Concluding the month of Ramzan and a few days ago, Eid, Screen looks at films that contributed to the portrayal of muslims on the Hindi screen...

ALAM ARA (1931)
Cast: Zubeida, Master Vithal and Prithiviraj Kapoor.
Music: Ferozshah M Mistri and B Irani.
Producer: Ardeshir Irani
Director: Ardeshir Irani

THE first talkie has gone down in the annals of Indian cinema as the brainchild of Ardeshir Irani. Released on March 14, 1931, at Bombay’s Majestic Cinema, Alam Ara rewrote history. The film was advertised thus: ‘All living, Breathing 100 per cent talking peak drama, Essence of romance, Brains and Talents unheard of under one banner - Imperial Movietone’. Alam Ara also saw the first ever film singer in WM Khan and the first hit number ‘De de khuda ke naam pe...’, which became a big favourite with beggars, among the ten odd songs. Master Vithal played the role of the hero while the real-life princess Zubeida was his heroine. Prithviraj Kapoor played the villain in the film. American Michael Denning was the song recordist. Since then Indian cinema has never looked back. In the same year 22 Hindi films were released.

MUGHAL-E-AZAM (1960)
Cast: Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote,
Johnny Walker
Music: Naushad
Producer: K Asif
Director: K Asif

ONE of the biggest epics in the history of Indian cinema, K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam is still considered the greatest costume drama for its grandeur, extravagance and opulence. In fact, no other costume drama in the last four decades can be compared to it. Mughal-e-Azam was K Asif’s most ambitious and successful venture. The man who made just four films in his career has been regarded with great honour largely because of his golden epic Mughal-e-Azam, which was 17 years in the making. Before Dilip Kumar was approached for the role of Salim, Asif’s choice had been the legendary actor Chandramohan. But his sudden demise almost brought the entire project to a grinding halt. It was a blessing in disguise for Dilip because he portrayed the role with such elan that the pain and passion of Salim is still remembered with great interest. Dilip’s modulation, nuances and dialogue delivery brought out the character of one of history’s most ardent lovers.

Mughal-e-Azam focusses on one of the most legendary love stories of all time. Salim, son of Emperor Akbar and Anarkali, a courtesan, declares war against his father when he’s asked to abandon Anarkali. But in the end, it’s true love which triumphs when Anarkali decides to renounce her life in order to save her beloved Salim. Mughal-e-Azam also reminds one and all the undisputed marvellous romantic scene where an emotional Salim ruffles Anarkali’s face with a feather. This particular scene is talked about even today and is considered one of the most effective love scenes ever picturised. Apart from this, the immortal song ‘Pyar kiya to darna kya...’ shot in the grand Sheesh Mahal is one of the most romantic ever. The film also broke the record when it was sold for an unbelievable Rs 17 lakh, at a time when the going rate for an average film was Rs 3-4 lakh. Mughal-e-Azam will always remain in memory as a great epic.

PAKEEZAH (1972)
Cast: Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Nadira, Veena
Music: Ghulam Mohammed and Naushad
Producer: Kamal Amrohi
Director: Kamal Amrohi

THE tragic story of a dancer and courtesan Nargis (Meena Kumari) who dreams about escaping her dishonourable life had Meena Kumari in a double role (mother and daughter), the performance of a lifetime. Kamal Amrohi, Meena kumari’s husband beautifully captured the essence of a prostitute with a heart of gold. Pakeezah will always be remembered as Meena Kumari’s best known film. The film was planned in 1958 but when in 1964 Kamal and Meena separated, the film was almost shelved. It was in later years when Meena Kumari was suffering from alcoholism, that she decided to complete the film before she died.

Pakeezah reflects Uttar Pradesh’s feudal elite, its life of ease and elegance, of romantic love, poetry and mujras. Pakeezah inherits that legacy. Kamal Amrohi’s filmmaking had grandeur in its treatment and brilliance in cinematography. The dialogue, and the performances of Ashok Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Meena Kumari have been etched in the history of Indian cinema. Songs like ‘Chalte chalte..., Chalo dildar chalo...’ and ‘Ini logon ne...’ touched the hearts of the audience and listeners all over the nation.

Ghulam Mohammed, the music director didn’t live to enjoy the fruits of his labour in Pakeezah and Naushad had to step in to complete the music score. The film was released in February 1972 and opened to a lukewarm response. A month later, Meena Kumari died on March 31, 1972 and the film went onto become a huge success and acquire cult status.

LAILA MAJNU (1976)
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Ranjita, Danny, Asrani
Music: Madan Mohan
Producer: HS Rawail
Director: HS Rawail

LAILA Majnu is such a favourite subject with Indian filmmakers that in the seven decades of Indian cinema, the film has been remade five times by various filmmakers. In the silent era i.e., in 1931, Laila Majnu was made twice and then in 1945, Nayyar and Nazir directed their labour of love starring Swarnalata and Nazir in the lead role, under Hind Pictures. Rafiq Ghaznavi and Gobindram rendered the music. 1953 saw Shammi Kapoor and Nutan in the lead role as Laila Majnu. K Amarnath directed the movie under All India Pictures. Ghulam Mohammad gave beautiful music and ‘Chal diya karvan lut gaye hum yahan...’ sung by Talat Mehmood became a rage with the listeners. However, it was in 1976, when the movie finally became a huge success.

