The Tragic Tale of the Tragedy Queen

'Pakeezah' means 'the pure one', the story of the movie about Sahibjaan may be fictional but the actress who portrayed the role was 'pakeezah' in real life, maybe too pure for this world. This story is about the tragedy queen of Bollywood whose life was a tragedy in itself.

A still from the song of the movie. Image source: The Indian Express

Pakeezah is the story of a tawaif (courtesan) Sahibjaan's life struggle and her quest for true love. This movie is considered a milestone in Hindi cinema and has garnered cult status over the years. Starring Meena Kumari in the title role, who was famously called the 'Tragedy Queen' for her melancholic performances on the screen. But the real-life struggle of Meena Kumari is as heartbreaking as the fictional tragedy suffered by Sahibjaan.

The concept of the movie came to the director Kamal Amrohi in 1953 when he was married to Meena Kumari. The duo had previously worked on Daaera, a movie inspired by their relationship. However, the financial loss of the venture prompted Amrohi to embark on a massive project as a tribute to Meena Kumari. He wanted to explore the tale of Anarkali, but director K. Asif's magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam led him to abandon his plans. While working on Mughal-e-Azam as the dialogue writer, Amrohi decided to make his magnum opus superior to K. Asif's. The scripting process started in 1955-56 when Amrohi sketched the idea of a nautch girl and decided to take a more artistic and realistic approach. He wanted to portray a more mature take on the lives of nautch girls without the common vulgarity during the time. Akhtar-ul-Iman and Madhusudan later joined the scripting process and the final script was completed in 1960. Kamal Amrohi drew heavy inspiration from his personal life.

Behind the scenes of Pakeezah. Source: Wikipedia

Meena Kumari was also heavily involved in the filmmaking process, apart from starring as the lead she also contributed as the costume designer and in the casting process. Even after taking up so many responsibilities, Kumari charged a mere one-rupee as her fee. The shooting was hurdled from the start. Principal photography was initiated on 16 July 1956 by German cinematographer Josef Wirsching. As the filming commenced Meena Kumari who was at the peak of her career could only be available a few days per month. Also, Amrohi's perfectionist approach delayed the schedule even further. The massive sets constructed were said to be comparable to the sets of Mughal-e-Azam. A whole market was constructed and shopkeepers were moved to populate the area and compensated throughout the shoot. This increased the budget tenfold and arose production crises.

Amrohi and Meena Kumari separated in 1964 for private reasons. Meena Kumari's relationship with Gulzar, Dharamendra, and Sawan Kumar Tak was the subject of rumours. Kumari's mental health suffered as a result of their separation, and she turned to alcohol to ease her suffering. However, as a result of her heavy drinking, she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, necessitating medical care abroad. This halted the filming indefinitely.

A still from the movie. Image Source: Dustedoff

Amrohi made several attempts to finish the movie and wrote several letters to Kumari, asking her to finish the project they both dearly loved. Meena Kumari's close friends Sunil Dutt and Nargis who have seen some scenes of the movie requested her to finish the project. Finally, in 1969 the filming resumed but Meena Kumari's health was deteriorating day by day. She collapsed several times during dance sequences and even coughed blood. Later, actress Padma Khanna was used as a body double for Kumari's dance sequence. Employing makeup and clever camera work, the edit was made to portray Kumari dancing instead of Padma Khanna.

In November 1971, the principal photography was completed and editing was finalised in December 1971. The film was released on 4 February 1972 and opened to a mediocre box-office collection and widely unfavourable reviews. But the last twist in the life of Meena Kumari came on 28 March 1972, when she unexpectedly fell ill. She was admitted to Elizabeth's Nursing home where she became comatose and two days later on 30 March 1972 bid farewell to the world. After her death, Pakeezah skyrocketed to become the highest-grossing movie of the year earning six-crore-rupees. Meena Kumari spent her final days at her apartment on Carter Road. And thus, ended the life of the tragedy queen who never usedglycerin to cry on camera and instead opted to shed real tears every time. Amitabh Bachchan once said that Meena Kumari had a distinct way of acting and dialogue delivery, others might try to imitate her but no one could act like her and probably no one will.