Chhaayaageet #167 - "I don't need any rehearsals."

Call time on set is 11am. It is now 11am. All the actors and unit members are present. This is the first day of the shoot. But the film's heroine is nowhere to be seen. One of the senior actors has a strict schedule due to health issues. He has already stipulated to the filmmaker that he will report on set at 11am sharp. At 1pm sharp there will be a one-hour lunch break. And it will be pack up at 5pm sharp. The filmmaker is aware of strict adherence to these timings.

The heroine is in her makeup room. Why is she not out on set when everyone else is? She should be ready and on set by now. The filmmaker turns to his assistant, "I want you to go check on her every 15 minutes and tell her she is needed on the set." The assistant follows the instruction dutifully, going to the makeup room every 15 minutes, and each time coming back with the response, "Madam is not ready."

At 12:30pm, he comes back with a different message, "Madam doesn't want to be disturbed. She will come when she is ready."

At 10 minutes to 1, the heroine strolls merrily onto the set. In a cute sweet voice, she asks, "Am I late?"

The filmmaker is furious. He calls for a lunch break. Now the heroine is furious. "Every 15 minutes your assistant comes in to badger me. Now that I am here, you announce a lunch break?"

The filmmaker is in no mood to engage further. "Our senior most artiste is not a healthy person. We have to follow a strict schedule. You have to be on set early", saying this he storms away.

The heroine doesn't forget the slight in front of the whole crew. So this is how it is going to be. The entire film shoot proceeds under an air of tension with the unit bracing for an explosion. Luckily they don't get one. The heroine does make sure she shows up at the appointed call time on set, but there is no rapport whatsoever between the filmmaker and his leading lady.

Now one last song remains to be filmed. It is an elaborate dance sequence. "I want you to come in for a rehearsal", the filmmaker tells the heroine, informing her of a date and time to meet with the choreographer, and a large contingent of backup dancers.

A large and beautifully decorated set has been put up for this dance song. On the appointed day of the rehearsal, the entire unit is ready. The heroine is a no-show. They wait and the filmmaker calls pack up.

"Why didn't you come for the rehearsal?", the filmmaker asks her.

"I don't need any rehearsals", she replies with an air.

"Yes you do", he insists. She pretends to not hear this. Another rehearsal is set up. She blows off that too.

She is a busy actress and she has given only so many dates to this film. One of those dates is the actual shoot of the song. And finally that day arrives. The filmmaker's insistence that she rehearse is met with her defiance that she doesn't need to.

Finally, it is that day when they are going to film the song. Nobody knows how. The heroine arrives on set punctually at the appointed time.

"You need to rehearse", the filmmaker has not given up on his demand.

"No, I don't", she is equally adamant.

The filmmaker is furious. He calls pack up. He turns to the heroine, "I want you to stay back with the assistants and practice."

Now she is furious. She pretends to do something for 15 minutes that may be very loosely termed as a rehearsal. She informs the assistants that the choreographer is going to come to her place and she will rehearse with him there, and storms out to her car. The choreographer likely doesn't know this is the plan. This so-called rehearsal at her place never takes place.

Another date is fixed for the shoot. On the day, everyone shows up on time. It is a long elaborate dance sequence with a lot of backup dancers. The filmmaker tells everyone he is going to take long and continuous shots. Everyone better be perfect. He doesn't want to do retakes and waste film. He hopes the heroine has heard him. It is meant for her ears, more than anyone else's.

The heroine executes the dance steps flawlessly and the song is canned in one take.

Vyjayanthimala rocked the dance of the 8 minute long song Hoton mein aisi baat in Jewel Thief (1967), directed by Vijay Anand, aka Goldie, produced by Dev Anand, who also played the hero. Ashok Kumar played the title role of the jewel thief. The song is given playback by Lata Mangeshkar and Bhupinder Singh, who sings the refrain of the song and then "O Shalu" in the middle, as playback for Dev Anand. Music is by SD Burman, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The elaborate dance is choreographed by B Sohanlal.

Upon seeing the beautiful and lavish set, Dev Anand informed Goldie that he also wanted to be a part of the song. Goldie told him, "There is nothing for you to do. You are not a dancer." But Dev Anand insisted. So Goldie put a dholak around his neck and asked him to beat it and float around in the dance. SD Burman da then asked Bhupinder Singh to sing a few pieces.

Goldie masterfully shot this song in many long sequences, and Vyjayanthimala executed her steps in these long shots perfectly. In the song, Burman da has utilized a variety of percussion instruments, such as duggi, Bangla dhol, tabla, Burmese dhol. Instruments were specially brought from Northeastern India. A live orchestra of over 60 musicians performed the song live during the recording, and the long number was recorded in a single take. This is only possible when each instrumentalist is a maestro in their own right.

The film became a hit, and is regarded as one of the best thrillers of Hindi cinema, with very high repeat viewing value despite people knowing the climax. The film has terrific direction, a clever plot and screenplay. It also started the trend of having a song sequence before the climax. Some popular climax songs are "Anhoni ko honi kar de" from Amar Akbar Anthony, "Rang jamake aaye hain" from Naseeb, and others.

JM Barot won the Filmfare Award for Best Sound. Tanuja was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Music: SD Burman
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Bhupinder Singh
*ing: Vyjayanthimala, Dev Anand
Choreographer: B Sohanlal
Director: Vijay Anand
Producer: Dev Anand
Film: Jewel Thief (1967)