Of Dead Souls and Living Bodies - My Thoughts on Pakeezah (1972)

Society is not only a collection of human bodies; it’s also a consortium of human dreams, whims, fancies and ambitions – not all of which can ever be realized and not all of which are entirely ethical. Hence, by nature itself, Society is a collection of mortals who have different ambitions, different values and different paths of realizing the same. Despite this or maybe because of it as well, every Society lives by its own rules – rules that may or may not be logical, ethical or even reasonable, the only criteria that matters is that it should be amenable – amenable to the ruling elite. Yes, unfortunately, the law of the society is the law of the privileged, the elite, the frontliners… It’s rule, the rule of the majority – the polite word for the democracy of coercion… Its ethics the final roll call of hypocritical morality, where different standards exist for different people based on differentiation of colour, creed, community, caste, language or gender … A sham with pretensions from which no dissidence is allowed and no divergence of opinion left unscathed.

Society, being all-powerful, its but obvious that all who dare to oppose it’s dictum will be relegated to the sidelines, never to be allowed a second go at life, if they somehow escape the clutches of death.

This then is the end of those who dare to challenge the unwritten writ – those who dare to question the social fabric of the arrangement that we call Society. Those who dare to challenge the institutions of society are never forgiven – they suffer silently and sometimes fatally for their audacity in challenging the system.

Beyond the pale of the society live those condemned by society. And yet, they cannot be done away because they fulfil even in their perpetual condemned exile, the needs of the society – for every moon has a dark side – even if the darkness is banished to the nether land. This is the background on which one of the most beautiful films of Indian Cinema – Pakeezah - is based. Pakeezah means pure and it was indeed very brave of the director to make a movie on a prostitute and call her pure in the society of the 70s when a prostitute was an embodiment of nothing that was pure and holy.

On the face of it, Pakeezah is the story of a courtesan and her instruction in the ways of ‘moral’ life outside her ‘kotha’ – the four walls within which she lives a life of a queen, and beyond which she is condemned a prostitute. Indeed, strange are the ways of morality. She cannot be the honour of a home, but the wealth of a home can be thrown at her feet. You may say then that it is but the destiny of the prostitute. But if you look at it closely, it is actually the mirroring story of a society that refuses to accept its own faults and would gladly give away its sweet flowers to preserve a morality that is decadent at best – in its own eyes.

Meena Kumari as the courtesan (she reprised the role of the mother Nargis as well as the daughter Sahibjan), as usual, is brilliant. The movie was in the making for more than 2 decades; still Meena retains the same expression, the same continuity as if the movie was preserved in some cryogenic engine for all the period. The actress proves her billing as the most versatile actress ever in the history of Indian Cinema by a quiver of a voice, a sudden fall of her tresses, a look that mesmerizes and a stare that penetrates. Nothing is more potent than her expression, while she observes a bird trying to desperately fly from a cage where it has been imprisoned – never before and never after has the feeling of a loss of freedom been better expressed than that one scene which despite the absence of dialogues speaks more eloquently than Shakespeare. This was the tragedienne’s last major performance and her command and hold over the cinegoer is evident that she managed to retain the interest of the public in her for more than 20 years after her first major movie. This is something very rarely achieved among actresses but then Meena was always different.

This movie itself is said to have been conceived as Kamal’s marriage gift to his wife Meena and had started principal photography in the 50s but sadly it took 16 years to make because Meena and Kamal had separated in the 60s due to irreconcilable differences.  It was due to intense efforts on the part of Nargis and Sunil Dutt that Pakeezah saw the light of the day, and Meena returned to the sets. It is said that after watching the final cut, Meena was so overwhelmed that she forgave Kamal every hurt and every pain.

The decades had not been kind to her body but the will was strong – the fire still burnt hard. It was not that the years had been wanting. Brilliant performances like the ones in Daera (1953) and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) had already ensured immortality to the great actress, but as they say sometimes it needs one last hurrah and Pakeezah was the third of the Trinity. It won’t be a hyperbole to state that her performance is like a ‘tear left on the cheeks of eternity’ never to be forgotten and never to be performed again.

Ashok Kumar as the father and husband who failed in his duties both as a father and a husband is impressive. His is a role of a person who is not strong enough to stand up for his rights and who can compromise his happiness for the approval of his peers at the altar of Society, but still cannot forget his loss or make amends with his present. His past haunts him and he spends his time trying to extricate his future from a past that never lets him live in peace. Any normal actor would have failed in portraying this character, since it has few scenes but many emotions but then Ashok was Ashok.

