter.

The movie closes with Sam and Deepa hanging to the ladder of the helicopter with a song (Aasmaan Se Aya Farishta) playing in the background.

Cast

Soundtrack

An Evening in Paris
An Eve In Paris.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Released1967
Genre Film soundtrack
Language Hindi
Label Saregama

The music was composed by Shankar–Jaikishan, with lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri.

SongSinger
"An Evening In Paris" Mohammed Rafi
"Deewane Ka Naam" Mohammed Rafi
"Hoga Tumse Kal Bhi" Mohammed Rafi
"Akele Akele Kahan Ja Rahe" Mohammed Rafi
"Aasman Se Aaya Farishta" Mohammed Rafi
"Jab Se Humne Dil Badle" Mohammed Rafi
"Raat Ke Humsafar Thakke Ghar Ko Chale" Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
"Zuby Zuby Zalembu" Asha Bhosle
"Le Ja Le Ja Le Ja Mera Dil" Sharda

Cultural impact

Sharmila Tagore's appearance in a bikini in An Evening in Paris set off a cultural wave in India [2] and the film's claim of the first bikini appearance of an Indian actress remains one of its most notable aspects. [3] She also posed in a bikini for the glossy Filmfare magazine. [4] The costume shocked the conservative Indian audience, [5] [6] and set a trend of bikini-clad actresses carried forward by Parveen Babi (in Yeh Nazdeekiyan (1982)), [7] Zeenat Aman (in Heera Panna (1973), Qurbani (1980) [7] ) and Dimple Kapadia (in Bobby (1973)). [7] [8] Wearing a bikini put her name in the Indian press as one of Bollywood's ten hottest actresses of all time, [9] The move was a transgression of female identity through a reversal of the state of modesty, which functions as a signifier of femininity in Bombay films. [10] But, when Tagore was the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, she expressed concerns about the rise of the bikini in Indian films. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shammi Kapoor</span> Indian film actor (1931–2011)

Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. Kapoor is considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, Kapoor worked in over 100 films. He is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards, including one for Best Actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O. P. Nayyar</span> Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician

Omkar Prasad Nayyar was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film industry. He won the 1958 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Naya Daur. Nayyar worked extensively with singers Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi, though not with leading Bollywood female singer Lata Mangeshkar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharmila Tagore</span> Indian actress (born 1944)

Sharmila Tagore also known by her married name as Begum Ayesha Sultana is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali films. Regarded among the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Tagore is a recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to Hindi cinema. In 2013, the Government of India, honoured her with Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour for her contributions to Indian culture through performing arts.

<i>Purab Aur Paschim</i> 1970 Indian film

Purab Aur Pachhim is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language drama film. The movie was produced and directed by Manoj Kumar, and it stars Manoj Kumar, Saira Banu, Ashok Kumar, Pran and Prem Chopra in the lead roles. The music is by Kalyanji Anandji. The 2007 film Namastey London is inspired from this film. This was the second film by Manoj Kumar where he stars as Bharat and one of his four films on patriotism

<i>Amar Prem</i> 1972 romantic drama film by Shakti Samanta

Amar Prem is a 1972 Indian Hindi romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta. It is a remake of the Bengali film Nishi Padma (1970), directed by Arabinda Mukherjee, who wrote screenplay for both the films based on the Bengali short story Hinger Kochuri by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. The film portrays the decline of human values and relationships and contrasts it by presenting an illustrious example of a boy's innocent love for a neighbourhood tawaif (courtesan). The movie is about a school boy, who is ill-treated by his step mother, and becomes friends with a courtesan neighbour. The film stars Sharmila Tagore playing a hooker with a heart of gold, with Rajesh Khanna in the role of a lonely businessman and Vinod Mehra as adult Nandu, the young child, who they both come to care for.

<i>Desh Premee</i> 1982 Indian film

Desh Premee is a 1982 Hindi action film directed by Manmohan Desai, starring Amitabh Bachchan in a dual role alongside Hema Malini, Sharmila Tagore, Navin Nischol, Parveen Babi, Uttam Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Premnath, Parikshit Sahni, Amjad Khan and Gita Siddharth. The film has musical score by Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

<i>Hum</i> (film) 1991 Indian film

Hum (transl. We) is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Mukul S. Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Govinda, Kimi Katkar, Deepa Sahi, Shilpa Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher and Kader Khan. At the 37th Filmfare Awards, the film received 7 nominations and won 4 awards including Best Actor for Bachchan and Best Choreographer for Chinni Prakash for the song "Jumma Chumma De De". The film was the second highest-grossing Indian film of 1991 at the box office. The film was an inspiration for the cult hit Tamil film Baashha (1995).

<i>Kashmir Ki Kali</i> 1964 film by Shakti Samanta

Kashmir Ki Kali is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore in her Hindi movie debut role, Pran, Dhumal, Nazir Hussain and Anoop Kumar. The music was composed by O.P. Nayyar and the lyrics penned by S.H. Bihari. It became the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year and was declared a hit at the box office. The film was remade in Telugu as Srungara Ramudu.

<i>Love in Tokyo</i> 1966 Indian film

Love In Tokyo is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed and produced by Pramod Chakravorty. The film was a hit at the box office.

<i>Brahmachari</i> (1968 Hindi film) 1968 Indian film

Brahmachari (transl. Celibate) is a 1968 Indian film. Written by Sachin Bhowmick, it is a G. P. and Ramesh Sippy production directed by Bhappi Sonie. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Rajshree, Pran, Mumtaz, Jagdeep, Sachin and Asit Sen. The music was by Shankar Jaikishan. The film became a box office Super Hit and won several awards, including Filmfare Best Movie Award.

