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Pakeezah

Play trailer Poster for Pakeezah 1971 2h 5m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A Muslim prostitute, Sahibjaan (Meena Kumari) yearns to escape the brothel in which she was brought up, much like her mother Nargis (also Kumari) before her, who also lived the life of a courtesan. But, when a young man from a respectable family, Salim Ahmed Khan (Raaj Kumar), hears her sing and dance, he falls in love. Unfortunately, his wealthy parents are against any relationship between them, so Salim abandons his family in order to be with Sahibjaan, even after he finds out about her past.

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Pakeezah

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
David Robinson Times (UK) It requires from an audience stamina and submission to the Scheherazade tradition of story-telling. Sep 24, 2020 Full Review Sheila Johnston Time Out A byzantine story (of star-crossed lovers) that proceeds fitfully through the fabulous logic of dreams; luscious colour-scope photography, and a febrile camera craning and tracking restlessly through fairytale locations and sets. Oct 20, 2017 Full Review Jimmy Cage Jimmy Cage Movie Reviews (YouTube) PAKEEZAH is a hopelessly romantic drama that covers and enchants the viewer with a dazzling synergy of colors, costumes, sets, classical music, profound characters and a bittersweet, heartbreaking story. Rated: 8/10 Feb 24, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (51) audience reviews
Audience Member "Immortal movie " A film that will always remain alive & leave us beguiled everytime we watch it. An awe-inspiring magnum opus, its this ultimate feminist romantic adventure and reformist epic , a poetic elegy executed with infinite elegance and opulence which makes all other movies on the planet look like a mere amateur manoeuver with its spiritual ambiance and intellectual romanticism. This art work marks the coult classical work of Bollywood in the 70s and before, reminds us of the beauty, purity, sweetness, honour and pride of Urdu language. Performance by film's cast is appreciable especially the lead actress Meena kumari rules the show. Meena kumari's spirit dies with this movie and she prodigiously expresses the mighty resplendence of her character. It becomes evident from her extraordinary charms throughout the movie that she was peerless and had no match, who could weild the character. All that are her ever remembered potencies. The actor Raj Kumar does a great job & rest all the cast deserve extolment. Coming to the hert pounding music, The music takes us to over zillion worlds all together. Ghulam Muhammad's immortal songs and Naushad sahib's Classic background scores leave one becharmed. The haunting train whistles , the drums, the flutes, the beats, the unequaled background scores & all the classic song vocals pulsate pulsate with energy & pierce our heart and souls deeply. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Tortuous story of love and rejection with the acting centering on the emotion of the performances rather than a heavy script. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite taking 14 years to complete (and the actors ages change noticably) and a heavy dose of foot fetishism, this tale of love against the odds works well. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Please make correction in synopsis...Nargis was mother of Sahibjaan.. Meena Kumari had a double role in Pakeezah, Nargis (Meena Kumari) a brothel woman who had relations with Shahabuddin (Ashok Kumar) and their daughter Sahibjaan (Meena Kumari) Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member The Brilliance in acting, screenplay and art direction contributed in the making of this classic. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Vibrant color and the presentation of emotion fail to generate actual emotion (unlike Sirk, to whose work one could compare this). Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Pakeezah

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A Muslim prostitute, Sahibjaan (Meena Kumari) yearns to escape the brothel in which she was brought up, much like her mother Nargis (also Kumari) before her, who also lived the life of a courtesan. But, when a young man from a respectable family, Salim Ahmed Khan (Raaj Kumar), hears her sing and dance, he falls in love. Unfortunately, his wealthy parents are against any relationship between them, so Salim abandons his family in order to be with Sahibjaan, even after he finds out about her past.
Creator
Kamal Amrohi
Producer
Kamal Amrohi
Screenwriter
Kamal Amrohi
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Urdu
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 25, 2020
Runtime
2h 5m
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