An Evening in Paris

Music is excellent with Mohd Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan. The villains are portrayed by three legendary character actors Pran KN Singh, and HB Shetty. David is great and Rajendrath is hilarious and charming. Sharmila Tagore is lovely and plays her part well. Scenery is beautiful.

So why only a 6 despite all that? The plot was not well written. The first 20 minutes is good, the story seems promising and the French man is hilarious. Then the next 75 minutes is just Shammi Kapoor trying to woo Sharmila Tagore repeatedly and it really isn't amusing or charming but kind of a drag. If the director was someone as skilled as Hrishikesh Mukherjee it could have been different but that's not the case here. Shammi Kapoor had potential but too bad he didn't always take care of himself. Then the last hour is just a trite conflict, nothing remarkable. Everything was great but the story was average - and that is important. You can watch this movie completely for free and legally at rajshri and so for this I'll give it an extra point and make it a 7.

The Most Excellent Movie I have ever seen since 25 years, and I am still loving it, but I could not get it since that time. Anybody can provide me that movie and I shall pay the price?

Thanks...

Rich and pretty Deepa (Sharmila Tagore) comes to Paris to get away from failed relationships in India. She meets Sam (Shammi Kapoor), who falls in love with her and tries to win her affection. In the meantime, wicked gambler Shankar and his evil friends are scheming a way to get Deepa's money. What follows is kidnapping, impersonation, and dangerous adventures.

Filmed in four locations outside India, An Evening in Paris is lovely to watch. As for the plot-- the better part of the first hour of the is spent with Deepa in various locations, pretending to ignore Sam who is behind her, singing. All the excitement comes in the last 30 minutes or so, and the climax occurs too quickly. Kapoor is energetic and exuberant in every movement, which is entertaining. Tagore, who shocked the public by wearing a bikini, does a nice job of playing a double role. The music, and there is a lot of it, is catchy with a definite 60's feel to it. Tagore's costumes were exceptionally lovely. Overall, though the acting is great, the movie is somewhat dull up until the "thriller" aspect begins, and there just isn't enough suspense to make it better than okay.

I have seen far more Bollywood films than the average American, though I am far from an expert on these movies. For a change of pace, I thought I'd try watching an older Indian film--to see what they looked like decades ago (most Indian films available in the US are much more recent).

"An Evening in Paris" is about a couple of Indian ladies who, not surprisingly, go to Paris. However, one is very tired of men wanting her for her money, so she poses as the other's maid. Lots of kooky adventures, romance, a kidnapping and humor (such as it is) results. Other than the nice scenery, there really isn't a lot I liked about this film. The acting is just awful---very, very, very broad and the director seemed to encourage the actors to really ham it up for the audience. Subtle, this certainly isn't!! As a result, nothing about the film worked for me--it was so fake and plastic that I got VERY tired of the film and couldn't take it after a while. About the only thing I like about the film are a few of the musical numbers. While the sound quality of the songs is bad, they were catchy and easy to enjoy. I also liked some of the location shots during these songs--particularly the one in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps all this would play better for someone more familiar with and forgiving of the genre--I just thought it was rather dumb. Plus, how did so many Indians just happen to be in Paris?! I was there a few months back and didn't see Indians cavorting and singing anywhere in the city limits! Just my two cents worth.

An Evening in Paris (1967) : Brief Review -

A fairly entertaining romantic masala thriller set in beautiful locations in Paris. This is not a typical Shakti Samantha film, to be frank. Samantha's An Evening in Paris started off by giving me the vibes of Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly's Oscar-winning "American in Paris" (1951) in the beginning, and I really enjoyed it for a while. An Indian girl, Deepa, sets off to find the love of her life in Paris after failing to find a perfect lover in India. She is approached by Sam, who introduces himself as a French man, and they fall in love. This entire romantic chase, flirting, and proposal thing is very cute. They look even cuter when you hear the songs. Who could have imagined a Bollywood film having a title song on Paris' beauty, and who else can you think of but Shankar-Jaikishan? An Evening in Paris is such a beautiful song, and then there are "Akele Akele Kahan Ja Rahe" and "Aasman Se Aaya Farishta," which turn out to be perfect romantic songs. Shammi Kapoor showing off his thigh, hanging on the helicopter, and saying, "Kaho Pyar Hai Tumse" (Mohammed Rafi's voice), and then Sharmila Tagore in Bikini ditching him, "Jaa Jaa." So freaking adorable. What's more adorable is that he uses the same words at the end of the song, and she accepts the proposal, saying, "Haa, haa, Kaha naa." You expect the film to go on with a typical masala ending after this, but there comes Samantha's thriller factor. We have a twin formula-a little conry, but okay. The scripting seemed half-baked here. The character of Rupa falls in love with Sam, and we have no clue. She suddenly turns into a good woman, and we are clueless again because the writer did not provide her with enough evolution. Charming and handsome Shammi Kapoor and super-sexy Sharmila Tagore take you on a lavish, romantic, and glamorous ride in Paris, and that's all the film is about. Too gorgeous for the time, maybe?

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.