I’ve always had a soft corner for Muslim socials—I find the tehzeeb quite beguiling. It also probably has a lot to do with the fact that Urdu has a mellifluousness that few languages possess. And most actors look great in achkans!
So, having recently re-seen some old favourites (including Mere Mehboob, Pakeezah, Chaudhvin ka Chand and Nakli Nawab), I decided it was time to watch some I hadn’t seen before. This was the first of the lot, and not bad, really.
Nawab Salim (Raj Kumar) lives in Lucknow with his sister Shama. Salim’s a debauch, his name a hissing and a byword. His world revolves around wine, women and song (and tennis!), but all of that comes to a screeching halt when Salim runs into Sultanat (Mala Sinha), Shama’s beautiful friend.
Salim’s smitten and is pretty sure that Sultanat reciprocates his feelings. He doesn’t know, however, that Sultanat is actually in love with a young poet called Akhtar Hussain `Akhtar’ (Jeetendra), who met her on the train to Lucknow and sang Rukh se zara naqaab utha do mere huzoor to her. By sheer coincidence (and they’re a dime a dozen in Mere Huzoor), Akhtar had once rescued Salim from drowning and so Salim is indebted to him—in fact, Akhtar’s come to Lucknow on Salim’s insistence.
Salim persuades Shama to visit Sultanat’s father (K.N. Singh, in an all-too-short role) and ask for Sultanat’s hand in marriage. Sultanat tells Shama that she doesn’t care two hoots for Salim, and fortunately for Sultanat, her father too turns down the match: a ne’er do well like Salim isn’t his idea of the ideal son-in-law.
Akhtar’s been romancing Sultanat all this while, and decides the time’s ripe to press his suit (that glorious black achkan!). His old chum, a plagiarist poet called Pyarelal (Johnny Walker) visits Sultanat’s father in disguise as an old lady, to plead Akhtar’s case. This is a delightful little scene between K.N.Singh and Johnny Walker, both of them brilliant. By the way, the comic side plot—with Pyarelal’s lady love Geeta (Zeb Rehman) and her parents (David and Manorama) is silly and a waste of some very good acting talent.
The upshot is that Akhtar and Sultanat get married and are deliriously happy. Salim bestows a title (of Nawab) on Akhtar, along with wealth and a job in a plush office.
A few years have passed, and Akhtar and Sultanat now have a small son. The kid gets on like a house on fire with `Nawab Chacha’—Salim. But Salim’s still nursing a broken heart, though he tries to mend it now and then by imbibing too much and spending time with two dancing girls (Madhumati and Laxmi Chhaya: the song’s Jhanak jhanak tori baaje paayaliya).
Meanwhile, Akhtar’s been introduced to a courtesan called Firdaus.
[Aside: any idea who this actress is? She was Nagina in Dil deke dekho. Possibly Indira, since she’s the only person credited in the cast of both movies, as far as I can tell].
Akhtar’s initially reticent, but soon gives up fidelity as a bad joke and has a torrid affair with Firdaus.
When Sultanat comes to know, there’s a big showdown, and Akhtar and Sultanat agree on a divorce.
Post the divorce, Sultanat, her son, and her mother-in-law (Praveen Paul) go off to live by themselves. When Sultanat’s son falls ill and starts asking for Nawab Chacha, Sultanat is forced to send for Salim. He comes, cares for the child—and, on his way out, is attacked by Sultanat’s neighbours, who don’t want any of that around their homes, thank you.
Salim can think of only one way to ensure Sultanat and her family are cared for, without her name being ruined. He offers her a marriage of convenience: she’ll get his name, his wealth, etc; but that’s it. He won’t—even though he adores her—demand more.
About the same time, Akhtar discovers Firdaus’s real nature: she’s using the same lines she lured him with, on a new catch. Remorseful and heartbroken, he reaches Sultanat’s home to see her go off to Salim’s house as his wife.
And so we have the usual triangle: the pining reformed rake, the prodigal ex-husband, and the woman they both love. Clichéd?
What I liked about this film:
Mala Sinha. One of my favourite actresses, and oh so lovely in a sharara!
The film actually makes an effort to break some stereotypes. Sultanat, for instance, doesn’t beg Akhtar to come back to her; she faces up to him defiantly and asks for a divorce. And her mother-in-law, instead of siding with the wayward son, prefers to throw in her lot with her daughter-in-law. Atta-girls!
The ending is unusual: I must admit I hadn’t really expected it. Will say no more.
What I didn’t like:
Raj Kumar and Jeetendra aren’t my favourite actors. Jeetendra in his early movies (including this one) is better than Raj Kumar, but a scruffy beard and facial contortions don’t endear him to me.
