Did You Know?

It took 14 years for this film to be completed. To begin with, the film was launched in 1958, jointly planned by Kamal Amrohi and 'Meena Kumari'. It was launched in black-and-white, but when colour came in vogue, Amrohi scrapped those portions already shot and decided to start again. Later, Cinemascope came into vogue, and Amrohi acquired a Cinemascope lens from MGM and scrapped the plain colour portions too. Then Amrohi and Kumari separated in 1964, bringing filming to an indefinite halt. Finally, the film was resumed in 1968, and though by then Kumari was suffering from alcoholism and was in critical condition, she was still Amrohi's only choice and she agreed to complete the film.

Due to some problems, Nadira quit the film. At this, Kamal Amrohi sat down and wrote a line of dialog that created a new character, which was taken by Veena.

When the film was resumed in 1968, several financiers asked Kamal Amrohi to replace the music with slightly trendier music. Amrohi said that he would have agreed, had 'Ghulam Mohammed' lived on, but he could not betray a dead man who had given him twelve beautiful songs. In keeping with the times, though, he kept only six songs in the film.

Kamal Amrohi acquired a Cinemascope lens from MGM on a royalty basis for shooting the film. However, he detected a focusing error in the rush prints that had been missed by the cameraman and even the UK lab team that processed the film. On hearing of this, MGM instructed its Indian subsidiary chief not to collect any more royalty and gave the lens to Amrohi as a gift.

Due to her ill health, Meena Kumari was not able to do the dance sequences herself. Hence 'Padma Khanna' (I) acted as a double for the purpose. She can be seen in all the long shots of dances in the movie.

Meena Kumari died two months after the film released. Until then, it had had a lukewarm response at the box-office, but afterwards it became a hit and acquired cult status. It also unfortunately acquired the unfortunate distinction of being considered as Kumari's last film.

A young girl from the kotha, her hand under her chin, watches wistfully as Salim's baraat arrives to take Sahibjaan away to a life of freedom, love and respectability. According to Tajdar Amrohi, son of director Kamal Amrohi, this girl was the true "Pakeezah" of the film. Kamal Amrohi's vision was mind-blowing - Sahibjaan's tale had a happy ending, and here was this young girl, trapped in the same world Salim was taking Sahibjaan away from, watching the baraat and hoping and dreaming of a baraat coming to take her away too. D.N. Pai, the editor, nearly cut off this shot as he deemed it irrelevant, and when Amrohi explained what she symbolized, he asked, "But who will understand that she is Pakeezah?" Amrohi replied that if even one person understood the concept, he would consider himself as being vindicated. Almost a year later, Amrohi received a letter from a man, asking him for a still of this girl, who he felt was the real Pakeezah. At this, Amrohi called up Pai and told him, "This man has seen my film!" He then sent the writer a letter of authority, stating that he would never be charged for watching the film anywhere in the country if he showed the letter to any cinema hall.