Meena Kumari's Death Anniversary Special: Journey of Kamal Amrohi's 'Pakeezah'

The story behind the making of Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah, tribute to Meena Kumari.

Easily one of the longest Indian films ever to be in production, Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah featuring Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar and Ashok Kumar started shooting in 1956 and eventually had its premiere sixteen years later in February 1972. What started as Amrohi's tribute to his wife Meena Kumari suffered through the ups and downs of their relationship as well.

Pakeezah had a grand premiere at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir on 4 February 1972. Amrohi's muse for Pakeezah, Meena Kumari, tragically passed away just weeks after on 31st March.

Meena Kumari Inspired 'Pakeezah'

It was Amrohi who gave a break to a young 16-year-old Madhubala in his film Mahal (1949) and made her a star. Shortly after, Amrohi met Meena Kumari on the sets of her film Tamasha (1952) and the two fell in love despite the fact that Amrohi was already twice married. The filmmaker initially planned to make an ambitious film titled Anarkali with Kumari in the lead, however the film got shelved due to budget issues and after Kumari met with an accident that left her hospitalised for a while. Amrohi also abandoned the project since K Asif was already working on his epic, Mughal-E-Azam.

Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari reportedly got married in a very private ceremony on 14 February, 1952. Only Amrohi's close friends and Kumari's younger sister were part of their wedding. Kumari was reportedly 19 when she married Amrohi, while he was 34. Soon after their marriage, Amrohi cast Meena Kumari in his film Daaera along with Nasir Khan (Dilip Kumar's younger brother). The film, which was loosely based on Amrohi and Kumari's own love story, failed to work at the box-office.

Though Amrohi faced a setback as a director, Meena Kumari signed on for projects with some of the biggest stars of her time including Dilip Kumar. It was apparently while shooting for Dilip Kumar's Azaad (1955) that the idea of making Pakeezah was first discussed by Amrohi and Kumari. Azaad starring Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Pran and others was the highest grossing film of the year and Amrohi could dream about ambitiously paying a cinematic tribute to his wife Meena Kumari by making Pakeezah.

'Pakeezah' Begins

The shoot for Pakeezah began in 1956, German cinematographer Josef Wirsching (who was based out of India) shot Pakeezah, but he passed away in 1967 while the film was still incomplete. Pakeezah was initially conceived as a black and white film, but was eventually released in colour. This was the only colour film shot by Wirsching. According to a note written on a reel with Kamal Picutres, the song 'Inhi Logo Ne...' was shot on 16 July, 1956.

The Music of 'Pakeezah'

Even the music composer of Pakeezah, Ghulam Mohammed, passed away while the film was still under production. Popular music director Naushad took over and completed the background music of the film after Mohammed's death. Pakeezah's soundtrack went on to become one of the highest-selling albums of the 1970s. Mohammed had composed some of Indian cinema's everlasting classics for Pakeezah, these included Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi..., Thaare Rahiyo O Banke Yaar..., Chalo Dildar Chalo..., Mausam Hai Ashiqana... and others. According to Tajdar Amrohi, Mohammed had composed 12 songs for the film and Amrohi chose to keep 6 of them. When Pakeezah was restarted in 1968, some of Amrohi's friends suggested that he get a new soundtrack composed for the film since Mohammed's songs would have been outdated, but the filmmaker refused to do so.

When Meena Kumari Walked Out on Kamal Amrohi

Between 1956 and 1964 Pakeezah made some progress but could not be completed. The delay was reportedly caused by Amrohi's quest to lock the best cast, build elaborate sets (the bazaar-e-husn set in which Inhi Logon Ne... was picturised reportedly took 6 months to build) and also because he wrote and rewrote the script several times. However, the main reason for Pakeezah being shelved indefinitely was because by then Amrohi and Meena Kumari had started living separately due to unresolvable differences. According to Tajdar Amrohi, Kamal Amrohi's son from his first wife, the filmmaker had laid down a few conditions to Meena Kumari during their marriage. The actor was not to sign any new films, she was not allowed to work after 6pm, and nobody was allowed to enter her makeup room. It would've been hard for someone like Kumari to adhere to such conditions happily. But a major cause of their disconnect was apparently because Kumari had allegedly had an abortion and Amrohi was devastated by it. Following one of their fights, Meena Kumari left Amrohi and started living with her sister Madhu, actor and comedian Mehmood's wife.

