— kamal amrohi s pr man
in 1954, during shooting of azaad (1955 film), meena kumari , kamal amrohi in south india, , here kamal amrohi began outlining plot of next film wife , decided call pakeezah . movie, title has fascinating history too; title changed many times due superstitious reasons, original stayed. after failure of daera in 1953, pakeezah idea, roaming around in amrohi s mind. concept, said, irretrievably fixed love wife. hoped create film worthy of actress, , worthy of love felt woman. kamal declared every line wrote, had meena in mind. wished present on screen no 1 had before: beautiful, sad, sanguine, dejected, calculating, sexy - ambitioned capture many dimensions of knew of. pakeezah took 16 years reach silver screen. first planned amrohi in 1956 black , white venture, film transformed colour cinemascope venture. went on studio floors in 1964, shooting came standstill after separation (never formally divorced), in march 1964, when more halfway complete.
kamal amrohi wrote letter estranged wife on 24 august 1968.
pakeezah completion remains unsettled. have made condition unless give divorce not complete pakeezah. knot can untied... free marital ties. after this, if wish complete pakeezah, happy so. request, pakeezah on fortune of many people depends, , had wishes of many people, should not left uncompleted if possible. have better means. have box office appeal, , of pakeezah needs personally... pakeezah sinking ship reach shore under care.
meena kumari wrote husband kamal amrohi in 1969
in regard working in pakeezah, have been willing , clamoring work. pakeezah life dream , greatest pleasure see completed. remuneration, glad have given me opportunity prove regards , respect you. shall accept 1 guinea token of goodwill entire work in pakeezah.
on 16 march 1969, 5 years , twelve days after left husband, gravely ill, meena kumari reported work again on pakeezah. kamal amrohi organized great reception. gave wife peda (sweet) peace offering , made documentary film on arrival @ studio. meena kumari determined complete film and, aware of limited time left live, went out of way complete @ earliest. despite rapidly deteriorating health, gave finishing touches performance. vinod mehta (writer of meena kumari - classic biography) shared incident occurred during last days of shooting of pakeezah: on outdoor shooting kamal amrohi s unit travelled in 2 cars near place called shivpuri in madhya pradesh, cars ran out of petrol, , miles around there nothing except long, deserted, straight road. discovered bus passed on route every morning fuel purchased. kamal amrohi decided spend night in desert; ordered unit roll windows of cars , hope best. little after midnight occupants of vehicles surrounded dozen armed men. men knocked on closed windows , forced way in. when armed gang leader learned 1 of people in car meena kumari, attitude changed. turned out meena kumari fan, , welcomed guests in true fan tradition. organized music, dancing, , food. provided place sleep. instructed juniors next morning fetch petrol unit. meena kumari, wanted special favor. sharpened knife , took her. please autograph hand , requested. meena not new signing autographs had never attempted ambitious knife. nervously, wrote name on man s hand. said grateful favor. once unit left, found @ next town had spent night in camp of madhya pradesh s renowned , dangerous dacoit - amrit lal.
khursheed said: work between them, meena had no feeling left kamal, , if thinks else, fooling himself.
—meena kumari pakeezah (1972)
pakeezah had grand premiere on 3 february 1972, @ maratha mandir theatre, in central mumbai, , prints being carried on decked-up palanquin. meena kumari arrived attend last premiere of life. kumari let raaj kumar, benefit of press, kiss hand , went in see film. meena kumari sat next kamal amrohi during premiere. when mohammed zahur khayyam complimented meena kumari shahkar ban gaya. (it s priceless.), in tears. after watching whole film, kumari told friend convinced husband finest film-maker in india. kumari regarded film kamal amrohi s tribute her. film released general masses following day. idea once lingered in creator s mind 18 years reached silver screen on 4 february 1972. pakeezah enjoyed successful run of 33 weeks , celebrated silver jubilee. film has since gained cult , classic status, , meena kumari s performance golden-hearted lucknow nautch girl drew major praise.
she posthumously received twelfth , last filmfare nomination pakeezah. bengal film journalists association awards bestowed special award meena kumari pakeezah in 1973.
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