Shalimar
Raiders of the Sacred Stone

India / USA 1978
produced by
Suresh Shah, Bhupendra Shah (executive), Ranveer Singh (executive) for Judson Productions
directed by Krishna Shah
starring Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Rex Harrison, Sylvia Miles, John Saxon, O.P.Ralhan, Shammi Kapoor, Prem Nath, Sheeram Lagoo, Aruna Irani, Clyde Chai-Fa, M.B.Shetty, Phunsok Ladhakhi, Anita, Jayamalini
story by Krishna Shah, Stanford Sherman, screenplay by Krishna Shah, Momin Khan, Hriday Lani, music by Rahul Dev Burman, Kersi Lord

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Because he is dying, master criminal Sir John (Rex Harrison) invites five masterthieves to his private island to try and steal his most valued possession, the Ruby of Shalimar - which is not only guarded by his slaves but also by an elaborate system of landmines and electronic failsaves. So the first two contestants, mute Colonel Columbus (John Saxon) - in camouflage - and acrobatic Countess Rasmussen (Sylvia Miles) are quickly disposed of, even though both of them almost succeed into snatching the stone. Sir John however shows his true colours when he has the third contestant, Doctor Bukhari (Shammi Kapoor) killed even though his guards had already detained him and he had already given up. And when another contestant, Romeo (O.P.Ralhan), wants to quit, Sir John himself even kills him in cold blood.

Because you see, Sir John is not really terminally ill, he just wanted to get rid of the criminals he thought capable of stealing the ruby - and now he puts the pressure on his last contestant, angry young man Kumar (Dharmendra), who he knows is in love with his assistant Sheila (Zeenat Aman), which means he has to be dealt with extra carefully. But Kumar is nothing if not capable, using every trick in the book to escape Sir John's surveillance cameras and his snipers, and after a long chase sequence he does not only make it off the island alive, he also takes the ruby and Sheila with him. And in the end, he reveals himself to be a gouvernment agent.

And Sir John, you might ask? He falls prey to a slave uprising, enticed by Doctor Bukhari, who only faked his own death.

Probably the first Bollywood-Hollywood cooperation, two film industries that on the surface seem to not have all that much in common - but the result is pretty pleasing, an entertaining, at times even funny heist movie, shot comicbook-style in bright colours ... which fits the movie's comicbook-style premise perfectly of course. And though one has to admit that the film lacks depth and strong characters, its many fun setpieces make up for many of its shortcomings.

It's probably fair to say don't expect a masterpiece - but expect to be entertained.

Unfortunately though, most of the song-and-dance routines were cut out of Western prints of the film, which is a bit of a pity.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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