On a relaxed Sunday, happen to catch about half of Jewel Thief, the Dev Anand classic from old times.
The movie was a lot of fun, but I was again (as I have been in previous viewings) amazed by the absolutely fantastic dance sequence on the song, Hoto Pe Aisi Baat.
Note these facts:
- The song is from those days where technology was so much poorer compared to today,
- Which means that they didn’t have sharp edits that could get stitched together, and look like one single camera sequence,
- So if you see a single camera capture of Vyjantimala’s magic, it was ACTUALLY done in a single shot,
- See HOW MANY of such long, single shot sequences are there in the song? Unbelievable, from today’s times, where they cut and chop and somehow put a dance together (e.g. Deepika in Dum Maro Dum – pathetic compared to this!)
- Think of the choreography with the support dance troupe, and other stars like Dev Anand, floating in between the long sequence otherwise focused on Vyjantimala,
- That was the time when actresses were actually trained (long term!) in dance. Vyjantimala of course, was the best of the best. But others like Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini and others have also given some great dance sequences.
Check the song out – it is outstanding:
If I ever get to meet Vyjantimala, I’d want to touch her feet in salute, ONLY for this dance!! All else she has done is bonus.. !
Random Musings 
If you liked this you must surely watch this dance sequence from Guide, directed by Vijay Goldie Anand and music by S D Burman. Watch, especially the end of the dance sequence where the camera is slowly brought to a halt as Waheeda falls to the ground.
Yeah, Guide had super songs and dances too.. thanks for sharing the link.