24 Facts About Pakeezah

Pakeezah is known for being Kumari's last film to be released during her lifetime; her performance in it has been regarded as one of the best of her career.

Pakeezah has often been included in listings of the best works of Indian cinema, including a poll conducted by the British Film Institute in 2007.

Pakeezah asks the jeweller its origin and is led to the cemetery.

Pakeezah finds Nargis' body and her daughter, whom she takes back to her kotha.

Pakeezah is taken to the riverside tent of Salim, a forest ranger.

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At that time, many films with similar themes had vulgar scenes; not wanting Pakeezah to be similar, he made the screenplay more "realistic [and] unvulgarised".

Pakeezah was involved as the costume designer and helped with casting.

Pakeezah joined the cast in 1968 but it was only announced a year later.

Indian journalist Vinod Mehta and the author Bunny Reuben state that Pakeezah generated considerable pre-release anticipation; contrarily, authors Mohan Deep and Meghnad Desai say because of the lengthy production time, anticipation decreased up to the film's theatrical release.

Pakeezah premiered at Maratha Mandir, Bombay, on 4 February 1972; Kumari attended the opening with Amrohi, his son Tajdar, and Raaj Kumar.

Pakeezah initially opened to mediocre box-office returns but the film became a sleeper hit and ran for over 50 weeks, in 33 of which it was fully booked.

In late 1973, Pakeezah became the first film to be aired on Amritsar TV Centre, a television channel established in September 1973 in Amritsar, India, for broadcasting to Lahore, Pakistan.

Pakeezah thought its slowness makes the film "in perfect tune with its core, its world of hasteless fragrance, as if in terms of a sad-sweet dream which weaves its own slow spell while the outer world of time keeps ticking".

Critical reception to Pakeezah has significantly improved since its release, with most praise going to Kumari's performance; contemporary critics have described the film as "iconic" a classic, and a magnum opus.

In 2005, British academic Rachel Dwyer applauded Pakeezah for presenting aesthetics in the cast and the choreography, and noted "the elaboration of scenery and in particular of clothing, tied to a certain nostalgia arising from the decline and disappearance of courtesan culture".

Pakeezah called Kumari's character a "quintessentially romantic figure: a beautiful but tragic woman, who pours out her grief for the love she is denied in tears, poetry and dance".

Pakeezah added the dialogue is "like a long poetry recitation from start to finish", and that the film belongs to Kumari.

Pakeezah won Best Art Direction for Kulkarni at the 20th Filmfare Awards, and was nominated in categories Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Music Director, and Best Cinematographer.

Pakeezah follows society's rejection of prostitution; at the film's beginning, Shahbuddin arrives at his home with Nargis, whom he is preparing to marry.

Pakeezah attained cult status and became a milestone in Bollywood, particularly for its depiction of Muslim culture.

Pakeezah was her last release in her lifetime; Gomti Ke Kinare, in which she stars as a prostitute, was released after her death, though it failed commercially.

Pakeezah has been noted for its unusually long production time, and is described by critics as the finest example of the Muslim social, a genre that declined in the 1970s with the rise of secular themes in Bollywood.

Pakeezah remained one of the most-talked-about Indian films decades after its release, and many books, including their chapters, and articles have been written about it.

Pakeezah is one of ten films whose production and release Padhye covered in her book Ten Classics.