<i>Sandwich</i> (2006 film) 2006 Indian film

Sandwich : Double Trouble is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language comedy film starring Govinda in a dual role opposite Raveena Tandon and Mahima Chaudhry. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee. This film was completed in 2003 but was delayed for three years and finally released in 2006. The movie was remade in Kannada as Double Decker in 2011 starring Jaggesh. Earlier the title of the movie was "Hum Do Hamara Ek." Due to a delay in releasing, the movie's title was changed to "Sandwich." It received mixed reviews, who appreciated the performance of Govinda, but it got criticised for writing, screenplay, cliched story and VFX, this film was a box office failure.

<i>China Town</i> (1962 film) 1962 film

China Town is a 1962 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy thriller film directed and produced by Shakti Samanta. Written by Ranjan Bose and with music by Ravi. It is a black-and-white movie, starring Shammi Kapoor in a double role, as a gangster and his look-alike. Shakila is the leading lady, alongside Helen in a supporting role. The film was remade in Tamil as Kudiyirundha Koyil (1968), starring M. G. Ramachandran and in Telugu as Bhale Thammudu (1969), starring N. T. Rama Rao. Prem Nazir 1981 Malayalam movie Theekkali was also loosely based on this movie.

<i>Coolie No. 1</i> (1995 film) 1995 film directed by David Dhawan

Coolie No. 1 is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language comedy masala film, directed by David Dhawan, and written by Rumi Jaffery and Kader Khan. The film stars Govinda, Karisma Kapoor, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Harish Kumar, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Mahesh Anand, with music by Anand–Milind. The film is a remake of the Tamil film Chinna Mapillai (1993).

Ek Se Bhale Do is a 1985 Indian Bollywood film directed by S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Kumar Gaurav, Rati Agnihotri, Sharmila Tagore, Amjad Khan in pivotal roles. The title "Ek Se Bhale Do" is a Hindi phrase that translates as "two is better than one".

<i>Sachaai</i> Indian film

Sachaai is a 1969 Indian Bollywood film directed by K. Shankar and produced by M. C. Ramamurthy, nephew of M. G. Ramachandran. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Sadhana, Sanjeev Kumar in pivotal roles, with Pran, Johnny Walker, Helen in other important roles. This is remake of Tamil film Pandhayam.

<i>Door-Desh</i> 1983 film directed by Ambrish Sangal

Gehri Chot, also released as Door-Desh, is a 1983 Indian-Canadian Hindi-language crime-drama film directed by Ambrish Sangal, starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore in the lead roles with Raj Babbar, Parveen Babi, David Abraham, Nadeem Baig, and Bobita in supporting roles. This was both Pakistani actor Nadeem and Bangladeshi actress Bobita's only appearance in a Bollywood film. This was also the last time veteran actor David Abraham appeared in a movie, filmed shortly before his death in 1982.

<i>Imaandaar</i> 1987 Indian film

Imaandaar is a 1987 Indian Bollywood action crime drama film directed by Sushil Malik and produced by Surendra Pal Choudhary and Mrs. Sarla Sandhu. The film stars Sanjay Dutt, Farah in lead roles, along with Rohan Kapoor, Ranjeet, Mehmood, Pran, Om Prakash in supporting roles.

Maa Beti is a 1986 Indian Family drama film starring Bollywood actors Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Tanuja, Meenakshi Sheshadri in the lead roles.

<i>Izzat</i> (1968 film) 1968 Indian Hindi-language film by T. Prakash Rao

Izzat (transl. Respect) is a 1968 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao. It stars Dharmendra, Tanuja and Jayalalithaa. It was the latter's only Bollywood film as an actress, previously been featured in a Hindi song in Man-Mauji (1962).

Hum To Chale Pardes is a Bollywood family-drama film released in 1988. The film was directed by Ravindra Peepat and written by Anees Bazmee. The musical score was done by Vijay Singh. Starring Rajiv Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Anju Mahendru, Mandakini, Kulbhushan Kharbanda in leading roles, the film explores a father's unfathomable love for his only daughter and the insensitivity of the mother-in-law to the motherless girl. Sharmila Tagore and Asha Parekh had given guest appearance in the film.

References

  1. "Being Sharmila, all through life", The Hindu, 3 April 2006
  2. Lalit Mohan Joshi & Gulzar, Derek Malcolm, Bollywood, page 20, Lucky Dissanayake, 2002, ISBN   0-9537032-2-3
  3. B. K. Karanjia, Blundering in Wonderland, page 18, Vikas Publishing House, 1990, ISBN   0-7069-4961-7
  4. Various writers, Rashtriya Sahara, page 28, Sahara India Mass Communication, 2002
  5. Manjima Bhattacharjya, "Why the bikini is badnaam", Times of India, 25 November 2007
  6. 1 2 3 Avijit Ghosh, "Bollywood's unfinished revolution", The Times of India, 2 July 2006
  7. Stuff Reporter, "That itsy bitsy thing Archived 12 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine ", Times of India, 16 June 2006
  8. Subhash K Jha, "Bollywood's 10 hottest actresses of all time, Times of India, 19 January 2003
  9. Sumita S. Chakravarty, National Identity in Indian Popular Cinema, 1947–1987, page 321, University of Texas Press, 1993, ISBN   0-292-75551-1
  10. Preeti Mudliar, "Without Cuts Archived 13 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine ", Pune Newsline, 11 April 2005