Starcast: Vinod Mehra, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, Helen, Madan Puri, Rajendranath, Iftekhar and Brahm Bhardwaj Direction: K.Ramanlal Music: Shanka...
Starcast: Vinod Mehra, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, Helen, Madan Puri, Rajendranath, Iftekhar and Brahm Bhardwaj
Direction: K.Ramanlal
Music: Shankar Jaikishan
The protagonist, Naresh Kumar S, is a freelance photographer and journalist. His editor, Mehta, sends him to investigate suspicious activities taking place on a remote island. Once there, Naresh and his friend Shyam fall into the hands of a criminal gang. In prison, Naresh meets a scientist who, before dying, tells him about his extraordinary invention. The scientist possesses an ‘atomic ring’ which can make a person invisible when placed inside the mouth. Naresh uses the ring to escape, but from this point onwards, an entire army of criminals begins hunting him down.
This is perhaps the most amusing—and the most implausible—aspect of the film. To a modern viewer, the idea that one can become invisible simply by putting a ring inside one's mouth may sound downright ridiculous. But Elaan is better appreciated when viewed within the cinematic imagination of its time. Technological wonders and spy stories held a special fascination for audiences back then. The film certainly tries to present the concept as a serious scientific discovery, but at several points its treatment becomes pure masala entertainment. That is why treating Elaan as a completely serious spy thriller would probably be doing the film an injustice.
One of director K. Ramanlal's strengths is the effort he makes to give this rather bizarre story an attractive visual treatment. According to available information, Ramanlal handled the cinematography along with directing the film. The photography makes interesting use of camera angles and lighting. Some admirers of vintage Hindi cinema have also regarded the film's visual treatment and set design as among its strengths. The island setting, the world of criminals, the clubs and the various hideouts of the underworld together create a distinctive visual atmosphere for a film of its era.
The screenplay, however, is not equally strong throughout. The opening portions generate considerable curiosity, and the scientist's discovery takes the story in an intriguing direction. But once the action shifts back to Mumbai, the film's suspense begins to suffer from repetition. The attempts to capture Naresh, the conspiracies of the criminals and his efforts to outsmart them keep the plot moving, but the pace is not consistently maintained. The film's roughly two-and-a-half-hour running time becomes noticeable in certain portions. Even so, there are enough strange and unexpected turns to ensure that one's curiosity never disappears completely.
Vinod Mehra is quite natural as Naresh. He lacks the aggressive, larger-than-life quality associated with the conventional hero of that era and instead brings the character closer to an ordinary young man. Perhaps that is what makes his character reasonably believable—even when he happens to possess a ring capable of making him invisible.
Vinod Khanna, playing Ram Singh, is particularly interesting to watch. Today, when he is remembered as one of the most charismatic and accomplished actors of Hindi cinema, watching one of his early performances offers a glimpse into the formative years of his career. Here, his character comes across as more dangerous and mysterious than the hero himself. Rekha, too, is not merely reduced to the role of a romantic heroine. After the murder of her father, her character is driven by revenge, assumes another identity and becomes involved in the investigation. Helen, meanwhile, provides the film with the glamour and mystery that audiences of the period had come to associate with her performances.
One of the film's strongest aspects is undoubtedly its music. Shankar-Jaikishan balance the seriousness of the story with the entertainment quotient expected from a mainstream Hindi film. ‘Ang Se Ang Laga Le Sanson Mein Hai Toofan’ has a distinctive charm thanks to Lata Mangeshkar's voice, while ‘Aapki Raaye Mere Bare Mein Kya Hai’ brings together the voices of Mohammed Rafi and Sharda in an appealing combination. Songs such as ‘Jaanab-E-Man Salaam Hai’ and ‘Aaj Tumhare Kaan Mein Keh Doon’ further strengthen the glamorous side of the film. What is interesting is that the music does not feel completely disconnected from the narrative. Instead, it feels very much a part of that particular era of Hindi cinema, when songs could comfortably find their place even in films belonging to genres like espionage and crime.
Today, the biggest reason to watch Elaan is perhaps not its perfection but its sheer uniqueness. It is one of those films that brings journalism, crime, the CBI, the underworld, romance and science together under one roof. The film is illogical at several points, drags in places, and its scientific premise is obviously impossible from a modern perspective. Yet there is a certain charm in this very lack of restraint.
Elaan may not be a great spy thriller, but it is certainly an entertaining document of the kind of cinematic imagination that existed in its time—a period when Hindi cinema could, without the slightest hesitation, build an entire thriller around a ring that could make its wearer invisible. It is best watched not with too much seriousness, but with a little nostalgia, a healthy dose of curiosity and plenty of appreciation for old-fashioned filmi fun.
By Ayushmaan Mitra
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