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Pakeezah: An Ode To A Bygone World
An entertaining look at one of the landmarks of Hindi cinema
Meghnad Desai tracks the film’s tortuous journey and reveals fascinating, little-known aspects of it. He foregrounds the craftsmanship, perseverance and perfectionism of its maker, Kamal Amrohi, who would wait weeks for the perfect sunset. Desai sees the film as a ‘Muslim social’ set in a ‘Lucknow of the Muslim imagination’; as a woman-centric film with a dancing heroine at a time when they were a rarity; and above all, as a film that harkes back to an era of ‘nawabi culture with its exquisite tehzeeb’, a world that is lost forever. Pakeezah: An Ode to a Bygone World is a fitting tribute to a film that Meghnad Desai calls ‘a monument to the golden age of Hindustani films’.
Meghnad Desai tracks the film’s tortuous journey and reveals fascinating, little-known aspects of it. He foregrounds the craftsmanship, perseverance and perfectionism of its maker, Kamal Amrohi, who would wait weeks for the perfect sunset. Desai sees the film as a ‘Muslim social’ set in a ‘Lucknow of the Muslim imagination’; as a woman-centric film with a dancing heroine at a time when they were a rarity; and above all, as a film that harkes back to an era of ‘nawabi culture with its exquisite tehzeeb’, a world that is lost forever. Pakeezah: An Ode to a Bygone World is a fitting tribute to a film that Meghnad Desai calls ‘a monument to the golden age of Hindustani films’.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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About the author
Meghnad Desai
61 books14 followersMeghnad Desai is emeritus professor of economics, London School of Economics, where he was also founder and former director of the Global Governance Research Centre. He is a member of the House of Lords and chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 4, 2018
In the past couple of years, I have read almost a dozen books on making of a particular movie and this was the first on a movie which I havent watched yet. Recently, I was watching "Golden Years" and "Classic Legends" by Javed Akhtar on Netflix and was quite intrigued by a blockbuster movie that took 15 years to complete - Pakeezah.
This book tells the story of this movie and the people behind it - Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari in particular. Was quite impressed by Kamal Amrohi's perfectionism, skill and persistence (afterall it took 15 years). Was surprised to know that the movie began in 1957 and Ashok Kumar's scenes were filmed in 1969 (after 12 years). I remember how when I tried to watch it earlier and was put off by a visibly wrinked Ashok Kumar romancing Meena Kumari. Obviously, after 15 years, even Meena Kumari had changed and they had to use body doubles as times. But despite these shortcomings, there must be something of great substance in "Pakeezah" that it was a super-hit, although after a slow start and is counted as Meena Kumari's signature film along with "Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam".
This book tells the story of this movie and the people behind it - Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari in particular. Was quite impressed by Kamal Amrohi's perfectionism, skill and persistence (afterall it took 15 years). Was surprised to know that the movie began in 1957 and Ashok Kumar's scenes were filmed in 1969 (after 12 years). I remember how when I tried to watch it earlier and was put off by a visibly wrinked Ashok Kumar romancing Meena Kumari. Obviously, after 15 years, even Meena Kumari had changed and they had to use body doubles as times. But despite these shortcomings, there must be something of great substance in "Pakeezah" that it was a super-hit, although after a slow start and is counted as Meena Kumari's signature film along with "Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam".
May 23, 2014
Recommended? Yes, if you like trivia (and some gossip about Meena Kumari’s and Kamal Amrohi’s personal lives). No, if you’re keen on insights and deeper meaning.
My full review of this book, here:
http://dustedoff.wordpress.com/2014/0...
My full review of this book, here:
http://dustedoff.wordpress.com/2014/0...
July 11, 2020
Seeing Meghnad Desai’s name on a book about a classic Hindi film looks like an unlikely occurrence. But then you think, hold on, this man is one of the globe’s foremost economists and hence must hold an analytic mind - perhaps he could use these skills to bring to the fore certain aspects about the film that the layperson may not have noticed otherwise.
Well, how wrong you are.
The truth is that this book is a total waste - a waste of paper, a waste of time (both for those who read it and the writer who’s penned it). Mr. Desai fails to provide any new insight into this renowned Muslim social. What is especially irksome is the generalisations he repeatedly indulges in. Nothing in these pages is based on concrete research and there are annoying repetitions of facts already well established.
To sum up, this is a pointless book. Neither does it act as a companion piece to the film nor does it add any value addition. Your best bet would be to plainly revisit the classic motion picture and bask in its poetry, beauty and unparalleled visual splendour.
Well, how wrong you are.
The truth is that this book is a total waste - a waste of paper, a waste of time (both for those who read it and the writer who’s penned it). Mr. Desai fails to provide any new insight into this renowned Muslim social. What is especially irksome is the generalisations he repeatedly indulges in. Nothing in these pages is based on concrete research and there are annoying repetitions of facts already well established.
To sum up, this is a pointless book. Neither does it act as a companion piece to the film nor does it add any value addition. Your best bet would be to plainly revisit the classic motion picture and bask in its poetry, beauty and unparalleled visual splendour.
September 5, 2021
This is book is equal parts charming and frustrating. Like the film Pakeezah that it is an ode to, Meghnad Desai's book is a labour of love battling it's own limitations, much like how Kamal Amrohi, the director of Pakeezah made the film.
