Choron ka Chor (Thief of Thieves), 1970
Set of 2 showcards, c. 1966, 53.5cm X 41.5cm
Tinted gelatin silver print and poster paint on textured board with screen-printed lettering and hand-lettering.
Dara Singh was was one of India’s favorite entertainers. Prior to becoming an actor, he was an Indian Champion wrestler who achieved massive popularity in wrestling bouts across the country including a series of matches with World Champion, Lou Thesz. Dara Singh enjoyed huge success in both Hindi and Punjabi cinema, appearing in over 100 films.
"In this modern-day Robin-Hood-type film, B-movie star Dara Singh does battle with an international cartel of smugglers to protect a poor and destitute family. The emphasis on crime in the film is seen in Cat. no. 36, where an artfully-textured silhouette of a handgun takes up much of the picture plane, while a fight scene is creatively pasted on top.
The film Choron Ka Chor (1970) was produced and directed by Mohammed Hussain. Music by Dattaram. Black and white, Hindi, starring Dara Singh, Shabnam and Madan Puri."
--Text by Dr. Deepali Dewan and Alexandra McCarter, based on Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011. Copyright of and reproduced here with the generous permission of the Royal Ontario Museum.
Literature
Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011, p. 91, Cat. no. 35.