Taj Mahal (1963)

It was at the Meena Bazar that Shehzada Khurram first laid eyes on Arjuman Banu. When their eyes met it was love at first sight for both of them. When Queen Noor Jehan, one of the wives of ... See full summary »

Director:

M. Sadiq

Writers:

Qamar Jalalabadi (screenplay), Qamar Jalalabadi (story)

Stars:

Bina Rai, Pradeep Kumar, Jabeen Jalil

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bina Rai	...	Arjuman Banoo / Malka-E-Alam Mumtaz
Pradeep Kumar	...	Shehzada Khurram / Shah Jehan
Jabeen Jalil	...	Ladli Banoo
Veena	...	Malka-E-Alam Noor Jehan / Mehrunissa
Jeevan Kala
Madhumati
Ruby Mayer	...	Arjuman Banoo's Governess (as Sulochana)
Lata Sinha
Sujata
Helen	...	Court Dancer - song 'Na Nare Na Na'
Minoo Mumtaz	...	Gulbadan (as Minu Mumtaz)
Rehman	...	Shahenshan Jehangir
Jeevan	...	Shehzada Saifuddin Shahryar Qazi
Murad	...	Mahabat Khan
Balam

Storyline

It was at the Meena Bazar that Shehzada Khurram first laid eyes on Arjuman Banu. When their eyes met it was love at first sight for both of them. When Queen Noor Jehan, one of the wives of Shahenshah Jehangir, finds out she is enraged, as she wants Khurram to get married to her daughter, Ladli Banu, even though Arjuman is her niece. She plots to hold Arjuman as a prisoner in her palace, but in vain; then she attempts to have Khurram sent away to battle - again in vain, as Khurram returns triumphant, and is named 'Shah Jehan'. Then she has her step-son, Saifuddin, arrange to kill Khurram - again in vain. Khurram gets stabbed but with Arjuman's help he recovers, returns home, but does not tell his father, fearing for his health. When Jehangir hears of Arjuman's assistance, he gladly arranges their marriage, while Saifuddin ends up marrying Ladli. Then Khurram is sent away to another kingdom, leaving Noor Jehan to plot against him. When Jehangir falls ill, she takes over the reins, has ...

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Plot Keywords:

assassination attempt | love at first sight | love | wedding | ambush | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Musical | Romance

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Urdu

Filming Locations:

Famous Cine Studios, Tardeo, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pushpa Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ravi B song "Player" was a cover version of "Jo Vaada Kiya Woh".

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Connections

Referenced in Leela (2016)

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Soundtracks

Jo Wada Kiya
Sung by Mohammad Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar
Music composed by Roshan
Lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi

User Reviews

Working On A Building Of Love

I'd kept this one unwatched for many years in the hope a better quality copy would turn up, but I've had no luck as yet so finally saw it tonight. It was shot in Eastman Colour, which here has more or less washed away leaving a dizzying array of colours, hues and shades to struggle through, together with a film that has gone a long way down the road to decomposition. What it actually seems to do for me though is help with the period authenticity – judging from the ghostly grainy print it appears to have been filmed in the 17th century! Would that make it even more of a classic?

Complicated fairly dreary true tale of political warring within the ruling Mughal Empire dynasty, a few years on from and sub- Mughal-E-Azam – the only constant in the tale is Khurram/Shah Jahan and Arjuman/Mumtaz Mahal's deep love for each other. After years of political bickering, infighting and jockeying for the best position they finally became Emperor and Empress. Later still Mumtaz died giving birth and Shah Jahan went into deep mourning and planning a huge tomb for her, the Taj Mahal, to be built just outside of their home city of Agra. And the film devotes the whole of the last few minutes of its two and a half hours to the Taj's splendours once the almost interminable politics has ceased. Bina Rai as Mumtaz strikes so many iconic or puzzling over-demure poses it's no wonder the stolid Shah Jahan played by Pradeep Kumar was driven mad with his love for her – the film unsurprisingly doesn't relate that she died during the birth of their fourteenth child in nineteen years of marriage! They made a handsome couple and made everyone else look ordinary. The sets looked cheap but were very effective, especially when viewed through the gauze of Time. There's some lovely and varied songs by Roshan and Sahir, but a special mention for the oft-repeated Joh Wada Kiya, beautifully sung by Rafi and Lata. This is one of my Lata favourites, she displayed such wonderful voice control and subtle modulation, even when she moved away from the microphone and with an added echo – no one has come near her after all these years.

DVD Buyer Beware (especially T-Series)! But I admit I still enjoyed it with all its quality issues, next time hopefully I'll have a good copy.