Saregama and Bilal Amrohi Announce Fictional Series on Iconic Classic Pakeezah

 - Sakshi Post

'For her to fall in love was forbidden and yet when her restless soul could not suppress this surging desire to love and be loved, she took birth as Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah.'

This blurb, written by Kamal Amrohi himself,  once captured the heart and soul of 'Pakeezah', the 1972 labour of love that took over 16 years to come into being and, upon its release, became an instant classic. The story of the making of this landmark of a film, that was driven by the sheer obsession and vision on the part of its mercurial filmmaker – Kamal Amrohi and the love of his life – the ethereal Meena Kumari, is the stuff of legends.  

To celebrate the creation of Pakeezah, Saregama will be collaborating with Bilal Amrohi - the grandson of the filmmaker Kamal Amrohi - on a fictional series that will capture the intense love story between the director - Kamal Amrohi and his muse - Meena Kumari - that played out against the backdrop of the creation of this iconic film. The series will feature details of their lives and incidents surrounding the sixteen-year journey of making of the film, which stands as an immortal monument in cinema to their grand love story. Poised to be mounted on a grand scale, reflecting the cinematic vision of Kamal Amrohi and the times he operated within, the series will be helmed under the banner of Yoodlee Films, the studio production arm of Saregama.

Says Bilal Amrohi, " It will be a tall order to do justice to the vision of my grandfather. I have heard stories of his tireless perfectionism and how he even drew the set design to the last detail, ensured that the costumes of the stars and each of the supporting actors were perfect, imported chandeliers from Belgium, and spent lakhs on the exquisite carpets. The film cost almost one-and-a-half-crore rupees at the time of its making but more than the money, 16 years of my grandfather's life was also invested in it. It is daunting to narrate the story of the making of the classic for today's audience, but Yoodlee Films is as passionate about the project as we are. Together, we will hopefully pay the perfect tribute to the filmmaker whose obsession for perfection produced one of the landmark films of India.”

Vikram Mehra, MD of Saregama, India, says, “ The story of the making of Pakeezah is one of guts, gumption, and greatness. For us in Yoodlee, to partner on a series depicting the trials and tribulations to make Pakeezah, was a project with all the right connections. That we are embarking on something this challenging proves how serious we are about creating clutter-breaking content and leaving our stamp on the web content space. This also gives us a chance to leverage Saregama's rich music catalogue symbiotically in this series and make it relevant to audiences of today.  This is a treasure trove of a story, and we are excited and humbled that we get a chance to present this to the world."

Yoodlee Films will soon be announcing the director and the cast, and the series will go on the floors in 2023.

 

whatsapp channel


Read More:

Advertisement
Back to Top