Pakeezah VS Umraao Jaan
Aadil Moosa
I have seen these movies and thoroughly enjoyed both of these films. They
were both musically exhilarating and lyrically breath taking. Meena Kumari
in Pakeeza and Rekha in Umraao Jaan were scintillating. The love they showed
are immortalised in my memories. Meena Kumari's dance on the glass
(Teer-E-Nazar) had me in tears. The affection she had for Raj Kumar in the
movie was really felt!! So too was Rekha's performance. The dances had me
rewinding the movie. 'Chalte Chalte', 'Inhi Logo Ne', 'Thare Rahiyo' and
'Mausam Hai Aashiqana' are my favourites in Pakeeza. In Umraao Jaan I liked
'In Aankhon Ki Masti', 'Dil Cheez Kya Hai' and 'Yeh Kya Jage Hai Doston'.
Ghulam Mohammed and Khaiyyam for Pakeeza and Umraao Jaan respectively did
their best with the compositions. Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle's voices
are definitely appreciated. In an interview Khaiyyam said that he took
Ashaji in Umraao Jaan because if he took Lata, then the music of Umraao Jaan
would have had a Pakeeza hangover. I think that he was right and Asha
excelled with the songs. I think she won a National Award for Umraao Jaan if
I am not mistaken. Its sad that film makers are not making movies like these
anymore. The beauty, the innocence, the reality.. I can go on. The
Mehfil-E-Mujhra dances are so graceful. I mean in Pakeeza Meena Kumari was
43 and see how beautiful she still looked. It really makes me look forward
to Devdas, wherein Madhuri has the role of a Mujhra dancer. What do you guys
think? Was Pakeeza Or Umraao Jaan Better? I really cant say.
Aadil Moosa
Muqudar
Meena Kumari passed away. Before that, the movie wasn't doing very well. I am
not so sure about the success of Umrao Jaan, I am guessing it was a big hit for
Rekha.
If I had to choose, I would say Umrao Jaan.
Cricfan
> Pakeeza Vs Umraao Jaan
>
--deleted--
>Its sad that film makers are not making movies like these
> anymore.
'Sardari Begum' was on the same theme. Apparently, 'Chandni Bar' is on
the same topic as well. But yes, one can't compare 'Pakeezah' and
'Umrao Jaan' to these movies.
>The beauty, the innocence, the reality.. I can go on. The
> Mehfil-E-Mujhra dances are so graceful. I mean in Pakeeza Meena Kumari was
> 43 and see how beautiful she still looked.
Pakeezah was between 34 and 43. The film took all of 9 years to make
due to Meena Kumari's alcoholism.
Cheers
Arun
Girish Bhat
I hope there are people who care enough to flame me for the
following. ;-)
Pakeezah is the superior film, whether u look from the story point of
view, the dialogues, the cinematography, the background music, the
acting, the charisma of the leading lady, whatever.
For all the hype associated with Umrao Jaan, it's a extremely bad
boring and pointless film. The director (Muzzafar Ali?) is not a
master of his craft by any strech of imagination. Buy the cassete by
all means,
but avoid the movie. Many who watch the movie are certain to be
disappointed.
Muqudar
view, the dialogues, the cinematography, the background music, the
acting, the charisma of the leading lady, whatever.>>
As if Rekha was less charismatic than Meena Kumari.
Habshi
how people remembered only the old songs .
On Sat, 5 Jan 2002 04:18:36 +0200, "Aadil Moosa" <moo...@mweb.co.za>
wrote:
Michel Hafner
Haven't seen "Umrao Jaan" yet, but the music is superb. One of my favourites.
So is "Pakeezah". Unfortunately there are no good DVDs of them available yet.
And yes, it's said that this kind of music/film is no longer made.
MH
Puru
whorey religious group of people.
Sikundar
I dont care about the two, Sridevi is the most charismatic of the three.
Muqudar
Of course =)
Sydney Assbasket
>due to Meena Kumari's alcoholism.
>
>
>Cheers
>Arun
>
Did Kamal Amrohi want Meena Kumari to be in the film so badly that he tolerated
her alcoholism for 9 years? Oh, she was married to Amrohi, wasn't she?
________________________________________________________________
If love of money is the root of all evil, why do churches want it so badly?
Remove "bination" to reply.
Muqudar
shooting for this film, Meena Kumari's health was so bad that the last song
that needed to be recorded (can anyone tell me which song it was?) was mostly
done by another artist (don't recall her name either). Meena Kumari was such a
perfectionist that she wanted the other artist to walk and dance exactly like
her so that the audience wouldn't be able to tell that it wasn't her dancing.
Just thought I should share this.
Sanjay Garg
reasons that Padma Khanna did most of the dance sequences for Meena Kumari.
It was because Meena was a bad dancer. A great actor but a bad dancer. And
for a movie where dances are integral part of the storyline, I think Amrohi
did a good job, having a dancer to do the dances.
I personally like Pakeezah over UmraaoJaan, but then its probably because I
never liked Rekha anyway. I think she is one of the most overrated acctress.
Sanjay
"Muqudar" <muq...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020106224619...@mb-mc.aol.com...
Cricfan
> >Pakeezah was between 34 and 43. The film took all of 9 years to make
> >due to Meena Kumari's alcoholism.
