‘Pakeezah’ is remembered for the songs as much as Meena Kumari is remembered for her performance. ‘Chalo dildar, let’s go beyond the moon’, ‘These people took my scarf’, ‘Thadhe rahiyo o banke yaar re’, ‘Chalte chalte yun hi koi mil tha tha’, ‘Today we will see the effect of our prayers’ ‘, ‘Mausam Hai Aashikana’ every song of this film is melodious. The music of Ghulam Mohammad and Naushad created songs that remain the choice of music lovers even after 50 years.
Meena Kumari did a great job in all the films and became the tragedy queen of Hindi cinema. Her last film ‘Pakeezah’ overshadowed all Meena’s films. It can be gauged from this that even after 50 years, this film is getting the same love that it got 50 years ago at the time of its release. What can be a greater happiness for any artist, filmmaker than that even on the golden jubilee of the film, ‘Mausam Aashikana’ is maintained. Rajkumar was the lead actor in this film of Kamal Amrohi, released on 4 February 1972. It took about 14 years to make this film. On 50 years of ‘Pakeezah’, some interesting tales related to the film tell.
‘Pakeezah’ was made in 14 years
It sounds strange to hear that it took 14 years to make a film. But Kamal Amrohi wanted to do wonders about her film, so there were so many twists during the making that it had been 14 years since the film was released. Kamal started making the cult classic film ‘Pakija’ in the history of Hindi cinema in 1958. Kamal loved her wife Meena Kumari very much. She wanted to make a film about Meena which would be remembered for years and it happened. Kamal made a grand set in Amroha. Kamal was so serious about this film that if there was even the slightest thing wrong, she used to stop the shooting. When Kamal was shooting for the film, in the same period color films arrived, then Kamal again started the exercise of making it colourful.
Kamal Amrohi’s desire to make grand
Kamal Amrohi had installed the fountains in front of the Taj Mahal in the same way on the sets of the film. Kamal wanted to make every scene perfect and memorable. For this, Kamal never cared about money. It is said that rose water was used in the fountains. Meena Kumari’s dance was filmed in front of these fountains. The film was being made at a slow pace, but Kamal Amrohi was busy in making it grand, regardless of it. According to media reports, during this time the relationship between Kamal and Meena Kumari started deteriorating. Meanwhile, no work was done on Pakeezah for 3-4 years. Since a lot of money had been spent on the film, Kamal thought in 1968 that it should be completed.
Meena Kumari did amazing acting in illness
Meanwhile, Meena Kumari had drowned herself in alcohol. She started getting sick, somehow reaching the shooting set in case of illness, but as soon as the camera was on, Meena would forget all the pain and pain and drown in her character. Perhaps the pain inside showed such a miracle on the screen that Meena became immortal by doing ‘Pakeezah’.
Tawaif’s touching story ‘Pakeezah’
Meena Kumari, who played the poignant story of a tawaif with utmost seriousness, immortalized ‘Pakeezah’ in the history of Hindi cinema. It is said that Meena Kumari had charged only Re 1 for this film. Consumption of excessive alcohol had damaged Meena’s liver. Meena had a disease called liver cirrhosis. Meena had said goodbye to the world only a few weeks after the release of the film.
Fantastic songs of ‘Pakeezah’
‘Pakeezah’ is remembered for the songs as much as Meena Kumari is remembered for her performance. The songs of this film are ‘Chalo Dildar Chalo Chand Ke Paar Ke Paar Chalo’, ‘Inhi Log Ne Lena Dupatta Mera’, ‘Thadhe Rahiyo O Banke Yaar Re’, ‘Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi Mil Gaya Tha’, ‘Aaj Hum Apni Will see the effect of prayers’, who does not like to hear ‘Mausam Hai Aashikana’. The music of Ghulam Mohammad and Naushad created songs that remain the choice of music lovers even after 50 years.
