Rare reel on the making of ‘Pakeezah’ discovered

On the occasion of renowned actress Meena Kumari’s death anniversary on March 31, a rare 18-minute footage in 16mm of the making of Kamal Amrohi’s iconic film Pakeezah, titled “Pakeezah – Rang Barang”, was added to the collection of National Film Archives of India, Pune. The footage has rare visuals of the 15-year-long journey of Pakeezah, from its inception to the eventual release in 1972.

The highlight is the visuals of the popular song ‘Inhin Logon Ne’ shot in black and white in the early period of the shooting of the film, in which young Meena Kumari is seen dancing in a differently choreographed sequence. As per the visuals, this was one of the first sequences to be shot and the clapper board shows the date as July 16, 1956.

The footage also contains a Mohammed Rafi Qawwali number ‘Jaye Toh Jaye Kaha, Ab Ye Tera Deewana’, which was not included in the released film. The other visuals have the scenes of the premiere of the film held at Maratha Mandir in Bombay on 4th February 1972.

“This is a very rare addition to the NFAI collection. The preliminary inspection reveals the condition of the film is heavily scratched and colour has faded. We are trying our best to salvage the material so that it can be made accessible to the audience”, said Prakash Magdum, Director, NFAI.