''Anarkali'' is a 1966

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

based on the historical love story between

Prince Salim Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

and

Anarkali Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though scho ...

. Directed and produced by

Kunchacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its origi ...

, the film was a direct adaptation of the 1953

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

film of the same name. The film stars

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...

and

K. R. Vijaya Deivanayaki better known by her stage name K. R. Vijaya is an Indian actress who has featured in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. She started her career in 1963 and has been acting for more than five decades in South Indian cinema. ...

, with Sathyan, Thikkurissy, Ambika and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair playing other major roles.

Cast

/ Nadira * Sathyan as

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

* Thikkurissy as Jaya Singhan * Ambika Sukumaran as Jodhabai * Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair as Mana Singhan *

Rajasree Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari, born 31 August 1945), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telug ...

(Gracy) as Gulnar * Adoor Bhasi as Karim *

S. P. Pillai S. P. Pillai (28 November 1913 – 12 June 1985) was an Indian film and stage actor, best known for his comic roles in Malayalam films. Biography S. Pankajakshan Pillai alias S. P. Pillai was born in 1913 in the temple town of Ettumanoor in ...

as Kasim * Alummoodan (debut) as Afghani warrior * Philomina as Anaarkkali's Mother *

Manavalan Joseph Manavalan Joseph was a Malayalam film actor. He is an actor who worked in many movies during the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1986 Background Manavalan Joseph was born at Fort Kochi then in the Malabar District of the Madras Presidency of Britis ...

as Slave Trader *

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian Music and also as a ...

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pra ...

* L. P. R. Varma as Court Singer The film's cast includes playback singer K. J. Yesudas and music director L. P. R. Varma playing small roles. Yesudas played Tansen, who was a pioneer in Indian music and one of Akbar's

Navaratnas Navaratnas (Sanskrit dvigu ''nava-ratna'', ) () or Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in an emperor's court in India. The well-known Nauratnas include the ones in the courts of the Hindu emperor Vikramaditya, the ...

. In a scene, Yesudas lip-syncs a song which was sung by

P. B. Sreenivas Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollyw ...

Historical inaccuracies

* The film was completely shot from Kunchacko's Udaya Studio and failed in setting the Moghul era on screen. * Akbar's wife Mariam-uz-Zamani is called Jodhabai in the film. Though she has been also referred to by this name in modern times, she was never known as such during her lifetime.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

M. S. Baburaj Mohammad Sabir Baburaj was an Indian music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music. Baburaj has rendered music to many evergreen Malayalam film songs. Early years Baburaj was born on 9 March 1929 in Kozhikode ...

and the lyrics were written by Vayalar Ramavarma.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0060105, title=Anarkali
peppermediacreation.com
1966 films 1960s Malayalam-language films Films set in the Mughal Empire 1960s romance films Films set in the 16th century Films directed by Kunchacko Cultural depictions of Akbar Cultural depictions of Tansen Cultural depictions of Jahangir Indian romance films

Cast

Historical inaccuracies

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links