''Meera'' ( hi, मीरा) is a 1979

Hindi language 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 by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

. The film is based on the life of

Meera Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

saint-poet who renounced princely comforts in pursuit of her love for

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

. The film portrays the life and times of Meera from a historical perspective rather than a mythological one. The soundtrack by Pt. Ravi Shankar features the award-winning playback singer

Vani Jairam Vani Jairam (born as Kalaivani on 30 November 1945), also credited as Vani Jayaram, is an Indian singer. She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She has do ...

. The film did not perform well at the Indian box office, although it received critical acclaim.

Plot

The story is set around 1480, in the time of King

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 ...

. Biramdev ( Dr Shreeram Lagoo) is the king of Medta, a province in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. He has two daughters, Meera (

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

) and Krishna (

Vidya Sinha Vidya Sinha (15 November 1947 – 15 August 2019) was an Indian actress who acted in Hindi films, most known for ''Rajnigandha'' (1974), ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975) and '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'' (1978). She started her career as a model and won the ...

) and a son, Jaimal (

Dinesh Thakur Dinesh Thakur (1947 – 20 September 2012) was an Indian theatre director, actor in theatre, television and Hindi film, where most notably he appeared as one of the leads in ''Rajnigandha'' 1974 and directed by Basu Chatterjee, which won both Fi ...

). Meera is in deep emotional love with

, so much so that she considers Lord Krishna to be her husband. Akbar ( Amjad Khan) is becoming stronger day by day and hence other small provinces are trying to join against him. Medta, in one such political agreement, decides to join hands with Raja Vikramajit (

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...

). As a part of this agreement Meera is married (against her wish) to Vikramajit's son, Rana Bhojraj (

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awa ...

). But even after getting married her love for Lord Krishna remains the same and she follows her own ideals and way of living which are not very acceptable to Bhojraj and his family. One thing leads to another and one day Meera is declared as an outcast and traitor who failed to play a wife's duties towards her husband, a bride's duties towards her family, and a woman's duties towards society. She is jailed and a public trial is ordered to decide her fate. But Meera is still unshakable and her spirituality keeps her going. She is not even afraid of death. Finally she is given a death sentence and is ordered to drink a cup of venom in front of the public. The love between Meera devi and Lord Krishna is so unshakeable that even the venom does not affect her. She walks out of the royal court after drinking the venom singing Lord Krishna's praises. The entire town follows her, completely absorbed in her kirtan (devotional song). She enters the Krishna temple and becomes one with Lord Krishna.

Cast

as Meera Rathod *

as Rana Bhojraj Sesodia * Dr. Shreeram Lagoo as Raja Biramdev Rathod *

as Raja Vikramjeet Singh Sesodia *

Om Shivpuri Om Shivpuri (14 July 1938 – 15 October 1990) was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films. A National School of Drama, New Delhi alumnus, Shivpuri became the first chief of the National School of Drama Repertory Co ...

as Kul Guru (Head Priest) *

Dina Pathak Dina Pathak (née Gandhi; 4 March 1922 – 11 October 2002) was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). A doyenne of Hindi a ...

as Mrs. Biramdev Rathod a.k.a. 'Kunwarbai' *

as Krishna Rathod * Amjad Khan as Badshah

Bharat Bhushan ''Bharatbhushan Bhalla'' better known as ''Bharat Bhushan'' (14 June 1920 – 27 January 1992) was an Indian actor in Hindi language films, scriptwriter and producer, who is best remembered for playing Baiju Bawra in the 1952 film of the sam ...

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 ...

A.K. Hangal AK and A.K. (but not Ak) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''A.K.'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Chris Marker * AK (radio program), a weekly program produced by Alaska Public Radio Network from 2003 to 2008, later a segment on ''Alaska ...

as Saint Raidas * Sudha Chopra as Uda Sesodia *

as Jaimal Rathod *

T P Jain T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

as Poojary (priest)

Production

Film's costume designer Bhanu Athaiya used changing hues of Meera saris to show her spiritual evolution rather dissolving into Krishna. Starting with vibrant colours as a princess, she leave the palace in orange (bhagwa), gradually shifting to yellow, fawn and finally to much paler beige colour.

Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

* 1980

Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award ce ...

- Won -

for "Mere To Giridhar Gopal"

Earlier Versions

In 1945, a film named Meera was made in Tamil, with

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

in the role of Meera, and music by S V Venkataraman. After the film's huge success it was dubbed in Hindi and released in 1947, with music composed jointly by 3 composers.

References

* Chatterjee, Saibal (2007) - Echoes and Eloquences, The Life and Cinema of Gulzar, Rupa & Co. . * Gulzar (1979) - Meera: Katha, Montage, Anusandhan aur Patkatha : Gulzar, Radhakrishan Prakashan.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meera 1979 films 1970s Hindi-language films Films set in the 1580s Films about Hinduism Films set in Rajasthan Films set in the Mughal Empire Indian biographical films Films scored by Ravi Shankar Films with screenplays by Gulzar Films directed by Gulzar Cultural depictions of Akbar Cultural depictions of Tansen Films set in the Rajput Empire Krishna in popular culture Indian epic films Indian historical films 1970s biographical films Cultural depictions of Indian monarchs