The dialogue, though principally in Urdu, wasn’t true to form. It had lots of Sanskrit-derived words that diluted the beauty of the language. Not what I want in a Muslim social.
Dustedoff 
Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes
LikeLike
I’ve tried to watch this three or four times and could never get much more than halfway into it…should try again, now I am intrigued and want to know how it ends! I like Jeetendra okay, but not really Raaj Kumar and Mala Sinha.
LikeLike
Yes, the end is really rather unexpected – I didn’t see it coming.
LikeLike
You have written so nicely and put some nice fotos of Mala, that I’ve started liking her, though she is/was not really on my fav. list.
BTW don’t you think that in the screen cap 5, both, jeetendra and mala sinha look same? Thanks for the moustache, you can differentiate them!
;-)
And I hope Sultanat takes up Salim at the end!
That’s the way to go!
LikeLike
Hehehe…yes, now that I look at it, I do think they look very similar in the fifth screen cap ;-). Mala Sinha really looked lovely in this film, much better than in some of those really weepy films she did with Dharmendra (Pooja ke Phool, Neela Akash, etc – those were awful!)
See the film to see who gets her! (Unless you want me to post a spoiler!)
LikeLike
i agree with who is saying that mala sinha ji and jetu ji are looking same. difference is moustache. i do like mukh sey zraa naqaab utha mere huzoor. but not expressions.
LikeLike
since I will most probably never watch or have the chance to watch the film, I won’t mind if you post a spoiler!
but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
Thanks for the delightful review!
LikeLike
Spoiler coming up!
There seems to be some chemistry developing between Salim and Sultanat, and then Akhtar discovers that Firdaus is a no-good gold digger who’s just looking to feather her own nest. But when he finds that Sultanat has married Salim, Akhtar doesn’t come anywhere near Sultanat. He ends up becoming very ill and poor, roaming the streets like a beggar, still pining for Sultanat and for his child… eventually, just as Sultanat is ready to `accept’ Salim as her husband, Salim sees Akhtar in the street. Akhtar tries to run away, Salim chases after him to stop him, and a car comes along and hits Salim. Sultanat arrives just as he’s dying.
Cut to years later, when Sultanat’s son has grown up, and Sultanat has come with him to Salim’s grave to pray. The young man is on his way to being a success, and Sultanat insists that it is all because of the blessings of Salim. As they go away, the camera pans to an old and poor man who is hiding away in the bushes nearby and watching them with tears in his eyes: Akhtar.
Spoiler ends
Different, no? But not quite what I would have wanted!
LikeLike
WOW!
That is different!
But I’m disappointed. Really!
Why aren’t hindi film heroines not allowed to have sex with more than one man.
Very unjust!
Just because she was married to Akhtar, she has to live chaste with Salim and just in case if she does develop any feelings for him, he is conveniently bumped off.
poor sultanat!
my heart goes of to her. Thank God, in real life, women are not so dumb and ifnd ways to wiggle through the norms of the society.
LikeLike
thanks for the ending!
Cause I would never have watched the movie on my own, I think.
LikeLike
Yes… idiotic, really. Something like Ek Phool Do Maali: there too, just because she’d slept with her boyfriend, even when she got married (and got along pretty well with her husband), it remained a platonic relationship. In any case, even in real life society doesn’t look down on women who have sex with their husbands!
LikeLike
how true!
the screenplay writers and the authors seem to live in the dark middle ages or what they think those times where like.
LikeLike
Both Raaj Kumar and Mala Sinha are such talented actors!
LikeLike
Yes, though I wish Mala Sinha hadn’t done so many very weepy roles. I like her in stuff where she’s more restrained – like Pyaasa, or even the exuberant roles (Aankhen!)
LikeLike
My views about this film coincide with yours completely – except, I love Raaj Kumar. :-) as much as I admire Mala Sinha. She was really beautiful.
Much as I enjoyed this film, there seemed to be something wrong with the print. The pictures looked broadened, and no amount of adjustment gave the correct proportions. Very disappointing really.
LikeLike
Oh dear, I know that happens with some prints. The print I got was fine, so I think it probably had to do something with the company that converted the print to digital…
And yes, Mala Sinha is beautiful, isn’t she? So many people don’t like her much, but even though she acted in some really weepy films (but then who didn’t, way back then?) I think she was lovely.
LikeLike
dustedoff, could you please tell me the name of your DVD company? Mine is from moeserbaer.
