Jewel Thief is a good example of a Bollywood formula film containing a variety of musical elements.

by qtpie (student)

Often we see in Bollywood movies that the main character plays a double role. This has become a common theme throughout numerous Bollywood movies, in which good and evil are shown through the same actor while playing two different roles. In the 1960’s formula movie, Jewel Thief, Dev Anand plays the double role of Vinay and Prince Amar. The music director of this movie is S.D. Burman. The story revolves around Vinay and his resemblance to the famous jewel thief Prince Amar. Vinay is a young, happy-go lucky man who has an interest in the business of jewels and valuable stones. Unlike his father, he does not have any interest in joining the Police force but would rather spend his time observing jewellery. He soon gets a job at a Jewellery store which is owned by Seth. Vishamber Nath. During the time he is there, he catches the eye of Nath’s daughter, Anju, who eventually falls head over heels for him. Soon after, he is accused of lying about his true identity and that he is really the notorious jewel thief, Prince Amar. A man named Arjun Singh and his supposed sister, who goes by the name of ‘Shalu’ accuse Vinay of hiding the fact that he is Amar, who also happens to be Amar’s fiancée. Vinay proves that he is not Amar by showing a mark of recognition on his body, but even after his supposed look-alike, Amar, is still causing trouble for Vinay. Through a series of events it is revealed that the true jewel thief is none other than Arjun Singh, who also constructed this whole master plan. He traps Vinay and gives him an electric shock, which he believes will make Vinay think he is Amar. However, it is revealed that Vinay knows Arjun’s true identity and only plays along with believing he his Amar so that he can get Arjun arrested for his crimes. The movie ends with Arjun being arrested by Vinay’s father the police commissioner with the help of Anju, and Vinay living happily ever after with his love interest Shalu. As the story progresses there are various archetypes and stereotypes that appear in this movie which will be discussed in this essay, as well as many musical themes throughout the movie which help to progress the story onward.

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The main archetype in this movie is the hero, which is played by Dev Anand. This character always wants to achieve good and has a specific goal that he wants to achieve by the end of the movie. In this case, this goal is capturing Arjun Singh, the true Jewel Thief and bringing him to justice. Another archetype is the villain, Arjun Singh, who is played by Ashok Kumar. Unlike the average villain, Kumar does not have a mustache or a scary appearance. Kumar does not appear to be the villain at the beginning of this movie, however as time progresses the audience learns that he is in fact the mastermind jewel thief. Other various archetypes include the despotic father, the vamp and the ‘purely virginal’ heroine. The stereotype heroine, who is usually loved by all and portrays the epitome of goodness, does not fit the character of the heroine in this movie. Shalu or ‘Shalini’ is a part of the plan created by Singh and pretends to be his sister. However, she does not want to play a part in his plan anymore because she falls in love with Vinay, and in the end she escapes Singh’s control and reverts to the ‘good’ side.

The music of this movie can be categorized into various types. The opening scene of the movie contains a background score that is usually associated with crimes or criminal activity, indicating some kind of criminal presence throughout the movie. The first song in the movie is called ‘Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara’, which means ‘this heart will not be miserable’. The duration of the song is approximately four minutes and it can be categorized into two song types, the romantic song and the comedic song. The hero is expressing his feeilngs towards an unknown lover that he has been waiting for while he plays pranks on the group of girls taking a road trip. Throughout this song, the mukhda occurs four times, the antara occurs three times and the instrumental interlude occurs three times. This song also introduces Vinay’s character as a fun, happy-go lucky character while showing the audience that he is waiting for his lover. During the intro, various percussion instruments are played followed by a solo by the singer, Kishore Kumar.

The next song, called ‘Rula Ke Gaya Sapna Mera’, which means ‘My dreams have let me crying’, is sung by Lata Mangeshkar. This song lasts approximately five minutes and can be categorized as a viraha song. This song opens up with a vocal solo sung by Lata Mangeshkar and shows Vinay hearing a woman’s voice from somewhere. He then proceeds to look for the woman, whom he finds near a pond. The woman turns out to be Shalu and she is singing to express her pain about her long lost fiancée, Amar. The mukhda occurs three times, the antara occurs two times and the interlude also occurs two times. During the intro, string instruments can be heard and most of the song consists of string and orchestra instruments that are used to symbolize the pain or longing that the heroine is feeling. There is an instrumental outro, in which the flute can be heard.

The last song that will be discussed ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ which means ‘The night is lonely’ is sung by Asha Bhonsle. This song can be categorized into a romantic/seductive song in which, Anju seduces Vinay. In the beginning of the song, Anju says she is going to call her father out to meet with Vinay but in reality switches off the lights and starts to sing. The mukhda occurs three times, the antara two times and the interlude two times as well. The interlude includes many instruments such as the saxophone, flute and guitar.

This movie explores many themes such as romance, betrayal, and crime. Overall, Jewel Thief can be called a ‘formula’ movie because it contains all the crucial elements of a Bollywood movie. There is action, comedy, romance which is what contributes to its success. The music director, S.D. Burman, mixed up different styles of songs in order to create the mood for specific scenes in the movie to progress the story onwards. In conclusion, Jewel Thief is a good example of a Bollywood formula film containing a variety of musical elements.

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