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China Town

1962 151’ b&w Hindi d/p Shakti Samanta pc Shakti Films s Ranjan Bose dial Vrajendra Gaud lyr Majrooh Sultanpuri c Dwarka Divecha m Ravi lp Shammi Kapoor, Shakila, Helen, Madan Puri, S.N. Bannerjee, Mridula, Jeevankala, Gautam Mukherjee, Kanu Roy

Crime movie with ‘Far Eastern’ atmosphere following on from Samanta’s Howrah Bridge (1958) and Singapore (1960). It is set in a township outside Calcutta inhabited by Chinese refugees from WW2, with smoke-filled bars, cabarets, criminals stalking the streets and skulking in alleys and gangland businessmen sporting fat cigars. Kapoor plays a double role of twins separated at birth who meet again as Shekhar, a cabaret entertainer in love with the aristocratic millionairess Rita, and Mike, the gangster. The police use the resemblance to get Shekhar to impersonate Mike in order to track down the gang boss. Only the shoemaker Ching Lee is wise to the substitution. Kapoor’s imitation of Presley is most visible in the hit number Bar bar dekho, sung by Mohammed Rafi.

Film