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Pakeezah (Hindi: पाकीज़ा, Urdu: پاکیزہ،; lit.the pure one, pure of heart) is a 1972 Indian film. It was directed by Kamal Amrohi who was known for his perfectionism.^[2] The music is by Ghulam Mohammed and Naushad. The film tells the story of a Lucknow tawaif played by actress Meena Kumari who died shortly after the film was completed.^[3]

Plot[link]

Cast[link]

• Ashok Kumar - Shahabuddin
• Meena Kumari - Nargis / Sahibjaan
• Raaj Kumar - Salim Ahmed Khan
• Veena Sapru - Nawabjaan
• Nadira - Madame Gauhar Jaan
• D.K. Sapru - Hakim Saab

Production[link]

Pakeezah took nearly 14 years to shoot because of a change in relationship between Meena Kumari and the director. Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi were married when Pakeezah was first conceived. Ashok Kumar was to have played the part of Salim, but the part was later played by Raaj Kumar. The character was changed from a businessman to a forest ranger to suit Raaj Kumar's more muscular physique. Both the film's composer Ghulam Mohammed and cinematographer Josef Wirsching died during the period. Later, composer Naushad stepped in and composed the film's background music as well as its title track. Over a dozen of Bombay's top cinematographers pitched in when they had time; they however managed to maintain its uniform look.

Due to a variety of different factors, Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi parted ways and the film remained incomplete. It was only when Nargis and Sunil Dutt saw the rushes of the film that they convinced Meena Kumari to complete it. It was mostly shot in Kamal Amrohi Studios, Mumbai.

Meena Kumari was very ill when filming resumed and can be seen lying down in most of her scenes. For the dance sequences, Padma Khanna was used as a body double and can be seen in the long-shots. Meena Kumari died weeks after the film was released. The film, which had been declared a flop when first released, became a success.^[1]

Pakeezah made news during the Filmfare Awards in 1971 when Pran refused to accept his award for Be-Imaan because he felt that Ghulam Mohammed deserved a posthumous Filmfare award for his songs in Pakeezah.

Details[link]

• Screenplay: Kamal Amrohi
• Art direction: N.B. Kulkarni
• Set Design : Kamal Amrohi
• Costume Design : Meena Kumari
• Director of Photography : Josef Wirsching
• Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi, Kaif Bhopali, Kamal Amrohi
• Music: Ghulam Mohammed, Naushad - Background Score, Title Music
• Singers: Lata Mangeshkar; Mohd. Rafi; Mehdi Hassan

Awards[link]

• 1973: Filmfare Best Art Direction Award: N.B. Kulkarni ^[4]

Soundtrack[link]

The soundtrack for the film was composed by Ghulam Mohammed and Naushad with lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kamal Amrohi and Kaif Bhopali. Due to the demise of the composer before the completion of the film, Naushad was signed to compose the background score for the film. He also composed the songs, "Nazaria Ki Maari", "Title Music - Alap", "Mora Saajan Sauten Ghar Jaye" and "Kaun Gali Gayo Shyam". These renderings are presented in the voices of the veteran singer Rajkumari, Parveen Sultana, Vani Jairam and Naseem Bano Chopra.

Also see[link]

• Hindi dance songs

References[link]

External links[link]

• Pakeezah at Indian Auteur
• Music Review of Pakeezah at Planet Bollywood
• Pakeezah at Rediff Movies
• Pakeezah at the Internet Movie Database
• Pakeezah - A magnum opus & its unknown facts.
• Analysis of the movie's ambiguities at Let's talk about Bollywood

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