By 1964, Kumari had become hugely popular and a much sought after actor with hits like Dil Apna Preet Parai, Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam and Dil Ek Mandir to her name. After her separation though, Kumari became seriously ill and was also trying to battle her alcohol addiction.

According to an interview given by Tajdar to a prominent film magazine, Meena Kumari started drinking only after her separation. He claims to have been very close to his step-mother (Kumari) and also says that he pleaded with her to quit drinking on several occasions. After staying with her sister for a while, Kumari had shifted to her own house in Bandra. Four years after their separation, Kumari finally met Amrohi again. In the meanwhile, the filmmaker had shown the rushes of Pakeezah to his friends such as music director Khayyam, and actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis. All of them persuaded Amrohi to complete Pakeezah. "“It will be a grave injustice to cinema if you don’t make this film,” is what Dutt reportedly said to Amrohi after seeing a few reels. So, when Amrohi met Kumari again, he broached the subject of completing Pakeezah, however Kumari was apprehensive about her medical condition (liver cirrhosis) and her physical appearance. The actor's main concern was whether Amrohi will be able to present her as she was when she first shot for the film over a decade ago.

Some reports state that Kumari had then just returned to India after spending time at a rehabilitation centre in Europe for her alcoholism and so was all set to finish Pakeezah after Amrohi reassured her that he would present her at her best.

'Pakeezah' Resumes

The shooting for Pakeezah was resumed in 1968, according to Tajdar Amrohi, they began by filming the song Mausam Hai Aashiqana... picturised on Meena Kumari. Apparently, Kumari's medication due to her liver condition had resulted in a lot of weight gain, and so she wore a loose kurta and lungi to feel comfortable enough to be on camera.

Kumari's health couldn't keep up with her enthusiasm to see Pakeezah completed. The effort required to shoot, especially dance sequences were strenuous. Amrohi decided to use a body double for Meena Kumari in some scenes. Actor Padma Khanna was chosen to stand-in for Meena Kumari in long shots during dances and scenes which were physically demanding, such as the scene where the actor had to run on a railway track. The ethereal song Chalo Dildaar Chalo... does not feature Meena Kumari at all. The song features Raaj Kumar clearly while Meena Kumari is only shown with a dupatta hiding her face, because the actor could not shoot for it.

Amrohi wanted the best for his ode to Meena Kumari while making Pakeezah, Tajdar Amrohi says in an interview that the props of the film included real jewellery sourced from Jaipur and Bangalore, Kumari's artificial plaits were bought from Bhendi Bazaar and her bangles from Mumbai's Null Bazaar. The fabric material for the costumes were brought from Dadar. Real attar was used in the scenes, especially the one in which Meena Kumari soaks her hair in water perfumed with attar. Pakeezah took another 3 years to complete, it was initially supposed to release in 1971 but was delayed by the Indo-Pak war of 1971. The film finally had its premiere in February 1972.

'Pakeezah': Premiere and Reactions

A live band welcomed guests at the premiere of Pakeezah at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir on 4 February 1972. The prints of the film arrived in a special horse-driven buggy at Maratha Mandir. Several celebrities including Nargis, Waheeda Rahman, Rekha, Mohammed Rafi, BR Chopra and Naushad attended the premiere. Kamal Amrohi was there with Meena Kumari, the couple was garlanded at the entry as they walked in.

It was but natural that the anticipation around Pakeezah had slowly tapered because of the delay in the film's release over 16 years. The subjects and themes dealt with and their narrative styles had undergone a change in this time period and neither was Meena Kumari the reigning star that she once used to be at the box office. Also, as per reports, there seemed there seem to have been a clear division of opinion between English and Urdu film critics about the film. Filmfare reportedly gave it just 1 star, while other local language publications like Amrita Bazar Patrika were more gracious with their reviews.

While Amrohi was disheartened by the critical reviews his film received initially, Pakeezah turned out to be the second biggest hit of the year after Ramesh Sippy's Seeta Aur Geeta. Pakeezah ran for over 50 weeks and was declared a golden jubilee hit. While the response in theatres was average during the initial weeks, crowds thronged to see the film after Meena Kumari passed away on 31 March, 1972 making it a big commercial success. And thus, the story of the making of Amrohi's Pakeezah, a tribute to his wife Meena Kumari, is as engaging as any film itself.