The Dancing Beloved in South Asian Lyric Film: A Study of Pakeezah, Mughl-E-Azam, and Umrao Jaan

112 Pages·2010·2.118 MB·112\112

by  Nadya Q Chishty-Mujahid

THE DANCING BELOVED
ii SOUTH A,711AN LYRIC FILM
A Study of Pakeezah, Mughl-e-Azam,
and Umra© Jaan
Nadya Q. Chishty-Mujahid
With a Foreword by
Shahnaz Ahsanuddin
The Edwin Mellen Press
Lewiston•Queenston•Lampeter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chishty-Mujahid, Nadya Q.
The dancing beloved in South Asian lyric film : a study of Pakeezah, Mughl-e-azam,
and Umrao Jaan / Nadya Q. Chishty-Mujahid ; with a foreword by Shahnaz Ahsanuddin.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-3711-1
ISBN-10: 0-7734-3711-8
1. Motion picture music--South Asia--History and criticism. 2. Songs, Urdu--South
Asia--History and criticism. I. Pakeezah (Motion picture) II. Mughal-e-azam (Motion
picture) III. Umrao Jaan (Motion picture : 1981) IV. Title.
ML2075.C476 2010
791.43'750954--dc22
2010011963
hors serie.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Front cover art: Anarkali by A. R. Chughtai [Abdur Rahman Chughtai]
Copyright © 2010 Nadya Q. Chishty-Mujahid
All rights reserved. For information contact
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The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press
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Box 450 Box 67
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Lewiston, New York Queenston, Ontario
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USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS 1L0
The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated to my favourite teacher:
Rosetta Marantz Cohen
Contents
Foreword by Shahnaz Ahsanuddin
Acknowledgements(cid:9) iii
Introduction to the plots of the films Umrao Jaan,
Mughl-e-Azam, and Pakeezah
Translations and Wordings of the Lyrics with Individual
Commentaries:(cid:9) 13
a. Umrao Juan(cid:9) 15
b. Mughl-e-Azam(cid:9) 37
c. Pakeezah(cid:9) 71
Index of Urdu and Poorbi titles(cid:9) 99
Index of English titles(cid:9) 101
Foreword
"Kotha" (dancing house) culture in Lucknow and Delhi conjures up
negative thoughts of corruption, luxury and decadence. What is less well known is
the contribution courtesans made to sub-continental elite culture. Song, music,
poetry, social etiquette and all the graces connected with refinement and elegance
were fostered in this environment.
However in a world dominated by television and film these riches have
receded into history, available only to the determined scholar of Urdu literature.
In the twentieth century, with phenomenal advances in technology and increasing
"Westernisation" this culture has been revisited, as it were, through the medium
of film in India, extended to mass audiences through the agency of "Bollywood."
Nadya Chishty-Mujahid's research in this field provides an insightful look
at three famous twentieth-century films which have depicted cultural and human
aspects of courtesan life. Her research deals with ways in which the films capture,
extend or alter our perceptions vis a vis these traditions.
The film medium reaches out to the masses, even "the great unwashed"
who, unable to read, enjoy the stories, and can empathise with the experience of
joy/suffering that the heroines represent. A film conveys instantly, and in strong
visual terms, the issues that we continue to confront—our "identity" and our
desire to revisit the past which has made us who we are. Post-Colonial audiences,
"Anglophones," and others are caught between these two desires and the films
analysed in this book represent this compulsion.
Increasingly (and sadly), people prefer to see a three-hour film rather than
take the time to plough through a book. This is particularly true of audiences who
might find reading in an indigenous language tedious. The writer has explored
features of these films with a comprehensive critical understanding of how
II
technology can alter the ways in which we perceive narrative, characterisation,
spectacle, etc.
As an "Anglophone" reader I have enjoyed reading the Roman
transliterations and commentaries—I certainly feel enlightened about several
aspects of a culture I thought I was familiar with. The credit for this additional
perception and enjoyment goes to this very talented scholar and her painstaking
study.
Shahnaz Ahsanuddin, M.A. (Cantab)
Assistant Headmistress & Co-ordinator Counselling
The Karachi Grammar School
Karachi, Pakistan.
Acknowledgements
As always I would like to begin by thanking the helpful and thoroughly
professional Edwin Mellen Press team that has helped me work through my two
previous books with them, and has been equally encouraging about this one. I
want, therefore, to express my deep gratitude first and foremost towards Dr.
Herbert Richardson, and then Director John Rupnow and Mrs. Patricia Schultz.
Next I would like to thank my parents, Durainow and Chishty Mujahid,
for all their support, help, and encouragement. My mother's love of Urdu lyric
and Indian films alike, combined with her Girton College educational background
made her an ideal mentor for this project. As always, I am also indebted to my
husband Malik Khan for his sincere appreciation of whatever literary talent I
possess. I am honoured by the fact that Mrs, Shahnaz Ahsanuddin took time out
of her busy schedule to write the fine foreword for this text. I am indebted to her,
for my early academic training as well as her kind and genuine support of me that
has ranged over many years. I must acknowledge that my academic training at
Smith College owed much to the teaching ability of Dr. Rosetta Marantz Cohen. I
have dedicated this book to her as a small token of my immense appreciation for
her firm yet gentle influence, which has helped to shape my own teaching
pedagogy over the years. Last but not least, I would like to thank the English and
Comparative Literature department at the American University in Cairo for their
professional encouragement. I am especially grateful to my department chair, Dr.
Ira Dworkin, and my senior mentor, Dr. Feria! Ghazoul.
Nadya Chishty-Mujahid, PhD.
Introduction to the plots of the films Umrao Jaan, ughl-e-Azam,
and Pakeezah