HS Rawail’s Laila Majnu was a surprise hit with Rishi Kapoor playing Kaish and newcomer Ranjita his Laila. Beautiful songs which hit the nation made this version of Laila Majnu a superhit in the ’70s. Songs like ‘Kehna ek diwana teri yaad mein aahein bharta hai..., Is reshmi pajeb ki jhankar ke sadke..., Barbaad mohabbat ke dua saath liye ja..., Koi pathar se na maare mere diwane ko...’ and others were the highlights of the film. Rishi Kapoor and Ranjita gave a brilliant performance under HS Rawail. It was Ranjita’s debut and she became a household name after the grand success of the film.

Currently, filmmaker B Subhash is planning to make Laila Majnu (Revival), based on his daughter Malvika’s story in a modern set up. Laila Majnu is a story of true love during the ancient Arabian rule. And each decade has seen the revival of this ancient love story cum costume drama with new lead pairs and filmmakers.

SHATRANJ KE KHILADI (1977)
Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffery, Shabana Azmi, Farida Jalal, Amjad Khan, Farouque Shaikh, Richard Attenborough
Music: Satyajit Ray
Producer: Suresh Jindal
Director: Satyajit Ray

MASTER filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s first Hindi film was based on Munshi Premchand’s allegorical story on two men engrossed in a game of chess as disaster knocks at their door. Shatranj Ke Khiladi is Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece with a great ensemble of actors. The film was widely talked about for its grandeur and the special Ray treatment.

Set in the mid-19th century during the decadent Wajid Ali Shah (Amjad Khan, who was perfectly cast for the role) ruling Awadh. Wajjid Ali Shah was more interested in music, dance and poetry than in protecting his regime. While in the capital city of Lucknow, two rich zamindars - Mirza Sajjad Ali (Sanjeev Kumar) and Mir Roshan Ali (Saeed Jaffrey), do nothing but play chess all day. Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General sends General Outram (Richard Attenborough) to present his ultimatum to Wajjid Ali Shah. He wants Awadh under British protection and needs an excuse to dethrone the Nawab. Wajjid Ali Shah, instead of protecting his kingdom, agrees to hand over his crown to the British and goes into exile singing a Thumri ‘Jab chhod chale Lucknow nagri, kaho haal Adam par kya guzri...’.

Mir and Mirza are afraid of being summoned to help the Nawab, so they abandon their families and go to a quiet village to continue their chess game in peace. The film was a sharp comment on the moral cowardice and political stance of the elite and the parallels to the ‘Emergency’. The timing of the film, 1977, was just right. The film was a big budget one by Ray’s standards and Bansi Chandrgupta excelled in creating the grandeur of the period.

UMRAO JAAN (1981)
Cast: Rekha, Farouque Shaikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar
Music: Khayyam
Producer: Muzaffar Ali
Director: Muzaffar Ali

WELCOME to the Lucknow of the 1890s, into the court of the beautiful tawaif Umrao Jaan - the jaan of all, but the mistress of none except her own will. Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan will always be remembered as one of Rekha’s best films. Meer Hadi Hassan Ruswa’s novel was brilliantly captured into 70mm by Muzaffar Ali. Asha Bhosle never sounded better than in the beautiful songs ‘In aakhon ki masti ke mastane hazaron hai..., Justaju jiski thi usko to na paaya humnein, is bahaane se magar dekh lee duniya humnein...’. Umrao Jaan was as different from Pakeezah in texture and treatment as Rekha was from Meena Kumari. Exquisite actresses both, they were immortalized through their tawaif roles.

Rekha, with her chiselled expressions, mysterious smile and subtle adaas lived the part of the courtesan to perfection. She never looked duskier, inviting or sensuous. Unlike Bhumika, Umrao Jaan was the story of a restless woman whose poetic wandering takes her through a warm and robust relationship with a bashful Nawab (Farouque Shaikh), her childhood friend and admirer (Naseeruddin Shah) and a long haired dacoit (Raj Babbar). The beautifully crafted story begins and ends with songs ‘Kahe ko biyahe...’ and ‘Yeh kya jagah hai doston...’ respectively. The songs and music have been integral to the film. The lyrics, tunes and Asha Bhosle’s singing carry the courtly tale to great heights of expression. Khayyam and Asha Bhosle won national awards for their respective contributions. Rekha too won the national award beating Jennifer Kapoor to the tape for her role in Aparna Sen’s 36 Chowringhee Lane in the year 1981.

