How Vijay Anand wove songs into thrillers without breaking the mood

While studying direction at the Film and Television Institute of India in the mid-1980s, Dev Anand devotee Tanuja Chaturvedi became a fan of the movie star’s brother Vijay Anand (also known as Goldie). In Hum Dono – The Dev and Goldie Story, Chaturvedi writes, “Goldie was a master craftsman, yet he kept the craft of his films invisible, like a code, a secret you needn’t even notice as a common viewer. But a practitioner would realise and marvel at Goldie’s command over every aspect of filmmaking: direction, screenplay, dialogue and editing.”

Hum Dono analyses eight films directed by Vijay Anand and starring Dev Anand, including Guide (1965) and Jewel Thief (1967). The book also looks at Teesri Manzil (1966), which was originally meant to star Dev Anand. Here is an edited except from the chapter on Viay Anand’s masterwork Jewel Thief.

‘Do songs detract from a thriller?’

Goldie’s instinct for editing films had sharpened. As a fellow editor, he confided in me that his shot-takings became more precise and mature. In Jewel Thief, Babu Sheikh joins as Goldie’s associate editor. Sheikh had a wonderful instinct for which cut would work and which wouldn’t without even making the physical ‘cut’. Unlike our generation, he didn’t argue back; he went along with Dev, nodding and saying, ‘Let’s see.’ Then...

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