I would really like to see this film in its proper dimensions. :-)
LikeLike
I’m sorry, I don’t remember which one this was. It was a rented DVD, so I can’t refer back to it. Definitely not Shemaroo or Ultra (or even Moser Baer, I think) since those would all have a very prominent watermark on each screen.
LikeLike
Mala Sinha is seriously under-rated. And that’s sad for someone who in her heydays was a super-duper star. Her heydays too lasted long for she aged gracefully. At age 35, she looked great and convincing with Rajesh Khanna in Maryada.
LikeLike
Plus… Mala Sinha was fabulous in most of her romantic solo and duet song sequences. Her expressions, the way she moved…. I think no other actress matched her in song sequences.
LikeLike
I think I really should review Dillagi next! It’s in my to-be-rewatched queue, and stars Mala Sinha in a role which I liked: she’s feisty, strong-willed and yet romantic.
LikeLike
“The dialogue, though principally in Urdu, wasn’t true to form. It had lots of Sanskrit-derived words that diluted the beauty of the language”
So, what words from Sanskrit you reckon diluted the beauty of the Urdu language?
I am not even sure if you have half the brains of a pea to realize that Urdu was indeed derived in part from Sanskrit, and that Urdu does not belong to Pakistan or Muslims.
You write well no doubt, but you have no clue about the origins of the language you seem to revere.
LikeLike
It’s been a while since I saw the film, and since it was rented (I don’t own it) I can’t go back to see which words specifically seemed to be derived from Sanskrit. What I meant to say was that there were loads of words for which a common enough Urdu equivalent exists, but a more Sanskriticised word was used.
Thank you for the comment that I write well (despite the fact that I have brains half the size of a pea!! – I must congratulate you on your manners). And I don’t exactly revere Urdu; I just think it’s a beautiful language, very refined and elegant.
BTW, I do happen to know that Urdu was derived in part from Sanskrit. And that it does not belong to Pakistan or Muslims (did I say that? Incidentally, I am fairly conversant in Urdu, and am neither a Pakistani nor a Muslim).
I do apologise if I’ve offended you. The intention was not that at all.
LikeLike
Urdu, actually meant camp language. It’s A mixture of Khadi boli (the Prakrit dialect around Delhi, today’s Haryana and the adjoining parts of UP) and Persian and Arabic. Khadi boli’s words and syntax (grammar) prevail in Urdu. But the main concept words are Persian or Arabic. In the 60s in India we came up with our Hindi which made a deliberate attempt to replace the Persian and Arabic words with Sanskrit equivalents. Remember Doordarshan Hindi news :-). That’s when the sharp differences between Hindi and Hinustani (spoken Urdu) got created. Hindi Films still use more Hindustani than Hindi.
LikeLike
In fact, Himsingz, I’d probably say that not just Hindi films but also most people in and around Delhi, UP, etc speak Hindustani rather than Hindi. I remember, when I was in school, we had a Hindi teacher who was very strict about us not using Hindustani words – anything with an even vaguely Persian/Arabic root was struck out angrily (we were expected to shun the use of words like agar or lekin, for example). So I’m pretty clear on what words are Sanskritised and what are not!!
Thank you for also for clarifying that bit about the words and the syntax of Urdu being derived from khadi boli; I knew all of that, and that Urdu was ‘camp language’, but just responding to that rather nasty comment got me so heated up, I couldn’t think straight! :-) Thanks for putting it in such an objective way.
LikeLike
You know dustedoff (feels funny calling you that) another big change has come in as far as Hindi is concerned. In UP, Bihar, MP etc. even rural people liberally sprinkle Engish words/phrases/even sentences in between the Khadi boli ‘glue’ words. ‘Maine use understand karta hun. Aapka kitchen bada comfortable hai… etc. etc. Speaking in klisht Hindi or Khaalis Urdu is no longer in. Compelling status seeking demands one uses English instead of Sanskirit, Persian or Arabic words. Only those who really think they are classy speak strict Hindi or Urdu. And that’s kind of reverse status seeking too.
LikeLike
You know, the tone and tenor of your reply was very restrained :-). Very admirable. I would have let fly a whole lot of impolite stuff.
LikeLike
You’re welcome to call me Madhu – a few people on my blog do address me by that name!
I was just so boiling mad at the unwarranted allegation that I guess I slipped a bit; but thank you for saying my restraint was admirable! In any case, I don’t think it mattered to the other person anyway.
And you’re right, again. Even people who’re not at all conversant with English sprinkle their Hindi/Urdu liberally with English (“Kya tame hai?” is one of my favourites). Interestingly enough, Bengali seems to have incorporated a lot of words from English – possibly a result of the English first having set up shop in that part of the country? I don’t know, but I find it rather appealing that one language has so seemingly effortlessly included so much from another – though of course Bangla also has words that are of Persian/Arabic origin. Very cosmopolitan!
