China Town (1962 film)

This article is about the 1962 Hindi film. For the 2011 Malayalam film, see China Town (2011 film).

China Town
Directed by	Shakti Samanta
Produced by	Shakti Samanta
Written by	Ranjan Bose Vrajendra Gaur Salil Sen Gupta
Starring	Shammi Kapoor Shakila Helen
Music by	Ravi
Cinematography	Dwarka Divecha
Editing by	Dharamvir
Running time	138 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

China Town is a 1962 Hindi film directed by Shakti Samanta, under Shakti Films. Written by Ranjan Bose and 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 became a "semi-hit" at the box-office.^[1] The film was remade in Tamil as Kudiyiruntha Kovil starring M. G. Ramachandran, and in Telugu as Bhale Thammudu (1969) starring N. T. Rama Rao. The film Don (1978), starring Amitabh Bachchan, is believed to have borrowed some of its plot elements from this film.^[2] Don itself went on to inspire many later films about a lookalike working as an undercover agent impersonating a gangster.

Plot

Shekhar (Shammi Kapoor), a young singer, lives in Darjeeling with his widowed mother. He is in love with Rita (Shakila), the only daughter of the wealthy Rai Bahadur Digamberprasad Rai. Rai does not approve of Shekhar and wants his daughter to marry a wealthy Calcutta-based businessman named Chowdhry. Rita asks Shekhar to get a better position, but Shekhar is quite satisfied with his singing career. So Rita and her father relocate to Calcutta, and Shekhar follows them. An enraged Rai complains to the police, who arrest Shekhar and hold him for questioning. However, the police notice his resemblance to a China Town gangster named Mike (also played by Shammi Kapoor) who they are holding in custody. Because Mike refuses to talk, the police convince Shekhar to impersonate him in order to infiltrate the Chinatown criminal ring. Meanwhile, Shekhar's mother reveals to him that Mike may be his long-lost brother, kidnapped by gangsters as boy. Shekhar accordingly takes over Mike's life, but there is one thing he and the police overlooked - namely Mike - who escapes from police custody with the help of Rita who mistakes him for Shekhar. The gangsters discover Shekhar's true identity and his life is only spared after he tells Mike his true background and the two brothers capture the gang's leader. As a result, Shekhar gets a permanent police job that allows him to marry Rita and Mike receives a reduced sentence of three years.

Cast

• Shammi Kapoor as Mike / Shekhar
• Shakila as Rita D. Rai
• Helen as Suzie
• Madan Puri as Joseph Wong
• S.N. Banerjee as Rai Bahadur Digamberprasad Rai (as S.N. Bannerji)
• Kanu Roy as Usman
• Mridula Rani as Shekhar's Mother
• Jeevankala as Shanti - Shekhar's mom
• Rashid Khan as Sundaram - Mahakali's husband
• M.B. Shetty as Ching Lee
• Keshav
• Tun Tun as Mahakali - Hotel landlady
• Gautam Mukherjee
• Samson
• Keshto Mukherjee as Keshto

Soundtrack

Alike the movie the soundtrack also didn't have that a grand impact on the Indian Populace, but some selective songs from the albums were declared hits and a track by the name of Bar Bar Dekho by the ever-magnanimus Rafi Sahab went onto to become a classic, which is remembered and hummed still to date. The Music of the film was by Ravi and the lyrics were penned by veteran Majrooh Sultanpuri. Almost all the songs were rendered by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle. In the movie, song "Yamma Yamma Yamma" and "Kya teri Mehfil Hai Sanam" is combined into one song and the lyrics of the latter is slightly altered.

No.	Name	Singer(s)
01	Bardha Qatil Hai	Mohammed Rafi & Asha Bhosle
02	Dekho Ji Ek Bala Jogi	Mohammed Rafi & Minoo Purshuttom
03	Yeh Rang Na Chutega	Mohammed Rafi & Asha Bhosle
04	Kya teri Mehfil Hai Sanam	Mohammed Rafi & Asha Bhosle
05	Hamse Na Pucho Ke Ham Kya Kar Gaye	Mohammed Rafi & Asha Bhosle
06	Bar Bar Dekho	Mohammed Rafi
07	Bar Bar Dekho (Revival)	Mohammed Rafi
08	Chinatown	Asha Bhosle
09	Thandi Baharon Se	Asha Bhosle
10	Yamma Yamma Yamma	Asha Bhosle

References

1. ^ BoxOffice India.com
2. ^ CineGoer.com - Nostalgia - Bhale Thammudu

External links

• China Town (1962 film) at the Internet Movie Database