> >
> >
> >Cheers
> >Arun
> >
>
> Did Kamal Amrohi want Meena Kumari to be in the film so badly that he tolerated
> her alcoholism for 9 years? Oh, she was married to Amrohi, wasn't she?
I dug up some articles from the web..
------
Hindustan Times (http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/151200/htw01.asp)
Kamaal Amrohi, in a bid to resuscitate his marriage with Meena Kumari
and revive his own volatile career, had drawn up grandiose plans to
produce and direct a lavish film on the lives of courtesans in the age
of the Awadhi Nawabs. He called it Pakeezah. Little did he know that
the film would take 17 turbulent years to complete and would become
the ageing Meena Kumari's swan song. Pakeezah remains till date one of
the grandest Hindi films to capture the ambience and essence of Awadhi
culture. The film is replete with stellar performances by Raaj Kumar,
Ashok Kumar and of course Meena Kumari herself. The authentic mujrahs,
the melodic songs, the haunting havelis and the harsh politics of love
and family pride have been sensitively filmed in a saga that leaves
the viewer moist-eyed. Raaj Kumar's poignant footnote, to the sleeping
Meena Kumari has been immortalised, "Aapke paon dekhe. Bahut haseen
hain. Inhe zameen pe mat utariyega, Maile ho jayenge." It is the
recurring motif in the film and continues to tug at heartstrings even
today.
Pakeezah was a super-hit film. But within weeks of its release in
early 1972, Meena Kumari lay dying in a nursing home in Mumbai. Her
emotional traumas, her estranged family, her exploitative lovers and
sundry other partners had only hastened her end. She was known to be
heavily addicted to alcohol, deadening her senses and creativity with
liquor and leading a carelessly decadent existence. On the sets of one
of her last films, Mere Apne, Meena Kumari was known to stagger onto
the locations, sometimes in a total mess. Viewers could never have
imagined what it took her to deliver those memorable lines. She was
doing her bit for Gulzar, the upcoming director, whom she had groomed.
Life took its toll on this incredibly talented actress. She was only
40 when she died, all alone in the nursing home, without a soul to
even clear her hospital bills. It is said her doctor paid the hospital
bills. Meena Kumari had passed into history
---------------
From Javed Akhtar's website
http://www.javedakhtar.com/apneeng.htm
I have become acquainted with a second hand bookseller on the pavement
outside Andhei Station so there's never a shortage of books to read
which I do late into the night in the dim light of the studio
compound. Friends often mock saying I would soon go blind with all
this reading. I get a chance to sleep inside a room. This has the
studio wardrobes where costumes of the film Pakeezah are stored. The
shooting of this film has been suspended as Meena Kumari and Kamaal
Amrohi have separated. One night I open one of the wardrobes and
amidst assorted shoes and sandals lie the three FILMFARE trophies
which Meena Kumari has won.
------------------------
Ciao
Arun
Afzal A. Khan
Having gone through 10-12 responses, I cannot help feeling
how the similarities are being highlighted. The main
factor of course is that both narrate the lives and loves
of tawaaifs or courtesans. But, IMHO, there is one
significant difference. "Umrao Jaan" is based on a novel
and deals with a time period preceding and following the
1857 events (call it GHadar or War of Indeoendence). The
film tries to depict those times as faithfully as possible.
"Pakeezah", on the other hand, pertains to a later period.
There are some disjointed elements in the story like
elephants attacking the boat etc., which seem rather
unreal. "Umrao Jaan" not only depicts the life of a
courtesan, it is also a commentary on the decadent culture
of mid-nineteenth century and the changing times. The
costumes worn by the actors in this movie seem absolutely
authentic relative to the time element. For comparison,
one can also see "Shatranj ke Khiladi" made by Satyajit
Ray. The dances in "Pakeezah" are more of a filmi type.
Muzaffar Ali may not be a great director but I feel he
has done a more sincere and realistic job. Rekha too
looked more youthful, whereas Meena at times seemed
rather haggard. Meena was probably the greatest
actress in Hindi cinema, but her portrayals belonged
to an earlier era. Rekha I feel is more versatile
and did full justice to her role. "Pakeezah" would be
remembered more as Meena Kumari's swan-song and for its
music. OTOH, "Umrao Jaan" was a more complete film
and moviegoers are likely to remember it not merely
for its gorgeous sets, costumes, music and perform-
ances, but also as a memorable film as a whole.
Another remarkable thing about the film was that both
Rekha and Khaiyyam won not only the Filmfare Award
but also the National Award.
Afzal
Meredith
moved by this forum to see Pakeezah last night. I enjoyed Pakeezah
for its songs and dances, and the climactic scene was very moving, but
the narrative was very discordant. At times the transitions were not
only jolting but almost nonsensical. And the elephant attack **had**
to have been Subhash Ghai's inspiration for the "When Alligators
Attack!" scene in Yaadein; I almost died laughing!
Anywho, Umrao Jaan was a more coherent story, though I don't think it
did justice to Mirza's novel. Yet for beauty of dialogue and sheer
entertainment value (even if sometimes inadvertant or unintentional),
Pakeezah wins.
Aadil Moosa
Really appreciate that knowledge.
Kindest Regards
Aadil