LikeLike
I never really liked Mala Sinha, although like me she was a Christian (and one may be biased towards one’s religion, so many people are), I don’t think she was particularly beautiful & she overacted to the hilt & she jumped about so much in most of her songs which made her so annoying . In my opinion she completely spoiled the lovely song “Rukh se zara naqaab utha do ” by her weird reactions.And she pulls down the naqaab at the END of the song ! But to each his own. Re the “dilution” of Urdu dialogue You’re 100% correct. Nobody would want Urdu words in a Sanskritized Hindi movie just as Hindi dialogues would appear unrealistic in an Urdu social. You would have been justified in giving some warped minds a piece of your mind ! But you were remarkably restrained as the other blogger said.
LikeLike
I have to admit I have very mixed feelings towards Mala Sinha. There are some movies where I’ve thought she looked really lovely (Dillagi, for instance – which was also an example of good acting from her), and there are a few films where her histrionics were also somewhat controlled, or at least not jarring – like Ek Gaon ki Kahaani and Aankhen. What I don’t like are her more usual melodramatic roles, such as in Anpadh, Jahanara, Hariyali aur Raasta, etc: in most of those, she ends up being more screechy and weepy than anything else.
Talking of Christians in Hindi cinema, I don’t think – other than Mala Sinha and Helen – many made it to the big league, did they? I mean, there have been several (Kalpana Karthik, Smriti Biswas, Sonia Sahni, and a host of dancing extras), but few have really become household names…
LikeLike
Speaking of mala sinha s melodrama was scaled to new heights in the climax of baharen phir bhi aayengi .Tanuja and dharmendra were rolling on the floor as mala wasgiving new definition to overacting .It was they couldnt upset senior senorita but couldnt control their laughter as mala singa was at her best in what she does in these scenes Over acting is pretty mild word.
LikeLike
Fake news
Did you witness it yourself ??
LikeLike
Thanks for declaring it as fake news .. i thought i would get away with it… jokes apart .. yes u are right i didnt witness. As i wasnt born yet.. a magzine reporter who was doing a feature on mala sinha while describing mala sinha s acting mentioned that tanuja had told her about dharmendra and herself had hard time keeping a straight face while mala sinha was performing.
LikeLike
Mostly people who are not conversant with English, do this. Those who know English well don’t need to. They are automatically accorded higher status. Supply and demand. A minuscule part of India actually speaks and writes English fluently. We let this happen. Entirely our fault.
Bengalis are falling prey to the same syndrome. I should know, I am married to a Bengali :-). Mostly, though, they are more conscious and proud of their culture and language. The forces of ‘englishisation’ are too strong. The fact that most of our 20th modern institutions are borrowed from occidental models, as are all modern technological innovations; the fact that we were the star colony of the British and keep on carrying that baggage; the fact that traditions of written literature in India were not very deep, and still aren’t; the fact we are an outsourced-services economy; the fact that better jobs require good English…. and many other factors …. have contributed.
Hope, eventually, something good will come out this kitsch.
LikeLike
I think ‘Englishisation’ is somewhat of a global phenomenon, not just restricted to India (possibly partly because of the USA’s overwhelming infiltration just about everywhere? – as tourists, corporates, invaders, whatever). The French are among those who’ve tried very hard to get rid of the English words that have seeped into their language, but I don’t think they’ve succeeded.
On a lighter note, Hindi is perhaps better for some of the more useful English words it’s borrowed. I remember when we were children, we’d been in splits at all the shruddh Hindi words for everyday things: jyotirmay lattoo (lightbulb), astra-vastra niyantran laghu ghantika (button), kanth langot (necktie) etc. Yes, I’m sure most of them were contrived, but they were amusing too!
LikeLike
Right you are. But we put up the shoddiest and briefest of fights!! The French are losing to a natural shift after a long fight. Though they are the other extreme. They could be insufferable in their cultural arrogance. All going now.
Th ‘jharani’ (fountain pen), loh path gamaini (railway train) days of the mid 60s when the Sankiritisers were full of steam were really, really crazy. So much misdirected idealism. We saw it even then, in the thick of those times. We also knew that so many of the Sanskiritisers were busy trying to get their progeny a good English education. This kind of low down pragmatism has diluted lots of things here.
LikeLike
Madhu, aren’t we getting way too off topic for a Mere Huzoor review page :-). Or, perhaps movies should provoke all sorts of social commentary.
