50 Years of Pakeezah

 

Pakeezah took 16 years to reach the celluloid. The film started on July 16, 1956, and was released on February 4, 1972. It was a dream project of Kamal Amrohi, he wanted his wife Meena Kumari to be Sahibjaan of Pakeezah. The mujra 'Inhin logon ne' was shot on July 16, 1956, interestingly at that time the script was not ready, nor the star cast was decided, even the hero was not decided, the next several years went in scouting for locations, deciding on a leading man, writing and rewriting various bits of the film.

Meena Kumari gave her best performance in this film despite her worsening health condition. She attended the premiere of the film at Maratha Mandir. The film was received lukewarm at the Box Office but when the news of Meena Kumari admitting to the hospital spread, it gained momentum.it was Meena Kumari's untimely death on 31 March 1972 which acted as an ultimate push and made it one of the top grosser of that year. Pakeezah was house-full for 33 weeks and even celebrated its silver jubilee in many cinema halls all over the country.

This movie is one among the very few Indian movies, that would never fade away with the passage of time, nor would its spellbinding appeal ever diminish, even as the Indian cinema transforms into the abyss of artificially styled pop culture

The story is About Sahibjaan Who Was Brought Up By Brothel Madame Nawabjaan.... She Grows Up & Becomes Popular Dancer/Singer... Forest Ranger Salim is Enthralled By Her Beauty & Innocence, Convinces Her To Elope With Him But Trials And Tribulations Await As She is Recognized By Men Wherever She Goes With Salim... When He Renames Her Pakeezah (Pure) Takes Her To A Priest To Be Legally Married, She Refuses, Returns To The Brothel..The Story Moves Further...

 The music of the film was recorded by the end of 1959. It was composed by Gulam Muhammad. Kamal Amrohi wanted this film to be a musical so 15 songs were recorded earlier.The shooting of the film was halted in 1964 due to mutual differences between lead heroine Meena Kumari and her director-husband Amrohi. In 1968, the composer of the film passed away. So, when the film was revived in 1969, Naushad was roped in to complete the background music for the film. Many exhibitors suggested Kamal Amrohi change the music according to the then-popular trend and style. To this Amrohi said that he would have readily done this if only Ghulam Mohammed was still alive but now he cannot betray a man, who gave him such melodious songs, after his death. So he kept his music intact but used fewer songs as planned to keep up with the fast-changing trend.

The music and dancing are of the highest possible quality. You may notice in the first dance scene the director has all sorts of things occurring in the background: another girl dancing, a drunk falling downstairs.

Songs of Pakeezah 1972

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The Great Muslim Socials of the Golden Era of Bollywood

 

Muslim Social is one of the genres of Bollywood. Many films were made in this genre and many of them were great hits too. The 1950s to ’70s were the decades when the popularity of the Muslim social opened a window to a world both exotic and familiar at the same time. 

Pukar released in 1939 was made by Sohrab Modi was based on  Mughal emperor Jahangir, the Muslim social drama genre reached its peak with Mehboob Khan’s Najma (1943) starring Ashok Kumar and Sitara. After the success of this film, many films on Mughals were made including Humayun (1945) by Mehboob Khan, Shahjehan (1946) by A R Kardar.

in the 50s the  Social drama of Nawabs and other top-class people of the society was made. In 1960 Guru Dutt produced and acted in Chaudhvin Ka Chand which became a hit opening the window for more such films. Here is the list of few such films.

Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)- One of the top-grossing films of 1960, produced by Guru Dutt, directed by Mohammed Sadiq, starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Rehman.The setting is the city of Lucknow in UP, Aslam (Guru Dutt) and Nawab (Rehman) are the two friends caught in a love triangle with Jameela (Waheeda Rehman). 

Song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)

Mere Mehboob is a 1963 Indian film directed by H. S Rawail and starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana, Nimmi. The film became a blockbuster and took the number one position at the box office in 1963.  It drew a background from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and traditional Lucknow. The famous song "Mere Mehboob Tujhe Mere" was shot in the University Hall and in a couple of places, one gets to see the University. 

Song of Mere Mehboob  1963

Benazir (1964)- The film is a Bimal Roy production.Starring Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, Shashi Kapoor and Tanuja. Directed by S.Khalil and music by Sachin Dev Burman. Benazir, a Muslim family drama, revolves around the film's key characters, Nawab, Anwar, Sahida and Benazir, among others. Nawab and Anwar are brothers who live in an upper-class neighborhood. Nawab is married and has a child. A bachelor, Anwar on seeing Sahida falls in love with her and proposes marriage to her. Although married, Nawab has an affair with Benazir, and keeps her as his mistress.

