C.I.D.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'C.I.D.', made in Film Noire style. The suspense, the car chase, the simplicity added to the entertainment value. The background score and lighting just make up the Noire style.

Dev Anand is pretty cool as the framed C.I.D. Shakila is bubbly and Waheeda Rehman was awesome in her debut, playing a greyish character.

The songs are quite fun too. I especially liked 'Kahin pe Nigahen' and the lyrics are awesome as through these lyrics, Waheeda's character narrates the escape route to Dev Anand. The turns and twists were skillfully handled and director Raj Khosla presents them very well. No time is wasted in meaningless subplots in this fast-paced thriller. Cinematography is top notch. All in all, this is one of the enjoyable classics. You can expect good entertainment :).

Shamshaad Begum passed away on 23.04.2013 leaving a golden chapter of the book of Bollywood music to glitter forever in her mesmerizing voice and unique style of singing.

As my tribute to Shamshaad Begum, I am presenting the review of an old movie - C.I.D. (1956) which was made by Guru Dutt and directed by Raj Khosla, starring Guru Dutt and Shakila in lead roles. The highlight of this movie is the immortal music composed by O.P. Nayyar containing certain classic songs in the voice of Shamshaad Begum which we, the music lovers, are fond of listening to again and again and again.

C.I.D. (the acronym for the crime investigating department) starts with the killing of a newspaper editor who was on the trail of a rich businessman - Dharamdaas (Bir Sakhuja) who was supposed to be having underworld links. The case is assigned to C.I.D. inspector Shekhar (Dev Anand) who alongwith his love life with Rekha (Shakila), moves forward in the direction of unravelling the mystery of the editor's murder and reaching the real culprit. However the real culprit is smarter than him and he weaves a web of lies, deceit and conspiracy around him and traps himself only in the murder of the murderer (Mehmood). How he proves his own innocence and catches the guilty is the remaining part of the story in which the characters of Kaamini (Waheeda Rehman) and Master (Johnny Walker) also play significant roles.

This is the debut movie of its director - Raj Khosla who is credited to bring about neo-noir style in the Indian cinema. C.I.D. was one of the pioneer movies in the tradition of Hollywood style crime-thrillers in India. Raj Khosla had learnt directorial skills by assisting the producer of this movie - Guru Dutt, the legend of the Indian cinema but he did not copy his guru and instead, developed his own style of narration. This debut movie of himself is a showcase of his abundant talent which despite some plot holes, keeps the viewer hooked for two and a half hours. He has not allowed the narrative to go lax (despite melodious songs and the romance of the lead pair intervening) and presented a taut thriller. He has focused on thrill and not on mystery, else, given the script, he could have easily made a whodunit also.

The young director has been able to draw praiseworthy performances from the actors. Dev Anand was fast evolving himself into the Indian Gregory Pack and in C.I.D. also, he is able to fling lightning on the hearts of the young females with his handsome personality and enchanting mannerisms. Shakila was very beautiful and her pair with Dev Anand appears quite charming. This is the debut movie of one of the greatest actresses of the Indian screen - Waheeda Rehman who was barely 18-19 years old then. Guru Dutt gave her the break in Bollywood through a negative role in this movie and lo ! The actress playing a vamp in her debut movie went on to register her name in one of the most happening and the most popular Bollywood heroines during the sixties. Both these ladies have done well. The complete supporting cast has also done justice to the assigned roles.

Guru Dutt's movies are incomplete without Johnny Walker. The immensely popular song - Aye Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yahaan, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan has been picturized on him only and none can forget his performance on this song. This legendary comedian has provided sufficient no. of relief moments in this movie belong to the genre of noir cinema. Just like Guru Dutt and Johnny Walker, Dev Anand and Johnny Walker also made a great male pair of the Indian screen, complimenting each other very well and entertaining the audience in huge quantum.

As asserted earlier, the biggest plus point of this movie is the immortal music composed by O.P. Nayyar. Most of the lyrics have been written by Majrooh Sultaanpuri. Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishaara Ho Gaya has been penned by the great Shaayar - Janaab Jaanisaar Akhtar (the father of Jaaved Akhtar) and Jaane Tamanna Kya Kar Daala has been penned by S.H. Bihari. Geeta Dutt has sung Aaye Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yahaan and Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishaara Ho Gaya with Mohammed Rafi whereas Jaata Kahaan Hai Diwane is her solo. Jaane Tamanna Kya Kar Daala is the duet sung by Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor.

