Shatranj (1969)

After having been married to India-based Mr. Thakur for several years, suddenly Mrs. Thakur and her grown daughter, Meena, decide to re-locate and settle down in a communist country, and do... See full summary »

Director:

S.S. Vasan

Writers:

K.J. Mahadevan (story), Wajahat Mirza (dialogue),

Stars:

Rajendra Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Mehmood

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rajendra Kumar	...	Jai / Vijay / Shinranz (as Rajinder Kumar)
Waheeda Rehman	...	Meena Thakur
Mehmood	...	Amir
Agha	...	Comrade Lee Jung
Madan Puri	...	Comrade Chang
Manmohan Krishna	...	Mr. Thakur (as Manmohan Krishin)
Shyam Kumar
Kamal Kapoor
Rajan Haksar	...	General Khohny (as Rajen Haksar)
Ram Mohan
T. Mukherjee
Ratan Gaurang	...	(as Rattan Gaurang)
Gopal Raj Bhutani	...	(as Gopal Butani)
Shashikala	...	Suzie
Achala Sachdev	...	Mrs. Sharda Thakur (as Achla Sachdev)

Storyline

After having been married to India-based Mr. Thakur for several years, suddenly Mrs. Thakur and her grown daughter, Meena, decide to re-locate and settle down in a communist country, and do so without notifying Mr. Thakur. Worried about their whereabouts, Mr. Thakur hires a young man, Jai, to go locate them, and if possible bring them back. Jai accepts this assignment and soon arrives in the foreign country, which is ruled by a military general who has never shown his face to anyone. Assuming the identity of Shinraaz, Jai goes around trying to locate the two women, and does find Meena, who works as a dancer in a posh hotel. It is here that Jai will learn what brought Meena and her mom to this country, and why both are unwilling to return to India.

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Genres:

Thriller | Mystery

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

1969 (India)

Filming Locations:

Gemini Studios, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gemini Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

User Reviews

A Campy Delight

This was a fun film, based loosely on James Bond thrillers, that reeked of the 1960's. Full of camp, it featured the "super spy" type disguise masks, red flashing lights, European phones, desk sized communications devices and hidden panels. Rajendra Kumar plays Jay/Shin Raz, the undercover Indian Agent called on to defeat the communist threat of Major General Ko Lum's secret service. Mehmood plays Amir, his partner and master of disguise. Shashikala got the best role as Comrade Suzie, the fashion hip communist spy. Helen, of course, appeared in full dance mode as Salma, Mehmood's undercover counterpart. Waheeda Rehman (as Meena)was the damsel in distress kidnapped in an effort to expose the agent Jay. Lots of beautiful song and dance numbers by Waheeda, Shashikala and Salma. If you love laughing at really dated action scenes in cars, boats and planes, this is the movie for you.