Annotated Filmography
Vamps of the late 60s to the early 80s
Theesri Manzil, dir. by Vijay Anand.,1966.
A young girl Rupa(Sabina) in love with a musician Rocky(Shammi Kapoor) supposedly commits
suicide from the third floor of the hotel on her romantic advances being rejected by Rocky. Her
sister Sunita(Asha Parekh), decides to avenge the untimely death of her sister and find Rocky.
Rocky finds out about this plan and derails Sunita by posing as Anil. They eventually fall in love.
In the meanwhile, Rocky investigates the apparent murder and assumes Rupa(Helen) a cabaret
dancer to have done the deed, as she was also in love with him and ends up getting killed by the
actual murderer while Rocky violently confronts her. In the end, he finds out that his friend, and
the owner of the hotel Kunwar Sahab(Premnath) was the real murderer. In the final duel with
Rocky, the villain chooses to die falling off the mansion and the story ends with a kind of poetic
justice. Rocky and Sunita live happily ever after.
Jewel Thief, dir. by Vijay Anand, Navketan Films.,1967.
A mysterious jewel thief has been looting valuable jewels throughout the country. As Police
Commissioner’s son Vinay(Dev Anand) gets hired by a prominent jeweller, he faces
uncomfortable situations where he is mistaken for Amar as he shares an uncanny resemblance.
Through a series of events, Amar who has not surfaced on the screen yet, turns out to be the main
suspect in the robbery. He falls in love with Amar’s fiance Shalini and becomes friends with Arjun
Singh(Ashok Kumar), Shalini’s brother. As he helps his father in the investigation of finding the
jewel thief, he encounters with various other women who Aman had affairs with: Julie(Farayal),
Neena(Anju Mahendru), and Helen(Helen). In the end, Arjun Singh turns out to be the real jewel
thief and is revealed to have fabricated “Amar”, as a ruse and a distraction so that he can continue
looting jewels. He also forces Shalini to take part in the mission by kidnapping her brother, who
was held hostage. Vinay efficiently tricks them and helps his father convict the real jewel thief,
simulatneously freeing Shalini and her brother from the clutches of the gang.
Do Raaste, dir. by Raj Khosla.,1969.
The film is based on a lower-middle class family who live peacefully until one of the brothers
Birju(Prem Chopra) marries a proud and combative woman Neela(Bindu) who creates disputes
among family members and has personal issues with everyone in the family. As Neela returns
from London, she seems to have adopted a hyper-westernized way of living which includes her
disrespectful behaviour towards elders in the family and is greedy for a posh lifestyle. Barred from
his wife from providing financial support to his family, Neela manages to divide the family further
by making Birju separate from his brothers Sathyen(Rajesh Khanna), Navendru(Balraj Sahini), his
devoted sister in-law Madhvi(Kaamini Kushal), his sister and most importantly his mother - who
is given paramount status in the family. Sathyen even breaks up his relationship with
Reena(Mumtaaz) who is incidentally Neela’s sister; due to his financial situation. In the end the
wayward son finally finds his way back to his family and realizes how cruel his wife actually is,
and unites with the family, helps them financially by paying their debts, and lives together as a
happy family.
Amar Akbar Anthony, Directed by Manmoham Desai, Hirawat Jain and co., 1977.
On the 15th of August, Kishanlal(Pran) a chauffeur who returns from jail after taking the blame of
a fatal hit and run accident committed by his boss Robert(Pran), comes home to see his family in
destitute. When he confronts the notorious smuggler about not keeping his promise of providing
for his family while he was in prison, he is humiliated by Robert and his goons. In an impulsive
attempt to kill Robert, Robert’s goons chase him to his house where Kishanlal sees his wife
Bharati(Nirupama Roy)leave the family to not bring any more financial burden concerning her
medical treatment. In the chaos Kishanlal gets separated from his three children. Kishanlal’s three
sons who were adopted by 3 men, were raised in three different religions and settings, and have
love interests from their own community, while Kishanlal, ends up taking Robert’s shoes in being
a notorious criminal himself. In the end, through the force of motherhood and in the process of
fighting against the common enemy Robert, the family is united and Kishanlal is sent back to
prison.
Don, Directed by Chandra Barot, Nariman Films., 1978.
