15 years after his death, writer-filmmaker Kamal Amrohi, whose stylized direction made films like Mahal and Pakeezah look like symphonic poems on celluloid, is making news. He has been portrayed by lyricist Nida Fazli, once a friend and working associate, as a vain and vengeful person. Screen caught up with his daughter Rukhsar who refutes the accusations and looks back at his life from his Almora days to his days of glory as a filmmaker of class, and husband to Meena Kumari

The defamation
When Rukhsar Amrohi chanced upon an article in a leading Urdu paper wherein writer Nida Fazil had portrayed him as a vain and vengeful man with a weakness for women, she was livid. The main allegations were that he liked to be surrounded by several girls in his office, took revenge on actor Dharmendra, his wife Meena Kumari’s alleged lover, by making sure his face was blackened in Razia Sultan, and when on his death-bed called for a mirror and razor to shave as he could not bear to look shabby. “It’s all bakwaas,” says his daughter who is managing director of the sprawling Kamal Amrohi studios in suburban Mumbai. “If girls could be spotted around my abba’s office it was because they were desperate to be cast in his films. Dharmendra played a black slave in Razia Sultan and so the blackening was a part of the make-up. And as for the last accusation, it was I who wanted him to shave and freshen up. I have filed a defamation case against Nida for writing a blatantly false article about abba. The hearing is in mid-June at the Andheri Metropolitan court and I am not going to rest till I clear abba’s name.

The champ from Amroha
Rukhsar’s face turns soft as she harks back to her dad’s lineage. “Abba grew up in Amroha with his parents and siblings as Sayed Amir Hyder Kamal. Always a keen learner, he was among the first from this small town to graduate with degrees then known as Adibe Kamil and Adibe Fazil. Extremely naughty, he left home at the age of 16 when his elder brother scolded him at a family wedding. He left for Lahore where he started writing for dailies and magazines. KL Saigal discovered him and took him to Sohrab Modi. His first film as a writer was Pukar , a big hit of those times. He followed it with Chhalia, Jailor, Shah Jehan, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai and Mughal-E-Azam. As a writer Abba had his personal view of the world and was obsessed by historicals.”

The big step
After working with several studios as a writer, Kamal Amrohi joined Ashok Kumar’s studio, Bombay Talkies. When he showed Ashok Kumar the script of Mahal, the actor immediately wanted to make the film. “But abba had one condition, that he would direct the film as it was his idea and only he knew how to execute the subject. Mahal was the first ‘ghost’ film of Indian cinema and a landmark film for it melodious music and Madhubala’s ethereal beauty.

Generation Next
Kamal Amrohi Studios is a beautiful legacy to his three children Shandaar, Tajdar and Rukhsar. Kamal established his own Kamal Pictures in 1953 and Kamalistan Studio in 1958. It was he who conceptualised the whole studio. When he shot Razia Sultan there, he designed the gardens, fountains and make-up rooms, in fact everything in the studios.” My brothers and I are the managing directors of the studios. Shandaar does not have children, but Tajdar has two sons and his elder son Mashhoor will soon making his debut as an actor. My son Wasim is keen on becoming a filmmaker, while my daughter is working with an entertainment channel as a scriptwriter. Both seem to have inherited my dad’s talent for writing,”smiles Rukshar.

Rukshar remembers abba and chhoti ammi Meena Kumari
When Mahal was released there was a write-up about the film along with a picture of abba (Kamal Amrohi). Meena Kumari was so struck by abba that she kept the clipping and his photograph saying “This man is my idol”.

lWhile working in Daera she met with an accident and was taken to hospital as her left hand was injured. She refused to have her medicines till dad came. The first thing she asked him was if he would still make a film with her and he said yes! It was during her stay in hospital and his taking care of her that they fell in love.

lIt was dad who transformed chhoti ammi from a shy and gawky girl to the beautiful swan that she became. It was he who taught her simple adayaki like how a woman should turn, how she should cover her head with a dupatta, how to recite shaayari and read literary books.

lAbba lived in Mumbai with chhoti ammi in Bandra but my mom and siblings lived in Almora. The first time I met chhoti ammi was when my mom came to know that she was not well and travelled from Almora to Mumbai to see her. When chhoti ammi saw me she got up from the bed, hugged me and kissed my forehead. She was a gentle and loving person.