Meghnad Desai is not a film historian nor an academic nor historian in any discipline. He is an economist by profession and he approaches this film as a lover of the classical Indian cinema.
Film history and criticism is not a flourishing discipline in India which is why there has been so few books of serious academia documenting the golden years of the 50s and 60s or early Indian cinema pre Independence.
This is why it was left to Meghnad Desai, an economist to write the book on one of the most important films in Indian cinema. He approaches this task as a lover of the film and Indian cinema and the book is filled with all the trivia a fan could find from film magazines and articles written at the time and autobiographies of contemporaries.
Add that with Desai's own interpretations and love of the film, and the book is a great companion to the film.
But Desai not being a film historian means the book doesn't quite a historian's drive and vigor for research, fact finding, probing people's accounts and examining archives. What is tragic is that until 2013 when Desai's book came out, there never was any serious attempt to document the minute details of the lives of the first generation of Indian filmmakers and actors. As such, today most of the people who could have provided us with first hand account of their lives have sadly passed away and the stories, memories, letters and reflections are lost to us for ever.
As we are all Meghnad Desai, desperately trying to piece together some insight, some sense of the lives of the minds behind the films from the remnants and scraps of of film magazines and newspaper articles still available.
With the little that's available, Meghnad Desai's book fills the gaps with love and nostalgia. The book becomes the last bastion of our ode to Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi, two creative geniuses who shared a beautiful and tragic companionship to leave us with their labour of love - a film called Pakeezah.
Meghnad Desai is not a film historian nor an academic nor historian in any discipline. He is an economist by profession and he approaches this film as a lover of the classical Indian cinema.
Film history and criticism is not a flourishing discipline in India which is why there has been so few books of serious academia documenting the golden years of the 50s and 60s or early Indian cinema pre Independence.
This is why it was left to Meghnad Desai, an economist to write the book on one of the most important films in Indian cinema. He approaches this task as a lover of the film and Indian cinema and the book is filled with all the trivia a fan could find from film magazines and articles written at the time and autobiographies of contemporaries.
Add that with Desai's own interpretations and love of the film, and the book is a great companion to the film.
But Desai not being a film historian means the book doesn't quite a historian's drive and vigor for research, fact finding, probing people's accounts and examining archives. What is tragic is that until 2013 when Desai's book came out, there never was any serious attempt to document the minute details of the lives of the first generation of Indian filmmakers and actors. As such, today most of the people who could have provided us with first hand account of their lives have sadly passed away and the stories, memories, letters and reflections are lost to us for ever.
As we are all Meghnad Desai, desperately trying to piece together some insight, some sense of the lives of the minds behind the films from the remnants and scraps of of film magazines and newspaper articles still available.
With the little that's available, Meghnad Desai's book fills the gaps with love and nostalgia. The book becomes the last bastion of our ode to Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi, two creative geniuses who shared a beautiful and tragic companionship to leave us with their labour of love - a film called Pakeezah.
October 21, 2023
Hard As It May Seem Possible, This Book Is Almost As Fascinating As The Classic Film That Almost Got Dumped Midway Time And Again During The 15 Long Years It Took To Be Finally Completed After Several False Starts And Many More Nasty Hiccups Before it Finally Emerged To It’s Cult Status.
This Ode To A Byegone Era That Flows Effortlessly From The Pen Of Meghnad Desai Mirrors The Finer Nuances For Readers And Filmgoers Alike. It Is Only After You Watch The Movie Having Read This Heartwarming Ode Do You Realise What Was Missed The First Time Because The Awe And Aura Surrounding The Film When It Was First Released.
Having Watched Pakeezah Over Half A Century Ago During It’s Maiden Run A Few Weeks After The Tragic Demise Of The The Leading Lady Meena Kumari Also Aptly Known As The Tragedy Queen Of Indian Cinema And Watching It Once Again After Soaking In Vital Inputs From This Book That Is Indeed A Touching Tribute And Is Truly Indeed An Eye Opener. It Almost Seems Like One Is Watching A Brand New Film With A Namesake Classic. That’s How Beautifully Written Is This Book A True Ode To Pakeezah Indeed!!!
This Ode To A Byegone Era That Flows Effortlessly From The Pen Of Meghnad Desai Mirrors The Finer Nuances For Readers And Filmgoers Alike. It Is Only After You Watch The Movie Having Read This Heartwarming Ode Do You Realise What Was Missed The First Time Because The Awe And Aura Surrounding The Film When It Was First Released.
Having Watched Pakeezah Over Half A Century Ago During It’s Maiden Run A Few Weeks After The Tragic Demise Of The The Leading Lady Meena Kumari Also Aptly Known As The Tragedy Queen Of Indian Cinema And Watching It Once Again After Soaking In Vital Inputs From This Book That Is Indeed A Touching Tribute And Is Truly Indeed An Eye Opener. It Almost Seems Like One Is Watching A Brand New Film With A Namesake Classic. That’s How Beautifully Written Is This Book A True Ode To Pakeezah Indeed!!!
November 8, 2013
Interesting.. a little repetitive in some parts
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews