Sheesh Mahal (1950 film)

Sheesh Mahal
Directed by Sohrab Modi
Produced by Sohrab Modi
Written by Khan Bahadur
Hakim Ahmad Shuja
Starring Naseem Banu
Sohrab Modi
Gajanan Jagirdar
Eruch Tarpore
Pushpa Hans
Music by Vasant Desai
Cinematography M. Malhotra
Edited by D. D. Shirdhankar
P. Bhalchander
Production
company
Minerva Movietone
Release dates
 1950
Running time
 144 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi

Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirror) is a 1950 social Urdu/Hindi film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi for Minerva Movietone. Story writers were Khan Bahadur and Hakim Ahmad Shuja. The screenplay and dialogue were by Munshi Abdul Baqui and Shams Lucknawi.[1] Music direction was by Vasant Desai and the lyricists were Aajiz, Shams Lucknowi, Nazim Panipati.[2] The film starred Sohrab Modi, Naseem Banu, Mubarak, Pran, Nigar Sultana, Pushpa Hans, Jawahar Kaul and Leela Mishra.[3]

Naseem plays the daughter of a feudal aristocrat who sticks to his old ways in spite of being reduced to penury. In contrast to her role in Pukar (1939), she "dressed simply, with little make-up", with her acting leaving an emotional impact on the audiences.[4]

Plot

An old feudal aristrocrat, Thakur Jaspal Singh (Sohrab Modi) lives with his two daughters, Ranja (Naseem Banu) and Nalini (Pushpa Hans), and son Balram in a grand mansion called Sheesh Mahal. He maintains his long family ancestry and honour, citing the valour of olden days. His way of life far exceeds the money he has. His children try to warn him regarding his excessive spending but his feudal mind-set refuses to let others see that they are in dire straits. They finally have to sell their mansion to a former worker, Durgaprasad (Mubarak), who is now rich. They settle in a small hovel-like place. The brother finds work in the factory but meets with an accident where his leg is amputated. Desperate Ranjana finds work as a maid to Roopa (Nigar Sultana) Durgaprasad’s daughter. Jaspal Singh refuses Durgadas when he comes to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage to his son Vikram (Jawahar Kaul) claiming that Durgadas may have bought the Sheesh Mahal but he's still a labourer compared to the aristocratic family. Balram argues with his father about keeping up false pretences. Sundarmukh (Pran) who was to marry Ranjana but has broken the engagement because they are poor, comes and tells Jaspal that his daughter, in the guise of working at Durgadas' house is having an affair with his son. Jaspal is furious and rushes to kill Ranjana to avenge the Rajput honour. At the Sheesh Mahal, Durgadas stops him with a lecture on different warriors and honour. Jaspal falters and falls down the steps. Before he dies he blesses the union between Ranjana and Vikram.

Cast

Crew

Review

Though the film is still praised for its lavish sets show-casing the mansion almost on par with Mughal-E-Azam as cited by Amrit Gangar, the film came in for extremely harsh criticism from Baburao Patel of Filmindia who had an old feud going with Modi. Patel in the October 1950 issue of Filmindia claimed "... Sheesh Mahal fails miserably to appeal".[5] However, Motions Picture Magazine in its February 1951 issue commended Modi for assuring the public that he still retained the "mastery of his craft".[6] In overall terms, the film, despite some shortcomings, has a strong storyline and is well-directed by Modi, with exceptional roles by Naseem and Mubarak.[7]

Soundtrack

The singers were Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Pushpa Hans, Mohammed Rafi. Pushpa Hans was a known singer and actress of those days. Chaman and Sheesh Mahal were her notable films.[8][9]

Songlist

# Title Singer Lyricist
1 Muqaddar Ke Hathon Shamshad Begum Shams Lakhnavi
2 Husnwalon Ki Galiyon Mein Shamshad Begum Shams Lakhnavi
3 Aayi Hai Deewali Sakhi Aayi Sakhi Aayi Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt Nazim Panipati
4 Jise Dhundti Phirti Hai Meri Nazar Mohammed Rafi,Geeta Dutt Nazim Panipati/adaptation of Hakim Ahmad Shuja's poem
5 Aadmi Wo Haaye Musibat Se Pareshan Na Ho Pushpa Hans Shams Lakhnavi, Behzad Lakhnavi
6 Bhoole Zamane Yaad Na Kar Pushpa Hans Shams Lakhnavi
7 Takdeer Banane Wale Pushpa Hans Aaziz
8 Tum Dekh Rahe Ho Ki Mite Saare Sahare Pushpa Hans Behzad Lakhnavi
9 Hum Kheto Ke Maharaj Pushpa Hans,Mohammed Rafi,Geeta Dutt Nazim Panipati

References

  1. ↑ "Cst and crew Sheesh Mahal 1950". Gomolo.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Music Sheesh Mahal 1950". Lyricsbogie.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sheesh Mahal". Alan Goble. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Pandya, Haresh (4 September 2002). "Naseem Banu First female superstar of Indian Cinema". Guardian News and Media Limited. The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Gangar, Amrit (2008). Sohrab Modi The Great Mughal of Historicals. New Delhi, India: Wisdom Tree. p. 67. ISBN 9788183281089.
  6. ↑ Parshuram, Daulatram (February 1951). "The year 1950 in review" (PDF). Motions Picture Magazine. 15 (1-2): 18. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Showbiz Karachi, 1951
  8. ↑ J.K. Bajaj (26 March 2014). On & Behind the Indian Cinema. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd. pp. 2008–. ISBN 978-93-5083-621-7. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Sheesh Mahal". Hindi Geetmala. Retrieved 21 December 2014.

External links

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