The Chess Players (1977)
Shatranj Ke Khilari (original title)Reference View | Change View
- Not Rated
- 2h 9min
- Comedy, Drama
- 03 Oct 1977 (India)
- Movie
In 1856, two obsessed noblemen ignore everything while playing chess and fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
- 4 wins & 3 nominations.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Complete, Cast awaiting verification
| Sanjeev Kumar | ... |
Mirza Sajjad Ali
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| Saeed Jaffrey | ... |
Mir Roshan Ali
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| Shabana Azmi | ... |
Khurshid, Mirza's wife
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| Farida Jalal | ... |
Nafisa, Mir's wife
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| Veena | ... |
Queen Mother
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| David Abraham | ... |
Munshi
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| Victor Banerjee | ... |
Prime Minister
(as Victor Bannerji)
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| Farooq Shaikh | ... |
Aqueel
(as Farooque Shaikh)
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| Tom Alter | ... |
Capt. Weston (Outram's aide de camp)
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| Leela Mishra | ... |
Hirya, Khurshid's maid
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Barry John |
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Samarth Narain | ... |
Kallu
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Bhudo Advani | ... |
Abbajani
(as Budho Advani)
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Kamu Mukherjee | ... |
(as Kamu Mukherji)
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Uttamram Nagar |
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Khairatilal Lahori |
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Pradip Shankar |
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Ashfaq Mirza |
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Amrit Bhushan Gujral |
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Ramesh Khosla |
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Shaik Farid |
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Madan Sudan |
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| Amjad Khan | ... |
Wajid Ali Shah
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| Richard Attenborough | ... |
General Outram
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| Amitabh Bachchan | ... |
Narration (voice)
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Agha | ... |
Chuttan Miyan (uncredited)
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Saswati Sen | ... |
Dancer (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Satyajit Ray | ||
Written by
| Munshi Premchand | ... | (story) (as Premchand) |
| Satyajit Ray | ... | (dialogue) & |
| Shama Zaidi | ... | (dialogue) & |
| Javed Siddiqui | ... | (dialogue) (as Javed Siddiqi) |
| Satyajit Ray | ... | (screenplay) |
Produced by
| Suresh Jindal | ... | producer |
Music by
| Satyajit Ray | ||
Editing by
| Dulal Dutta | ||
Editorial Department
| Kashinath Bose | ... | assistant editor |
Art Direction by
| Bansi Chandragupta | ||
Makeup Department
| Pradip Bag | ... | assistant makeup artist |
| Ananta Das | ... | makeup artist |
Production Management
| Bhanu Ghosh | ... | production manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Santi Chatterjee | ... | assistant director (as Santi Kumar Chatterji) |
| Sandip Ray | ... | assistant director |
| Ramesh Sen | ... | assistant director |
| Javed Siddiqui | ... | special assistant (as Javed Siddiqi) |
Art Department
| Ashoke Bose | ... | associate art director |
| Kabi Dasgupta | ... | backdrops |
Sound Department
| Arun Chakraborty | ... | sound assistant (as Arun Chakravarty) |
| Dulal Das | ... | sound assistant |
| Mangesh Desai | ... | re-recording |
| Narinder Singh | ... | sound |
Special Effects by
| Joseph St. Anne | ... | associate graphics |