And Shamshaad Begum has given her voice to the great songs like Kahin Pe Nigaahen Kahin Pe Nishaana (picturized on Waheeda Rehman) and the immensely popular - Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar (picturized on Sheela Waaz and Shyam Kapoor) in the company of Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. My favourite song of Shamshaad Begum from this album in particular as well as in general is - Boojh Mera Kya Naam Re, Nadi Kinare Gaaon Re which has been picturized on Meenu Mumtaaz. The low profile actresses like Sheela Waaz and Meenu Mumtaaz also got their share of popularity by performing on Shamshaad's enchanting voice in these songs. The lyricists have dropped gems in the form of words for the lyrics of these songs.

With my tribute to the great female singer whose voice was not fine like Lata's and somewhat hoarse, nevertheless enchanting for the music lovers; I unconditionally recommend this interesting crime-thriller from the black and white era to the movie buffs. The evergreen songs render immense repeat value to this classic black and white movie.

A newspaper editor is murdered in the first scene. There are car chases, secret bunkers, shoutouts in public and a femme fatale. But this is not quite a film noir. There is a in custody prisoner death but the trouble is in a Hindi film the protagonist cannot have a dark side. He's all good always.

The film is also not well edited, there are plot holes and the dialogue is clunky. The character motivation is also suspect. But it has the most amazing songs which have withstood the test of time. A thriller but not quite a noir

Though much better than the decade-old running TV series on Indian TV by the same name (sorry couldn't resist the namesake comparison), Raj Khosla's CID was a very simple and straightforward who-dun-it. In the mould of Hollywood film-noir, CID was gripping and entertaining.

CID officer Shekhar (Dev Anand) is investigating the murder of a newspaper editor but somehow gets falsely implicated for the murder of the editor's murderer (Mehmood). A mysterious woman Kamini (Waheeda Rehman) helps Shekhar reach the real murderer.

Unlike most multi-layered modern murder mysteries, CID was very one-dimensional without any subplots. While the simplicity added to the appeal of the thriller in the 50s, it kind of looks too undemanding in present times. In the sense that the identity of the killer is revealed to the viewer very early in the film (which could easily have been kept a mystery and been a highpoint of the suspense drama). The motive of the editor's murder was never explained. Director Raj Khosla went on to make the same mistakes in future in Kala Pani.

Waheeda Rehman's character was too half-baked with no background account to her. While she made an impressive debut in a character with grey shades, her abrupt change of heart towards Shekhar (the hero) isn't justified. Thankfully the story doesn't get into a love triangle with the beautiful Shakila playing the only love interest of Dev Anand in the film.

Otherwise CID was a decent entertainer and had to its credit a superlative soundtrack. Each and every track in the film from "Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan", "Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishaara Ho Gaya", "Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana" to "Bujh Mera Kya Naam Re Nadi Kinare Gaav Re" was a chart-buster and is in common knowledge even today. Wonderful melodies by O P Nayyar! Performances were quite good. Dev Anand was convincing, both, as an efficient investigating officer and a victimized fugitive. Shakila looked beautiful. Producer Guru Dutt had spotted Waheeda Rehman in a Telugu film (Rojulu Marayi) and cast her as the supporting actress (with grey shades) in her first Hindi film. The rest, as they say, is history. Mehmood, who later went on to become one of the most popular Bollywood comedians ever, played a negative role in the film. His sister Minoo Mumtaz was also in the film. Johnny Walker offered some genuine light moments in the otherwise earnest film.

Interesting Trivia: Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya (then known as Bhanumati) debuted as a costume designer with this film. Javed Akhtar's father Jan Nisar Akhtar wrote the lyrics of 'Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishaara Ho Gaya'. Tinu Anand's father Inder Raj Anand wrote the script. Popular senior actress Zohra Sehgal known to play grandmotherly roles today choreographed the songs.

Watch it as a modern film of the 50s and you might like CID.

• Gaurav Malani

Director Khosla's debut movie CID is regarded as one of Bollywood's best crime thriller. Khosla who was assistant director under Guru Dutt learned from his mentor the film-noir (Bombay-noir in Indian context) style and thus directed this 'must see' movie. CID is a crime-suspense movie and the Hollywood influence is showing. The movie is also remembered for songs like "Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan" featuring Johny Walker. The songs is about the city of Bombay and its crooked life. Other hits include "Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana" "Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishaara Ho Gaya" "Bujh Mera Kya Naam Re Nadi Kinare Gaam Re".

The hugely successful movie will always be remembered as Dev Anand's greatest hits. I recommend it to any fan of Dev Anand or anyone interested in the history of Bollywood. Khosla went on to direct some more hits for the Navketan banner. Including Kalaa Pani and Bambai Ka Babu.

8/10 for the movie's Historical Significance in Bollywood.