"Actor: Shakila"

• Aar Paar | DVD | (05/12/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This is the story of Kalu a former taxi driver who is released from prison after a speeding offence. Follow his journey after finding himself homeless finding love and also finding himself involved in a planned Bank robbery.

• C.I.D. | DVD | (22/11/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  CID made in 1956 was the film that introduced two of the brightest stars of Hindi Cinema Waheeda Rehman and Mehmood. The film a thrilling murder mystery follows CID Inspector Shekhar in his search to find the murderer of a newspaper editor killed by Sher Singh (Mehmood) whom Shekhar bumps into at the scene of the crime chases in Rekha's car but who escapes. Master (Johny Walker)a common thief who witnesses the crime and is arrested as the murder suspect is later released by Shekhar. Sher Singh is ultimately arrested but Shekhar knowing that he is the front man for a big gangster continues the investigation. He is bribed by Kamini (Waheeda Rehman) to stop the investigation but he refuses. Meanwhile at the prison Sher Singh is killed by fellow prisoners planted there to silence him and Shekhar is implicated and tried for his murder.

• China Town | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Shekhar and Mike were twins separated in childhood but fate brought them together in China Town. Shekhar was an entertainer Mike a gangster's aide. Shekhar fell in love with Rai Prasad's daughter Rita an affair which shocked Rai but he could not shake off the young man. Shekhar followed the family to Calcutta and was arrested when he stole into the house to meet Rita. The police were shocked to find an amazing resemblance between Shekhar and the gangster Mike. They realised they could utilize Shekher's services to expose the criminal racket in China Town but if the twins were identical in all respects there was one man they could not fool. Shoemaker Ching Lee discovered that Shekhar wore a different size shoe and so Shekhar could not be Mike.

• C.I.D. | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Noir, Indian style: that in a nutshell is Raj Khosla's classic crime thriller C.I.D. (1956). Dev Anand plays the intrepid C.I.D Inspector Shekhar who is trying to solve the murder of a newspaper editor. On the way to achieving this he comes across a variety of stock film noir characters including a do-gooder with a dark side, a vamp with a heart of gold and a bumbling sidekick. All the elements of the genre are present, from the enigmatic woman to the cigarette-puffing hero to the tough police commissioner. And of course our hero finds true love as well. Produced by cult actor/director Guru Dutt, C.I.D. is a worthy companion piece to the Dutt-directed hit Baazi (1951) which explored similar territory. Cinematographer VK Murthy, who is now revered as one of the best ever, creates a shadowy, smoky world that perfectly frames the on-screen happenings. What makes it uniquely Indian is the introduction of several popular songs that enhance rather than disrupt the narrative. The suave Dev Anand is more of a soft-boiled detective than a hard-boiled one. But what makes the film memorable is Waheeda Rehman's vamp who is as coy, sexy and mysterious as they come. On the DVD: C.I.D. on DVD comes with a note that says "reproduced from vintage source for the sake of nostalgic appeal, hence possibly compromising on quality". Happily, the quality is quite good barring a couple of dropouts near the beginning. The black and white transfer is not as crisp as it could be, but given the state of film preservation in India it is quite acceptable. The subtitles are accurate. The best feature on the DVD is Nasreen Munni Kabir's three-part Channel 4 documentary "In Search of Guru Dutt" which is a comprehensive and fascinating look into the life and work of C.I.D.'s producer. --Nanan Ramachandran

• Aar Paar | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Kaalu (Guru Dutt) is a jobless common man aimlessly roaming the streets with no real ambition in life. He does small odd jobs and one day he takes up a job in a garage. There he meets and fall in love with Nikki who is the garage owner's daughter. Meanwhile he also meets a dancer (Shakila) in a bar where he goes to deliver a message to Captain from one of his jail mates. He asks Nikki's father for her hand in marriage who refuses as he thinks Kaalu as a worthless thug. Dejected he goes to see Captain and tells him of his dream to buy a taxi and become a taxi driver. Captains offers to buy him the taxi on the condition that it will be available for his use whenever he needs it. Kaalu agrees not knowing that Captain intends to use the taxi for smuggling. Kaalu then asks Nikki to elope with him. Nikki refuses. One day he finds out about Captain's nefarious activities and refuses to be a part of it. He is captured and about to be killed when Shakila tells Captain to force Kaalu to smuggle instead of killing him.

• C.I.D. | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Inspector Shekhar an official of the Criminal Investigation Department receives a telephone call from Editor Srivastava and before Shekhar reaches the Editor's office the Editor has been murdered. He suspects a man and follows him and as the man drives away he chases him with the help of a car that was parked there. As ill luck would have it the murderer escapes. Jhonny a small time crook who happened to be at the Editor's office for stealing a typewriter is caught and is suspected to be the murderer of the Editor. Clever as he his Shekhar could easily know that murder is not to the capacity of Jhonny and so he is on the look out for the real culprit. By a clever ruse he catches the man who murdered the Editor. he cross-examines the arrested man several times but the crook would not speak. Shekhar gets a telephone call from a girl who promises to throw some light on the entire case. Shekhar anxious about the case accepts the invitation and reaches the girl's place. He is offered a bribe of fifty thousand rupees for the release of the prisoner in the lock-up but the offer was made very indirectly. Shekhar refuses to accept. As a matter of courtesy the girl gives him a glass of sherbat from a jug which he takes and after some time he faints. He wakes up to find himself in the house in the Superintendent of Police. He was picked up from the roadside. In the Superintendents house in a party he meets the same girl again. He reaches the police station sends for the prisoner in the lock up and questions him. The prisoner is dumb as ever and weary and tired on account of questioning. He is sent back to the cell. In a few minutes there is a hue and a cry and the prisoner is found dead in the cell. As Shekhar reaches the other prisoner in the cell accuses him of the murder of the prisoner. Shekhar has no other proof. All the evidence is against him....