Song of Benazir (1964)

Bahu Begum is a 1967 Hindi film directed by M. Sadiq, and starring Pradeep Kumar, Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar. The film has music by Roshan and lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. This film is known for songs, "Hum Intezaar Karenge Tera Qayamat Tak", sung by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle and "Duniya Kare Sawaal" by Lata Mangeshkar. The film is a Moslem period drama set in the erstwhile Era of Lucknow woven around a mythical story of Bahut Begum's manor.

Song of Bahu Begum 1967

Mere Huzoor is a 1968 film starring Raaj Kumar, Mala Sinha, and Jeetendra, Akhtar Hussain (Jeetendra) saves the life of Nawab Salim (Raj Kumar) and earns his gratitude. Salim invites Akhtar to come to his palatial home, On the way on a train journey, he meets beautiful Sultanat (Mala Sinha) and falls in love with her. On arrival at Salim's house, Akhtar is treated with the utmost respect, provided employment, and a place to live. Akhtar meets with Saltanat and both plan to get married. Unknown to them, Salim also loves Saltanat, but Saltanat rejects his advances, and proposal, leaving him heartbroken. Soon Saltanat and Akhtar get married and settle down.

Song of Mere Huzoor 1968

Mehboob Ki Mehndi is a 1971 romantic musical film produced and directed by H. S. Rawail. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Leena Chandavarkar. Shabana, the heroine is able to save herself, and her family, only by educating herself and doing the job of a tutor. 

Song of Mehboob Ki Mehndi 1971 

 Pakeezah is a 1972 film, written, produced and directed by Kamal Amrohi  starring Meena Kumari, Raj Kumar and Ashok Kumar .Meena Kumari's performance as a gold-hearted Lucknow nautch-girl drew major praise. However, this was to be Meena Kumari's last great performance. Set in the Muslim Quarter of Lucknow at the turn of the 20th century, the movie centers on the mental plight of a tawaif and her longing to be loved, accepted and respected by society.

Song of Pakeezah 1972 

50 Years of Navketan's 'Tere Mere Sapne'

 

Recall the song “Hey, Maine Kasam Li” where the hero Dev Anand on a Bicycle and the heroine Mumtaz sitting on the crossbar riding across green fields singing the song with very little action and lots of cuddling. What a picturization.

Tere Mere Sapne is one of my favorite movies. It has substance. Commercially, it did not do very well at the box office but I believe it is one of the most sensitive Bollywood movies by Goldie Vijay Anand. He also acted in this film, he plays a doctor and gave a memorable performance.

 The film is based on the novel “The Citadel” by A.J.Cronin, published in 1937 in UK.  based on his own experiences as a doctor. Dedicated to the medical community, the film starts off with a young, idealistic MBBS doctor Anand Kumar (Dev Anand) moving to a village near a coal mine. He attains his degree in medicine and re-locates to a small village to assist the local doctors there. Upon arrival, he is met by the ailing Dr. Prasad and his wife, and hired on a salary of Rs.250/- per month. He meets with the other doctors namely Dr. Kothari (Vijay Anand), an alcoholic, and Dr. Bhutani, a dentist. Anand finds that he is saddled with all of Kothari's work as well his own due to the reason that Kothari is drunk every night. He nevertheless carries on, aided by the local school-teacher, Nisha Patel(Mumtaz), who he eventually marries. Then one day a proud father, Phoolchand, gives a baksheesh to Anand for the safe delivery of his first-born. This does not auger well with Mrs. Prasad and she fires Anand. Anand and Nisha re-locate to Bombay, and after sometime Anand establishes himself as a leading doctor, is honored for his thesis, and gets to be the personal doctor of a leading Bollywood actress Maltimala. When Dr. Kothari and Dr. Bhutani go to visit them, they find while Nisha is still the same good-natured woman, who is expecting a child, Dr. Anand is a changed individual, who has no time for friends, personal life, or even his wife, and is not even aware that she is pregnant. The two return home disappointed, followed by Nisha, who has decided to separate from Anand.

 There are many beautiful songs and several great dances featuring Hema Malini.  Vijay Anand’s direction keeps things moving along at a good pace. There are so many wonderful characters in this film too. Mumtaz gave a stunning performance. Music by S D Burman and lyrics by Neeraj is superb.

