This was the only Bollywood film that English actor Sir Rex Harrison and American actors John Saxon and Sylvia Miles appeared in.[5] This was the last time that Mohammed Rafi's voice was picturized on Shammi Kapoor.[6] Its English version is known as Raiders of the Sacred Stone. Rex Harrison's voice was dubbed by Kader Khan. The plot is inspired by the novel The Vulture is a Patient Bird by James Hadley Chase, with Dharmendra playing the lead role based on Max Kahlenberg, the central character of the book. The film's script was novelized by Manohar Malgonkar. Shalimar is the most expensive movie ever made in India.[7] The English version of the movie was released in the United States titled as the Raiders of the Sacred Stone. It has been marketed on DVD under the name The Deadly Thief.
Adjusted to the inflation, it is the most expensive Hindi film made in India so far.[8]
Plot
On the run from the police, a thief named S. S. Kumar stumbles upon a private invitation addressed to Raja Bahadur Singh for a gathering on the island of Sir John Locksley. Kumar steals the invitation after witnessing the Raja get shot. Kumar takes the Raja to a hospital, disguises himself by wearing a Sikhturban, and poses as the Raja's son, Bahadur Singh, Jr., to gain entry to the exclusive event.
When he arrives, Kumar finds that the other invitees are also notorious criminals and thieves, including a mute man named Colonel Columbus,[9] an acrobat named Countess Sylvia Rasmussen, a follower of all world religions named Dr. Dubari and a lothario named K.P.W. Iyengar (also known as Romeo). His disguise doesn't fool anyone, especially his former sweetheart and fiancée, Sheila Enders, who now works for Sir John.[10]
Even though the real Bahadur Singh, Jr., shows up at his father's hospital bedside, Sir John permits Kumar to stay because he feels that Kumar's amateur career is consistent with the other criminals he has invited. The reason John has invited them is to find a worthy successor, as he's dying of cancer. He feels that one of his invitees can be trusted to take his place and has arranged for them to steal the Shalimar diamond, which is worth 135 crores of rupees, as a test. The gem is located in a secure, alarmed room within his palace, guarded by armed men and surrounded by a minefield. The challenge has high stakes: if anyone fails to steal the gem, the security system will kill them.
Colonel Columbus is the first one to die while trying to steal the Shalimar. To the disbelief of the others, Kumar claims that the mute Columbus screamed before he died. Countess Rasmussen tries to steal the diamond next but is also killed in the process. Dr. Dubari is also shown to die while trying to steal the Shalimar, but it is later revealed that he survived. Romeo withdraws from the competition but is then killed by Sir John. Sir John reveals that he is not handicapped and that he faked the cancer to lure the criminals into a deadly game, believing they would try to steal the gem from him anyway.
Kumar attempts to steal the Shalimar and succeeds. Just as he does, the leaders of a local tribe kill Sir John, who had promised them the gem. It's then revealed that Kumar is not a thief but an elite CBI officer on a special mission to arrest the master criminals. The story concludes with Kumar and Sheila getting married.
Release
The film was released in two versions; Hindi and in English (titled as Raiders of the Sacred Stone) for the USA release.[11]
The music of this movie was given by the legendary music composer R. D. Burman while Anand Bakshi penned the lyrics. "Hum Bewafaa Hargiz Na The" [12] sung by Kishore Kumar is an evergreen song of this album.
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