The story begins with showing the titular character Don(Amitabh Bachchan), who is in the most
wanted list of the Interpol and is famously known to remain elusive to the police. In an attempt to
capture and incarcerate Don, the DSP(Ifthekhar) finds him to be dead. He then decides to keep this
a secret and employ Vijay, a perfect look-alike to step into Don’s shoes to uncover his operations.
Roma(Zeenat Aman) who also decides to join Don’s force with the secret motive to avenge the
murder of her brother.In the end, Vijay is trapped by the Interpol officer R.K. Malik(Om Shiv Puri)
who was undercover himself as he was actually the underworld criminal Vardaan that the Interpol
was also looking for. In finding out the truth that Vijay was in the guise of Don, Roma falls in love
with him and helps him through his mission and ultimately from the clutches of police force.
Sholay, Directed by Ramesh Sippy, United Producers Sippy Films., 1975.
A retired policeman Thakur(Sanjeev Kumar) avenges the murder of his family by a wanted
criminal Gabbar(Amjad Khan) through small-time thieves Veeru(Dharmendra) and Jai(Amitabh
Bachchan). When Veeru and Jai move into the village of Ramgarh, they get softened by the plight
of the villagers and also find their love interests, Basanti(Hema Malini) and Radha(Jaya
Bachchan). This leads them to reject the remuneration offered by Thakur and fight for the village’s
cause. In the end Jai dies heroically fighting the dacoits, Veeru carries on with the mission and
captures Gabbar, and Thakur, despite his disability, beats Gabbar to death and hands him over to
the police.
Qurbani, dir. by Feroz Khan, FK International.,1980.
The story revolves around the friendship of Rajesh(Feroz Khan) and Amar(Vinod Khanna) -- who
are both thieves and in love with the same woman, Sheela(Zeenat Aman) who is a disco club
performer. Their adoration and commitment to each other, helps them overcome obstacles
presented by the evil brother-sister duo Vikram(Shakti Kapoor) and Jwaala(Aruna Irani), who
seeks revenge against another crime boss Rakka(Amrish Puri). Sheela acts as a unifying and
dividing force in Rajesh’s and Amar’s friendship. In the end, Amar sacrifices his life to save
Rajesh, Tina(his daughter), and Sheela from getting killed by Vikram.
Dostana, dir. by Raj Khosla, Dharma Productions.,1980.
A lawyer named Ravi(Shatrugan Sinha) and a Police officer named Vijay(Amitabh Bachchan)
who are best friends from school, despite their overlapping careers; fall in love with the same girl
Sheetal(Zeenat Aman). Sheetal reciprocates feelings towards Vijay, both of them unaware of
Ravi’s ardent love for Sheetal. When Ravi discovers their relationship as Daaga, a crime boss tries
to stir up their friendship to get back at Vijay for interfering in his business, feels betrayed and
becomes allies with Daaga to take down Vijay. Vijay has a secret informer Tony(Pran) who was
helping him take down Daaga, as he killed his wife and paralysed his son. Sylvia(Helen) who
poses to be Daaga’s confidante and gang member is actually aiding in exposing Daaga and his also
Tony’s sister in-law. In the end, Ravi realises that this was a set up by Daaga and reunites with
Vijay. The both of them fight against Daaga, and in an effort to kill Vijay, Daaga shoots himself
and dies.
Karz, dir. by Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts Ltd., 1980.
The film begins with Ravi Verma(Raj Kiran) who wins a legal battle against Sir Judah who tried
to inherit Ravi’s father’s wealth and property after his death. Sir Judah appoints Kaamini(Simi
Garewal) to be Ravi’s lover and directs her to marry him. Kaamini murders Ravi on their way back
to Ravi’s home so that she can legally inherit her husband's properties. Years later, Monty
Oberoi(Rishi Kapoor) an orphaned singer is mistreated by his producer and father figure, longs for
a motherly affection. He goes to Ooty in pursuit of a girl he is in love with, and has episodes where
he has visuals of Ravi’s past-- realises that he is the reincarnation of Ravi Verma. He then decides
to find his family and seek revenge against Kaamini by pretending to fall in love with her. In the
end he reveals who he truly is and finally records her confession to Ravi’s murder and regains his
properties back, where he brings back his destitute mother and sister. Finally back in his own
home, and having a family that he has always dreamed of, with the love of his life, he lives happily
ever after.