Song	Singers	Picturised on
"Phurr Ud Chala"	Asha Bhosle	Hema Malini
"Mera Saajan Phool Kanwal Ka"	Asha Bhosle	Jayshree T.
"Jaisa Radha Ne Mala Japi"	Lata Mangeshkar	Mumtaz, Dev Anand
"Ae Maine Kasam Li"	Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar	Mumtaz, Dev Anand
"Jeevan Ki Bagiya Mehkengi"	Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar	Mumtaz, Dev Anand
"Tha Thai Thatha Thai"	Asha Bhosle, Chorus	Hema Malini
"Mera Antar Ek Mandir Hai Tera"	Lata Mangeshkar	Mumtaz
"Zamaane Dhat Tere Ki"	Manna Dey	Agha

 

Song of Tere Mere Sapne 1971

'Tere Mere Milan Ki Ye Raina'- The Song based on Rabindra Sangeet

 

This Classic song from the 1973 film Abhiman was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and composed by S D Burman was influenced by the song 'Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki 'of Rabindra Tagore. Over the years, the original Song Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki has been performed by various artists – Kishore Kumar, Shaan, Anwesha, Shrabani Sen, Shreya Ghoshal, Hemant Kumar, and many more. While I was researching for this song, I found a very rare version sung by the great K L (Kundan Lal) Saigal.

This song appears when the movie reaches its climax when the couple Subir (Amitabh) and Uma (Jaya -Bhaduri) get separated, Uma has a miscarriage, and finally they, fortunately, reunite – what an emotional reunion celebrated with this beauty of a song “Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina” rendered in public by both.

Though this song was influenced by Rabindra Tagore, S D Burman gave his magical touch to the original tune made this song immortal. We must also appreciate Mazrooh Sultanpuri to give lyrics for the wonderful tune. He was awarded the Filmfare Award as Best Lyricist. S D Burman was awarded the Best Music Director.

If you listen to all the versions of 'Jodi Tare Nai' you will find how beautifully the Abhiman song was composed. The song starts with a hmmm. by Kishore Kumar, a divine hmmm unmatchable. The song is a duet of Kishore and Lata Mangeshkar, one of the immortal duets of both.

This tune was again used in the 1985 film Jhoothi's song set in Rupak Taal (that's the name for the beats on the Tabla). Bappi Lahiri has set his Chanda Dekhe Chanda from Jhoothi.

Song of Abhiman 1973

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by Kishore Kumar

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by Hemant Kumar

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by K L Saigal

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by Shaan

Song of Jhoothi 1985

Pakeezah was Meena Kumari's Swan Song

 

Pakeezah took 16 years to reach the celluloid. The film started on July 16, 1956, and released on February 4, 1972. It was a dream project of Kamal Amrohi, he wanted his wife Meena Kumari to be Sahibjaan of Pakeezah.

Pakeezah was conceptualised in 1954 as a Black & White venture. The mujra 'Inhin logon ne' was shot on July 16, 1956 , interestingly at that time the script was not ready, nor the star cast was decided, even the hero was not decided,the next several years went in scouting for locations, deciding on a leading man, writing and rewriting various bits of the film. 

By 1964, the film had still not been completed, while Meena Kumari had become a superstar, with films like Kohinoor (1960), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) and many others. That was also the year she and Kamal Amrohi separated, causing another blow to their already much-delayed dream production.

In the meantime, Meena Kumari got addicted to alcohol and her health got affected. She was not talking to Kamal Amrohi after her separation but she agreed to restart the shooting of this film after a gap of 5 years. It is said that Nargis and Sunil Dutt persuaded her to complete the film.

Kamal Amrohi, who was a poet also wrote 'Sochta hoon ek shahkaar banaoon/Ek insaan ko izraar banaoon', he initially naming it 'Daaman-e-Paak' (Pure entity), when Kamal Amrohi consulted a nujoomi (astrologer) at Unnao in UP, he suggested to give a name beginning with the PE letter of Urdu alphabet.

Pakeezah’s shooting commenced again in 1969. The first shot showed Meena Kumari in a shirt and a lungi walking along with a tent singing “Mausam Hai Ashiqana”. The shooting of the film kept getting delayed due to Meena Kumari’s painful illness. Her liver had bloated; she was unable to dance and found it difficult to even walk a few steps.

For the last song in the film –“Teer E Nazar Dekhenge”, Padma Khanna was appointed to act as her duplicate. Meena Kumari was not well those days but she wanted to complete the film. Padma Khanna in an interview that the fastidious Meena Kumari was fabulous in her attention to detail and that Meena Kumari had amazing directorial acumen. Meena Kumari had the final word on the sets even though the film was helmed by Kamal Amrohi. 

Meena Kumari gave her best performance in this film despite her worsening health condition. She attended the premiere of the film at Maratha Mandir. The film was received lukewarm at the Box Office but when the news of Meena Kumari admitting in the hospital spread, it gained momentum.

 it was Meena Kumari's untimely death on 31 March 1972 which acted as an ultimate push and made it one of the top grosser of that year. Pakeezah was house-full for 33 weeks and even celebrated its silver jubilee in many cinema halls all over the country.

Song of Pakeezah 1972