| Zehra Tyabji | ... | graphics |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Dilip Bannerjee | ... | assistant camera (as Dilip Bannerji) |
| Pablo Bartholomew | ... | stills |
| Purnendu Bose | ... | assistant camera |
| Sumantra Ghosal | ... | stills (as Sumantra Ghoshal) |
| Anil Ghosh | ... | assistant camera |
| Nemai Ghosh | ... | still photographer (as Nimai Ghosh) |
| Sandip Ray | ... | stills |
| Soumendu Roy | ... | camera |
Animation Department
| Ram Mohan | ... | animator |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
| Haru Das | ... | wardrobe |
| Rabab Jaffri | ... | associate costumer |
| Sitara Jaffri | ... | associate costumer |
| Saba Zaidi | ... | associate costumer |
| Shama Zaidi | ... | costumer |
Location Management
| J.N. Srivastava | ... | location management |
Music Department
| Birju Maharaj | ... | songs |
| Samir Majumdar | ... | music recording |
| Reba Muhuri | ... | songs |
Additional Crew
| Bolai Addy | ... | production assistant |
| Anil Choudhury | ... | production executive (as Anil Chowdhury) |
| Uma Da Cunha | ... | liaison / publicist |
| Trailokya Das | ... | production assistant |
| Ana Maria de Souza | ... | office management (as Ana Maria De Souza) |
| Gitanjali | ... | dances |
| Birju Maharaj | ... | dances composed and choreographed by |
| Saswati Sen | ... | dances |
| Jagdeesh Shetty | ... | assistant office management (as Jagdish Shetty) |
| N.B. Sukhwani | ... | office management |
| Gitanjali | ... | choreographer (uncredited) |
| Saswati Sen | ... | choreographer (uncredited) |
Thanks
| H.C. Agarwal | ... | acknowledgement (as H C Agarwal) |
| Ranjan Bannerji | ... | acknowledgement |
| Kartik Basu | ... | acknowledgement (as Kartik Bose) |
| Maharajar of Burdwan | ... | acknowledgement |
| Niren Chakravarty | ... | acknowledgement |
| Bimal Chatterjee | ... | acknowledgement (as Birmal Chatterji) |
| Sudipta Chatterji | ... | acknowledgement |
| Vasant Choudhury | ... | acknowledgement (as Vasanta Chowdhuri) |
| Srila Chowdhuri | ... | acknowledgement |
| Pamela Cullen | ... | acknowledgement |
| Gerson Da Cunha | ... | acknowledgement |
| Lakshminarayan De | ... | acknowledgement |
| Rachana Dutt | ... | acknowledgement |
| Yusuf Ferozi | ... | acknowledgement (as M D Yusuf Ferozi) |
| Ajit K. Ghosh | ... | acknowledgement (as Ajit K Ghosh) |
| Manmathanath Ghosh | ... | acknowledgement (as Mamathanath Ghosh) |
| Ramen Ghosh | ... | acknowledgement |
| Gopa Ghoshal | ... | acknowledgement |
| Gen Jacob | ... | acknowledgement (as Lt Gen Jacob) |
| G.C. Jain | ... | acknowledgement (as Mr G C Jain) |
| Mrs. Kejriwal | ... | acknowledgement (as Mrs Kejriwal) |
| Nawal Kishore Kejriwal | ... | acknowledgement (as Mr N K Kejriwal) |
| Ain Rasheed Khan | ... | acknowledgement (as Ain Rashid Khan) |
| Mrs. Jahanara Begum Khan | ... | acknowledgement (as Mrs Jahanara Begum Khan) |
| Nawab Khan | ... | acknowledgement (as Nawabu Khan) |
| Mirza Mandi | ... | acknowledgement |
| A.K. Mitra | ... | acknowledgement (as A K Mitra) |
| Kiran Kumar Mitter | ... | acknowledgement |
| Ranu Mukherjee | ... | acknowledgment (as Lady Ranu Mukerji) |
| Bal Mundkur | ... | acknowledgement |
| Amritlal Nagar | ... | acknowledgement |
| Kunwar Narain | ... | acknowledgement |
| Mr. Panwar | ... | acknowledgement (as Mr Panwar) |
| Mrs. Panwar | ... | acknowledgement (as Mrs Panwar) |
| T.T. Peerkhan | ... | acknowledgement (as Mr T T Peerkhan) |
| P.G. Ramachandran | ... | acknowledgement (as P G Ramachandran) |
| Bharat Shashere Rana | ... | acknowledgement |
| Bijoya Ray | ... | acknowledgement |
| Marie Seton | ... | acknowledgement |
| Shrilal Shukla | ... | acknowledgement |
| Jagadish Ch. Sinha | ... | acknowledgement |
| Subho Tagore | ... | acknowledgement |
| Siddheswari Tewari | ... | acknowledgement (as Siddheswar Tewari) |
| Virendra D. Vyas | ... | acknowledgement |
Production Companies
- Devki Chitra (presents)
Distributors
- Pan American Productions (1984) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Creative (1978) (United States)
- Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd. (2004) (India) (DVD)
- The Criterion Channel (2021) (United States) (tv) (digital)
- Umbrella Entertainment (2012) (Australia) (video) (VOD)
Special Effects
- Ram Mohan Biographics (animation)
- Rauko Effects (special effects)
Other Companies
- A.T. Daw & Co. (acknowledgements)
- Andrew Mollo Historical Research Unit (acknowledgements)
- Bourne & Shepherd (acknowledgements)
- Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (acknowledgements)
- Calcutta Police (acknowledgements)
- Calcutta Youth Choir (songs)
- Cinequip (equipment)
- Heiko Bels (acknowledgements)
- India Office Library (acknowledgements)
- Indian Handicrafts Emporium (acknowledgements)
- Jyoti Impex (acknowledgements)
- Kathak Kalakendra (acknowledgements)
- Kathak Kalakendra (dances)
- Little Ballet Troupe (dances)
- Little Shoppe (acknowledgements)
- Lucknow Museum (acknowledgements)
- Lucknow Police (acknowledgements)
- Mahal Creations (acknowledgements)
- Maharaja Arts Emporium (acknowledgements)
- Ministry of Defense (acknowledgements)
- Ministry of Finance (acknowledgements)
- N.C. Cine Service (equipment)
- N.C. Daw & Co. (acknowledgements)
- National Archives (New Delhi) (acknowledgements)
- National Library, Calcutta (acknowledgements)
- National Museum, New Delhi (acknowledgements)
- Police Training School, Calcutta (acknowledgements)
- Sawai Madho Mansingh II Museum, Jaipur (acknowledgements)
- Shri Krishna Films (equipment)
- Sibtainabad Trust, Matiabruz (acknowledgements)
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India (acknowledgements)
- Uma Deep Enterprises (equipment)
- Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta (acknowledgements)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
"The Chess Players" (Shatranj Ke Khilari) is a 1977 Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based on a short story by Munshi Premchand, set during the British colonial era in India. The plot revolves around two wealthy and aristocratic friends, Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali, who are obsessed with playing chess. They spend most of their time engrossed in the game, neglecting their responsibilities and oblivious to the political turmoil brewing around them. Meanwhile, the British East India Company, led by General James Outram, is planning to annex the kingdom of Awadh, ruled by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. The British perceive the Nawab as a weak and ineffective ruler, making him an easy target for their expansionist ambitions. As the British forces advance towards Awadh, the Nawab remains indifferent, preoccupied with his lavish lifestyle, poetry, and music. He fails to grasp the gravity of the situation, much to the dismay of his loyal subjects. Amidst the political upheaval, Mirza and Mir Roshan continue to indulge in their obsession with chess, oblivious to the chaos unfolding around them. However, their decadent lifestyle and indifference to the plight of their countrymen eventually catch up with them. The film serves as a critique of the decadence and complacency of the Indian aristocracy during the colonial era, juxtaposed with the ruthless ambition and exploitation of the British Empire. It also explores themes of power, privilege, and the consequences of apathy in the face of oppression. In the end, "The Chess Players" serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of history and the importance of remaining vigilant and engaged in the face of political turmoil and injustice. Written by SunMaximusOne |
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Did You Know?
| Trivia | Satyajit Ray's only Hindi movie. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Featured in Celluloid Man (2012). See more » |
| Quotes |
Mir Roshan Ali:
Jinse apni biwi-yan nahin sambhli woh angreaz fauz se kya ladenge. Translation : Those whom couldn't even care for their wives, would not be able to fight the British army. See more » |