Synopsis
The
dancer and courtesan Nargis (Meena Kumari) dreams of escaping
her dishonourable life but she is rejected by the family of
her husband Shahabuddin (Ashok Kumar). She dies in a graveyard,
giving birth to a daughter Sahibjaan who also grows up to
be a courtesan (Meena Kumari). Sahibjaan's guardian Nawabjaan
(Veena), Nargis's sister, prevents Shahabuddin from seeing
her and takes her away to another place. Sahibjaan falls in
love with a mysterious, noble stranger who turns out to be
her father's nephew, Salim (Raaj Kumar). Salim's father forbids
the marriage. Sahibjaan dances at Salim's arranged wedding
where Shahabuddin discovers her identity and claims her as
his child. Finally, her desires are fulfilled and she marries
Salim, leaving her past behind.
The film
Pakeezah
is a stylized, larger than life mythicization
of the familiar tale of the prostitute with
the heart of gold. Perhaps Meena Kumari's
best known film, the film had been planned
by her and husband Amrohi since 1958. When
the two of them separated in 1964, filming
came to a halt. Initially Dharmendra was
to have played the male lead but Raaj Kumar
replaced him. After some years by which
time Meena Kumari was suffering from alcoholism,
she decided to complete the film before
she died.
 In the
film Amrohi turns to the milieu and culture
he is a product of - Uttar Pradesh's feudal
elite, its life of ease and elegance, of
romantic love, poetry and mujras. Its decadence
is not without a touch of class and has
sometimes resulted in much creative upsurge.
Pakeezah inherits that legacy. There
is grandeur in Amrohi's filmmaking - an
epic magnitude of treatment. The evocative
songs and the background music create the
right period mood and Amrohi's eye for details
brings great depth to the lavish sets. The
dances are extremely well choreographed,
cleverly hiding Meena Kumari's inability
to dance (Just watch her walk and move ever
so gracefully in the song Chalte Chalte
even as two other nautch girls dance in
the background). And the picturisation of
the song Chalo Dildar Chalo across
the wide expanse of sea and sky to the boat
on which the lovers ride is romanticism
at its best. In fact, the film's main merit
in spite of its flaws, at times disjointed
flow, its stock situations and an over stretched
plot lies in its delirious romanticism.
Though
the suffering courtesan occupies central
stage, she is defined by male values and
shaped by patriarchal parameters with the
courtesan having to lead a life of emotional
repression. The caged bird whose feathers
are trimmed and the torn kite hanging in
her courtyard operate as visual symbols
for her imprisonment and curtailment of
desire. The train or the patriarchal haveli
are well-knit constructs in the fabric of
the film. In fact, the whistle of the train
is used like a leitmotif throughout the
film.
Ghulam
Mohammed's music is one of the all time
great scores in Indian Cinema. Pakeezah
reaffirms his great talent and it is sad
he did not get his due in the Hindi Film
Industry in spite of brilliant work in films
like Mirza Ghalib (1954) and Shama
(1961) besides Pakeezah. Sadly,
he did not live to enjoy the efforts of
his labour in Pakeezah and Naushad finally
completed the music score. The other factor
of course which lifts Pakeezah way
above the ordinary is Meena Kumari's stunning
performance in the dual role of Nargis and
Sahibjaan in the film.
Pakeezah finally released in February
1972 and opened to just a lukewarm response
but after the death of Meena Kumari on 31st
March, 1972, the film went on to become
a huge success at the box-office and has
since acquired major cult status as well.
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