Was it Shammi Kapoor’s charm, filmmaker Shakti Samanta’s storytelling, or Shankar-Jaikishan’s music? Maybe it was all of these that made ‘An Evening in Paris’ (1967) a jubilee hit on its release. And it looks like the Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore-led musical, which has remained much loved over the decades, might have a sequel of sorts. With French President Emmanuel Macron’s India visit putting the spotlight on Indo-French collaborations in cinema, Samanta’s son and filmmaker Ashim Samanta has revealed to mid-day that French national Georges-Emmanuel Morali has proposed “relaunching” the movie in France.
(L-R) Filmmaker Shakti Samanta with son Ashim
“If all goes well, and with the backing of proactive financial, creative, and governmental support, there is a possibility of a modern spiritual sequel, ‘An Evening in Paris’. Our home production has influenced French national Georges-Emmanuel Morali to consider relaunching this romantic film in France,” said Ashim.
The film has been envisioned as a love story between a French boy and an Indian girl. “The girl visits Paris after watching ‘An Evening in Paris’, and desires to see every heritage spot shown in the film. The French boy takes her to all those locations, and in the process, both fall in love. The clips of the scenes and songs from ‘An Evening in Paris’ would be seen in this movie,” explained Ashim.