Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

I had heard from old folks that a portion of the film 'Jewel Thief' was shot at Singtam on the road stretch opposite Thakurbari Mandir, where Dev Anand was running at the road chased by Police, but sadly, that shot never made it to the silver screen. Two major Hindi films were shot in Sikkim - 'Romeo in Sikkim' and 'Road to Sikkim' but I have no knowledge whether the film had any scene at Singtam.   Then, in the mid-90s came the Hindi film 'Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat', the debut film of Rani Mukherjee, where I was part of a crowd watching the shooting done near the old STNM Hospital flyover. One of the songs Palkon Mein Sapne Chamke Ahista beautifully sang by our own Nepali singer Poornima (Sushma Shrestha) is shot in different locales of Sikkim including Changu Lake and of course Singtam. The video of the song is given below, and just watching her jumping from one stone to another, she had a sudden slip at the riverside near Golitar.    

The Jewel Thief, which won many hearts across the globe, is no more. Veteran actor-director Dev Anand passed away early on December 3 in London. He was 88 years old and had been admitted to the hospital for cardiac arrest. The evergreen actor had charmed Hindi movie watchers for more than five decades. Dev Anand’s 1967 “ Jewel Thief”, directed by his younger brother Vijay Anand, now considered one of the best thriller movies in India, helped introduce the small majestic beauty of the kingdom of Sikkim to the celluloid screen. The film was a huge success, and the rest is history. Who can forget those immortal songs picturized at the beautiful locales of Sikkim, especially the song “Hoton Pay Aaisi Baat” picturized inside the Royal Palace at Gangtok? Shyam Pradhan, Actor and Producer of the Hindi film Romeo in Sikkim, the first and only Hindi film to be made in Sikkim, has expressed deep condolences to the family of the evergreen actor. Pradhan has said the untimely death of the legend ...

I am told that the king shown in this song "Hoton me aisi baat"  from the classic Hindi film Jewel Thief shot in Sikkim actually has the real crown Prince of Sikkim in it, is it true.... can anyone help me....

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...