The impotency of a weak character as well as the guilt of a deserter and the depression of a loser is all well portrayed in whatever little screen presence he has in the movie. I especially like the scene where Sapru ridicules him, on his half-hearted attempts and all he can do is bow his head, unable to stomach the insult but equally unable to fight back. To be frank, his Shahabuddin can be seen in the face of every man who walked away from a love due to social pressures.

Raaj Kumar on the other hand as Salim impresses in his performance as a young man who refuses to bow down to the dictates of Society. A finely chiseled performance, Raaj is still remembered for his searing delivery of the romantic line “Aapke Paon Dekhe; Bahut Haseen Hain – Inhe Zameen Pe Naa Utariyega…. Maile Ho Jayenge.”  Simply among the best romantic lines ever! 

As a man, who has both the guts and the gumptions to stand up for the woman he loves, Raaj is simply unbeatable. Thankfully Raaj Kumar doesn’t attempt to become Jaani Kumar in this movie. He remains subdued and plays himself to the contours of the role. This was a marked improvement over the past wherein after Waqt (1965), he had adopted mannerisms that were often marked and marketed the actor above the role.

Veena as Meena’s guardian with an acidic and acerbic tongue that drips of sarcasm performs brilliantly in a short cameo role. Sapru also impresses as the old-timer with rigid notions of vice and virtue. Kamal Kapoor as an extravagant Nawab also performs well. However, Nadira is wasted in a role of no consequence.

Ghulam Mohammed, a great but unlucky composer, proves his capability by composing some of the most beautiful melodies of all time. He was a longtime associate of Naushad about whom Naushad remarked “Such is the travesty of nature and destiny that I should have been his assistant but he spent his lifetime assisting me in my compositions.” No wonder, after his untimely death, Naushad took it upon himself to complete the movie compositions and the background score and did it with such a spectacular finesse that shows his respect for his erstwhile assistant.

Pakeezah contains some of the best songs sung by the immortal Lata Mangeshkar – “Inhi Logon ne”, “Thade Rahiyo”, “Chalte Chalte” and Mausam Hai Ashiqana”, all of which are acclaimed classics in their own right, and the Lata Mangeshkar – Mohammed Rafi duet “Chalo Dildaar Chalo”, known for the spectacular use of echo sounds.

The director, Kamal Amrohi is a man in a class by his own. It’s to the credit of this great writer, producer and director that each and every movie directed by him (there are 4 in all) enjoy the status of cult in their own styles. While Mahal was the first movie on reincarnation and Daera, the first feminist film of India; Pakeezah can be considered the first film that challenges the concept of a fallen woman. The vibrancy of ancient Awadh and Lucknow and the culture of a fast-dying Muslim elite is well captured and very few movies can claim to hold a candle to this movie as far as the depiction of the period is concerned.

As a director, Kamal succeeds in portraying all the three principal characters in a very highly coherent frame. The use of metaphors and the play of light are well depicted and so is the story well developed by the entry of every frame. Not a single shot is out of place.

Pakeezah boasts of some of the best cinematography ever seen in Hindi Cinema. I have been told that the principal photography was done by Joseph Wirsching and on his death, 8 top cinematographers combined to work on the film. Well, Hats off to them because the tone and tenor remains constant irrespective of the same. Also, the editing by D N Pai and continuity of the film are first rate. 

A special mention needs to be made of the Art Work by N B Kulkarni. It is one of the best art designs in a long time. As an example, look at the way the introductory song of the younger Meena has been shot ... The Song "Inhi Logon Ne ... " has a panaromic view of the entire bazaar with about 6-8 dancers  (playing prostitutes) dancing in their own durbar on the same song. The focus is on Meena but if you glance outside, you can see the other dancers in their own kothis performing mujra, independent of each other, and below is the busy throughfare, teeming with humans. Again, to the credit of the director, observe the bazaar, every second the scene is different. There is total continuity and no scene is repeated.

 In short, it remains to date a crash course reminder of an elite past and a firm revolutionary statement of an ambitious future. It is also maybe the best marriage gift on record by a director husband for his actress wife, though Kamal was not a good husband by a mile or more.

But finally who is Pakeezah? In my mind,  she is actually the faceless woman who appears in the end and looks out longingly at the marriage procession that files by – thinking if something similar is held out for her, in her future! 

Hazaaron Saal Nargis Apni Be-Noori Pe Roti Hai

Badi Mushquil Se Hota Hai Chaman Mein Deedavar Paida

Sadly rarely does the Daffodil bloom in those cloistered houses of silent screams.