Jewel Thief is a 1967 Indian Hindi -language spy thriller film directed by the genius Vijay Anand. It’s his direction, the terrific plot and clever screenplay that make Jewel Thief work. The film was produced by Dev Anand’s production house, Navketan Films. The film revolves around a jewellery expert (Dev Anand), as he and the police  attempt to capture a notorious jewel thief, but in the process, their true identities get thoroughly muddled. A Police Commissioner’s son comes under suspicion for being a jewel thief.

A mysterious jewel thief has been looting valuable gems throughout the country. As the daring crimes grab headlines, the Pilice Commissioner of Bombay  mentions that the thief is currently operating in his jurisdiction. He vows to resign if he fails to catch the criminal by January 26.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner’s son Vinay (Dev Anand) is hired by prominent jeweller Vishambhar Nath, who values his skill with jewels highly. In the course of his work, Vinay grows close to Vishambhar’s daughter Anjali (Tanuja). At a party hosted by Anjali, Vishambhar’s childhood friend Arjun (Ashok Kumar) and Arjun’s sister, Shalini (Vyjayantimala), mistake Vinay to be Shalini’s fiance, Amar. Both of them soon realise the mistake, but Arjun notes Vinay’s uncanny similarity to Amar. Nevertheless, Shalini and Vinay strike a friendship, that develops into romance. Shalini’s engagement ring is identified as a previously stolen piece of jewellery, and the Commissioner suspects that Amar might actually be the elusive jewel thief.

At Vishambhar’s shop, all the jewellery in a concealed storeroom gets stolen. He believes that the man he had left in charge was Vinay, although the real Vinay was with Anjali. The police believe the impersonator was Amar. A small-time thief gets caught at the shop and divulges information about Amar’s associate, Helen. Vinay agrees to help the police by impersonating Amar and goes to meet Helen. He tricks her and learns that the real Amar is going to Pune. There, Vinay meets other members of Amar’s gang, including Julie, Amar’s wife. The gang fly to Calcutta and pulls off another jewellery heist. Arjun and Vinay learn from Julie, who has realised that Vinay is only masquerading as her husband, that Amar has left for Gangtok, Kingdom of Sikkim.

Vinay visits Gangtok and meets another Amar associate, Neena. He promises to help her escape the gang in return for information. Neena, however, gets Vinay captured by luring him into the gang’s safehouse. The gang’s real leader is revealed to be Arjun, who is the jewel thief. No person named Amar ever existed; the identity was created to baffle the police and deflect any attention away from Arjun. Vishambhar Nath was part of this carefully planned scheme, too, while Shalini had assisted the gang to secure the release of her kidnapped brother, Shishu. When she approaches Arjun for Shishu’s release, she gets locked up with him in the safe house. Having discovered secret passages under the building, Shalini rescues Vinay and explains the situation to him. The three try to flee but are recaptured. Vinay is administered electric shocks to wipe out his memory. The gang then make Vinay believe that ‘jewel thief Amar’ is his real identity. Their plan is to stage a fake heist of the Sikkimese crown jewels and let ‘Amar’ take the blame. The police will be manipulated into shooting ‘Amar’ dead, forever lifting suspicion from the actual criminals. Since Shalini is a well-known dancer in the royal court, she is to facilitate the gang’s entry disguised as a dance troupe. ‘Amar’ dies according to plan, and the gang celebrates. Vinay, however, had merely been acting; he had secretly warned the police about the gang’s plan beforehand. Anjali, who has discovered her father’s criminal involvement, has got in touch with the police too. The police surround the safehouse and Vinay corners Arjun, but he manages to escape. Vinay follows Arjun to his plane, but the latter threatens to shoot him. Anjali, though, has already removed the bullets in the gun, and the Commissioner appears to announce that the entire gang has been arrested, before January 26 as promised.

The first Hindi movie to be shot in picturesque Sikkim, Jewel Thief is aided by smart and witty writing. The film’s complex tale is meticulously plotted, as are the various twists and turns that appear credible despite obvious contrivances. Jewel Thief is also extremely well crafted and nicely paced, and keeps the suspense going for a good part of its running length of around three hours. While undoubtedly a technically slick production in the mould of Hollywood, it manages to not seamlessly incorporate and even elevate the necessary elements of Indian mainstream cinema into its narrative flow.

The casting of Ashok Kumar is the film’s masterstroke even if it is not one of the veteran’s more memorable acts. Dev Anand is his usual charming and stylish self, while Vyjayanthimala is fine enough as the damsel-in-distress who has her own baggage to deal with. Helen, Faryal and Anju Mahendru effectively do their bits as molls, adding significantly to the eye candy value. The heist thriller’s undisputed scene-stealer, even in a disappointingly underdeveloped role, is a lively and spunky Tanuja, who also nurtures a soft spot for Vinay.

Vijay Anand was known for his song shooting skills, and Jewel Thief sees the director in sublime form. Each of the songs is wonderfully filmed and bears Anand’s individual stamp. Amongst them, the highlight is Hothon Pe Aisi Baat, the show-stopping performance by Vyjayanathimala and other dancers for the crown prince of Sikkim. The sequence is an excuse for a distraction as the jewel thief’s main aim is to steal the prince’s bejewelled crown. Song is a remarkable achievement for the time, with its long takes involving complex character and camera movements, dynamic tracking and panning shots, and a fine use of the foreground and background space within the frame, all without compromising on the emotional aspect of the narrative. A special nod must go to director of photography V Ratra for the remarkably fluid camerawork in a challenging situation.

In one of the film’s best moments, Tanuja playfully attempts to seduce him with the song, Raat Akeli Hai.

Jewel Thief, right from the opening, even before any of the characters has a chance to say any dialogue, the story via the helpful newspaper cuttings that introduce the universe of this film in just a few frames. Every visual that has meaning, and Vijay establishes right from the start that nothing exists just for the sake of it, not even the seemingly frivolous songs. Vinay, played by Dev Anand, but random strangers keep identifying him as Amar. He brushes it off as an accident but the frequency just keeps increasing until the pivotal scene of the first act.

The film became a box office hit. J M Barot received the Filmfare Best Sound Award, while Tanuja  received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The success of Jewel Thief, the film was screened in many film festivals. In August 2008, the film was screened along with three other films by Dev Anand at the Government Museum Auditorium for the Chandigarh Film Festival.  The film was also screened by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India  on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of  Navketan Films. On 1 August 2009, Jewel Thief was premiered at Regal Cinema, Mumbai.  The premier was attended by Dev Anand.

Photos courtesy Google. Excerpts taken from Google.