Shammi Kapoor has always been a favourite of mine. I can't claim to be a fan, but I did admire him. This week I started a small Shammi Kapoor fiesta to celebrate his early movies and the surprising acclaim he achieved through them. I'm doing this in no particular order and so I start with China Town.
One of the reasons I love this movie is because it's set in the Calcutta of the 60s. It was a much prettier city back then- cleaner, richer and more mysterious. The club setting of the mafia gang-like organisation fit right in with those times. The mobster hats were especially cool.
The story starts in a club in China Town where Suzie (Helen) sings china town, dressed in a neatly cut kimono, to happily nodding rich people and dances prettily with a feathered fan. The club owner Wong (Madan Puri) watches and then goes to a couple of his men and asks them where Mike is. Mike (Shammi Kapoor) is lying in a tub completely indifferent to the time, because 'Mike doesn't move for time, time moves for Mike!' Wong persuades him to get ready and leave to meet their smuggling associates at the Kidderpore docks. Suzie comes into his room and says that everyone praised her dancing a lot- Mike sneers and says that they only praise her because she entertains them.
"Mike," says Suzie, hurt. "You're always rude to me. You keep breaking my heart."
Mike looks knowingly at her. "Maybe. But I mend it too." Then he does his trademark Mike-gesture, which is something like a short dismissive wave with a "Pchh". (I think this gesture's been grossly overdone in the movie, though it does give you an understanding of exactly how mean Mike is).