NIKAAH (1982)
Cast: Raj Babbar, Deepak Parashar, Salma Agha, Asrani
Music: Ravi
Producer: BR Chopra
Director: BR Chopra

THE indomitable BR Chopra has been instrumental in giving the superhit Muslim social drama, highlighting divorce in the community. Pakistani actress Salma Agha made her debut in Indian cinema with her brilliant performance and as a playback singer. In the ’80s Nikaah took Hindi cinema to great heights with its power-packed performances by the trio of Raj Babbar, Deepak Parashar and Salma Agha.

Nikaah is the story of Nilofer (Salma Agha), a modern university educated Muslim girl in love with her childhood love Wasim (Deepak Parashar), who’s studying Architecture in England. Haider (Raj Babbar), a poet also studying in her college, loves her secretly. Nilofer is married to Wasim but the marriage doesn’t work. When Nilofer tries to confront Wasim, in a rage he loses his head and utters Talaq, talaq, talaq. With her world shattered, Nilofer meets Hyder at his press and Hyder gives her moral and psychological support. Nikaah is remembered for its beautiful songs like ‘Fiza bhi hai jawan jawan...’, Ghulam Ali’s ‘Chupke chupke raat din...’, qawwali ‘Chehra chupa liya hai...’ and others. BR Chopra’s superhit Nikaah will be always remembered as one of his astounding hits.

HEENA (1991)
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Zeba Bhakhtiar, Ashwini Bhave, Mohnish Behl, Raza Murad
Music: Ravindra Jain
Producer: Randhir Kapoor
Director: Randhir Kapoor

HEENA is a story of developing human relationship within the national boundaries, despite that, it is an international love story depicting universal and timeless emotions of love and sacrifice. Heena was actually the dream project of Raj Kapoor but his sudden demise made Randhir Kapoor the captain of the ship. Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar made her debut opposite Rishi Kapoor. Heena showed the rainbow of love transcedents all barriers and boundaries. Zeba Bakhtiar played the role of a Pakistani girl in love with Indian boy Rishi Kapoor, who loses his memory after a fatal accident and is drowned and transported by the river to Pakistan. A beautiful emotional drama set in Pakistan and India, Heena sure did touch the hearts of Indian and Pakistani audiences.

BOMBAY (1995)
Cast: Arvind Swamy, Manisha Koirala
Music: AR Rehman
Producer: Jhamu Sughand
Director: Mani Ratnam

BASED on the 1993 Mumbai riots, Mani Ratnam’s Bombay combines a love story with a serious exploration of Hindu-Muslim tensions and communal violence. The film was controversial right from the word go and on various fronts, like depiction of violence and portrayal of politicians. The bi-lingual (Tamil and Hindi) film, however, had the last laugh because it went onto become a hit. Bombay’s songs ‘Ek ho gaye hum aur tum..., Tu hi re..., Rukmani...’ and ‘Kehna hai kya...’ became hits. Arvind Swamy, the South star made his debut in Hindi films opposite Manisha Koirala. Manisha excelled in this particular film. Rehman’s music was well appreciated by one and all and Mani Ratnam’s direction with beautiful cinematography by Santosh Sivan became the highlight of this much controversial film.

FIZA (2000)
Cast: Karisma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Jaya Bachchan, Neha, Manoj Bajpai
Music: Anu Malik, AR Rahman and Ranjit Barot
Producers: Pradeep Guha
Director: Khalid Mohamed

KHALID Mohamed’s directorial debut Fiza is the story of a sister in search of her brother, who turns into a terrorist as a victim of the Hindu-Muslim riot. The backdrop of the story is once again the 1993 Mumbai riot. Hrithik Roshan plays Karisma’s (Fiza) brother, who joins the terrorist gang of Manoj Bajpai. Jaya Bachchan is seen on the silver screen after many years and she ends up giving a great power-packed performance as the mother of Hrithik and Karisma. Khalid handled Karisma to a great perfection to bring out the agony of a sister in search of her lost brother, with a brilliant performance. But unlike other filmmakers, Khalid was not too convincing as a first time director because of too many glitches in the movie. Sushmita Sen sizzled on the screen with her song number ‘Mehmoob mere...’. Fiza will be remembered for Karisma’s brilliant performance and Jaya Bachchan’s comeback.

ZUBEIDA (2001)
Cast: Karisma Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai, Rekha
Music: AR Rehman
Producer: Farouq Rattonsey
Director: Shyam Benegal

KHALID Mohammed, the film critic turned filmmaker’s Zubeida is based on a true life story. Directed by the renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, the film was character driven rather than script driven. Exquisite performances by Karisma Kapoor as Zubeida and the ever beautiful Rekha as Manoj Bajpai’s first wife, were the highlights of the film. Manoj Bajpai, however, didn’t look good as the Prince.

Zubeida is Riyaz (son of Zubeida)’s quest to recover the memory of his dead mother, a mother he never knew. Zubeida gets killed in an aircrash in the early ‘50s. With Zubeida under her kitty, Karisma surprised one and all with her performance. It is a beautiful and well-told period film.