C.I.D.

CID (1956) : Brief Review -

The most entertaining crime thriller ever made by its time not just in Indian Cinema but in any corner of world. Deservingly, the biggest hit of all time in thriller genre. Bollywood hadn't made many crime thrillers on good scale by mid 50s, one or two noir films in the crime world belonged to Dev Anand only in his early days. At the same time Hitchcock was ruling with his prime thrillers not just Hollywood but also the world cinema. Taking about his films made in 50s, some were excellent and some were cliched but mostly he adapted the material from somewhere like novels or plays. Now just one more question, does Hitchcock films entertain you? Do they provide anything else than suspense and mystery? The answer is no. His films were not that entertaining except for a few and rest of the films were mostly set in dark and tensed atmosphere. Just think about watching the similar thriller in light zone with additional romance, iconic songs, comedy etc. Overall, a spicy dish i mean. CID does exactly that. A newspaper editor gets murdered when he was about to expose the underworld links of a rich person. So, a CID inspector gets assigned to investigate the murder case. The film has similar cliches or should i say dragged moments what we have seen in Hitchcock films of 40s & 50s but for Bollywood it wasn't cliches, it became trendsetter because bollywood had never tried something like that before. Dev Anand as Inspector Shekhar is truly iconic, his aura, his attitude everything is iconic. Waheeda Rehman debuts with the bang. What a terrific introduction scene she has got. Shakila looks beautiful while Johny Walker provides superb funny punches. CID is a triumph for Raj Khosla, actually not just for him but for the entire bollywood or to some extent Indian Cinema. A wholesome entertaining thriller that redefined the commercial value of the genre for world cinema.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

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

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 :).

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

CID is a must-watch for any Bollywood fan just for the music but it's the plot that made me fall in love with it. Such a perfect thriller film despite you knowing who the criminal is. Just like Bambai Ka Babu (1960), here also Raj Khosla subverts popular genres and I'm still amazed (I watched the film yesterday) at how CID blends all top genres include romance and crime. More than anything, it's looking at Bombay of the 50s that melted my heart, superbly supported by Johnny Walker who is a treat a watch. Waheeda Rahman's definitely got the charm and I can see how her negative role may have still played in her defense to her potential stardom. CID is a classic and rightly so.

(Watched during Raj Khosla's centenary celebration in Mumbai.)