Sikkim behind the moving cameras

When I was writing this article, I took notice of the talks about the documentary film Sikkim, directed by the maestro Satyajit Ray. Had Sikkim not remained a thumb-sized state of mighty India and had Ray not been the larger-than-life character after receiving the ultimate dream in filmmaking (the Oscars) in today's scenario, I am sure no one could have ever talked about Sikkim, the long-lost documentary film made on the monarchy rule of Sikkim then in 1971. 

 

It was thought to be lost, and how a single copy was found in the lab of British film archives and how it was converted into DVD format is still more of a mystery, but all thanks to technology, I am sure some days later, we shall watch Ray's fantasy of Sikkim on screen. So when everyone is talking about this small documentary, why not refresh ourselves with a few other Hindi films that were picturized in this spectacular and serene part of Sikkim?   

 

The panoramic beauty of the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim has always attracted Hindi cinema to capture its unparalleled beauty. It was 1967 Dev Anand starter Jewel Thief that had an everlasting impact on the natural beauty of Sikkim recorded on Hindi celluloid. Jewel Thief was shot at Gangtok, the then capital of an Independent country called Sikkim. This film is regarded as one of the milestones of Hindi cinema.

 

Apart from Jewel Thief, I want to mention the names of two Hindi films that were made within a few years of making each other, while both the film's titles share an interesting coincidence. I tried to find more information about both, but little was found. Road to Sikkim was released in 1969. Directed by Ravindra Dave, with music by Vijay S, and produced by Kriti Films, it had stars in the calibre of Dev Kumar, Anju Mahendru, Helen, David, Jayant, Asit Sen, and Tuntun.

The members of Denzong Musical Society/Denzong Amateur Musical Club with Ashok Kumar during the shooting of Jewel Thief at Gangtok. Source : Kiran Rasaily Facebook Page

 

Another film, Romeo in Sikkim, directed by Harikrishan Kaul and released in 1975, was produced by a local Sikkim financier. Shyam Pradhan, a noted name in Sikkim, played the central character of the movie. The other actors in the film were Amina Kundan, Seema Kapoor, K. N. Singh, and Om Prakash.

 

The oblivious question arises of how I know all this. There is nothing to be surprised about. I am a die-hard fan of Singer Mukesh, and in my collection of more than a thousand songs, I have these two film names that have always excited me.

 

I still remember watching Twinkle Khanna shoot her debut film, Uff Yeh Mohabbat, at Gangtok while I was studying at Tashi Namgyal SSS. The actor opposite her was Abhishek Kapoor. The film had very beautiful songs, especially the song "Utra na dil mein koi" shot at Rumtek Monastery. Other than that, I had seen Rani Mukherjee and Shadbad Khan, son of Amjad Khan, visit Sikkim for Raja Ki Ayegi Baraat. I had seen them shoot near the old STNM fly-over. Some portions of the song were also shot in Singtam.

 

Let's not forget our own Danny Denzongpa, whose successful Nepali venture Saino shot at various places of Sikkim, was highly accepted by the audience. It was later remade in Bengali and, after that, converted into the much-famed Hindi serial "Ajnabi," where Danny Denzongpa himself acted. Today, more commercial Nepali films are shot in Sikkim, and production units are coming from Nepal, thus promoting Sikkim Tourism. Myth, a 24-minute short film made by Prashant Rasaily, lured him to Bollywood, where he is assisting a Hrithik Roshan starrer.

In 2014, T-Series’s Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar produced Yaariyan. Directed by Divya Khosla Kumar, wife of Bhusan Kumar, it was a romantic film with three lead actors and actresses in debut - Himansh Kohli, Rakul Preet Singh, and Nicole Faria. The year 2017 saw Irfaan Khan visit Sikkim for his travel Hindi film Qarib Qarib Singlle

 

While I close this small and exciting information on Sikkim and Hindi movies, I would surely like to mention there are numerous Bengali and other regional films shot in Sikkim that had stars like Mithun Chakraborty, Bishwajit, Prosenjit, Prabhu Deva, and others making their presence but nothing more could be heard of those films in a larger scale.

 

List of regional films shot in Sikkim:-

 

Biyer Phool                 (Bengali – 1996)

Bukuwe Bisare           (Assamese – 2000)

Thamizh                     (Tamil – 2002)

Anuranan                    (Bengali – 2006)

Abosheshey                (Bengali – 2011)

Arjun: Kalimpong E Sitaharan (Bengali – 2013)

Lemon                        (Telugu – 2013)

James Pandu               (Tamil - 2014) [ Songs picturised at Zaluk, Changu]

Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (Malayalam – 2013)

Aal –                          (Tamil - 2014)

Yennai Arindhaal       (Tamil - 2015)

10 Endrathukulla       (Tamil - 2015)

Singalila in the Himalaya (Short Film English – 2016)

Painting Life             (English – 2018)

Uppena                      (Telegu - 2021)