LikeLike
Oh, you’d be surprised at where some of the discussions on this blog end up – I remember a chance comment on one post (I’ve forgotten which one) that sparked off a long and very interesting discussion on how films have evolved in India versus the West – and touching on various other points too. Related to cinema, granted; but with very little to do with the film that I’d reviewed!
Films, I think, are so intrinsic a part of our lives that it works both ways – they draw from life (no matter how cursorily!) and we draw from films. So, discussions, no matter how distant from cinema they may seem, are always welcome.
(P.S. I love learning new things and listening/reading new points of view, so do feel free to write on about what you feel) :-)
LikeLike
well by the way I have discovered persian/urdu words in Tamil & Telugu also
eg: Rung (color) Duur (far) etc.
coming to Mere Huzoor I think it was a beautiful movie and Mala Sinha looked fabulous and acted great in this movie , It is sad she never picked up any nomination
for her performance that year.Most heroines in those days were weepy , melodramatic and dressed up in styles which made them look older and buxom.
Mala reinvented herself in the 70’s which no other heroine had done including Nanda & Asha Parekh and appeared slim and very “CHIC” in some later movies.
She had a glorious span of 4 dcades but never recieved any true recognition,.
Artists junior then her like Rekha , Jaya , Jeetendra Asha parekh and even Aruna Irani have been recognized
LikeLike
I agree. Although she did end up acting in a lot of pretty melodramatic films (like Anpadh), Mala Sinha was very versatile – I completely fell in love with her when I watched Aankhen. Till date, the film in which I think she looked the most elegant was Dillagi – and who’d have imagined that her leading man in that (Sanjay Khan) was actually younger than her? She didn’t look her age, not at all.
LikeLike
Did you know that Mala wore the “Churidaars” in Dillagi and carried them so well
I think even before Sadhana popularized them in WAQT (which was in color and a major hit) She was rumored to have been involved with Sanjay in those days and had signed many movies with him but when they broke Sanjay lost a lot of movies and was replaced by Biswajeet on her recommendation.
Yes she was very melodramatic and most movies in those demanded melodrama and tear jerking. If you notice in some very weepy movies like “Phir subah hogi ; Aasra ; Nai Roshni etc her performance was very subdued and restrained.
She was certainly very Glamorous in Dillagi, Night in London , Jaal , Aankhen ( as you mentioned ) and even as Rajesh Khanna’s love interest in Maryada. She was very annoying in pooja ke phool , Himalaya ki god mein etc etc.
LikeLike
Well, Dillagi was released in 1966, whereas Waqt is from 1965, so the churidar may probably be said to have first been worn by Sadhna…
LikeLike
She was extremly arrogant ,aloof and easily made other stars uncomfortable ..she claimed jeetendra was mannerless ..manoj kumar s innocent comment was blown for no reason during hariyali aur raasta,asha parekh and other senior actors were made to wait endlessly during their visit to her house and had to leave without meeting.dhram was scared to approach mala for bobby deols barsaat for pratibha.sharmila tagore was slapped by her during humsaya.so basically pink lips and femnine biswajeet obeyed her.oh once she did praise amitabh as he gave her some importance and raaj kumaar allowed her to bully him and call him bushy what ever it means.
LikeLike
I think this is sort of overblown
She was a head strong actress and worked on her terms but your description is an exaggeration
LikeLike
Please comment on USHA Mangeshkars solo in this movie ” Yeh Aaj kal ke ladkey”
and post it ;
would like to know who was Vijay Kumar was he Johnny Walkers younger brother ??
LikeLike
“Please comment on USHA Mangeshkars solo in this movie ” Yeh Aaj kal ke ladkey” and post it ;”
You’d asked for that song yesterday on the Dillagi post, and I’d posted it in response.
And yes, Vijay Kumar was Johnny Walker’s younger brother.
LikeLike
thanks
LikeLike
She was extremly arrogant ,aloof and easily made other stars uncomfortable ..she claimed jeetendra was mannerless ..manoj kumar s innocent comment was blown for no reason during hariyali aur raasta,asha parekh and other senior actors were made to wait endlessly during their visit to her house and had to leave without meeting.dhram was scared to approach mala for bobby deols barsaat for pratibha.sharmila tagore was slapped by her during humsaya.so basically pink lips and femnine biswajeet obeyed her.oh once she did praise amitabh as he gave her some importance and raaj kumaar allowed her to bully him and call him bushy what ever it means.
LikeLike
Why you repeating the same comments again . It is ok if you don’t like her but don’t insult a senior veteran actress like this please 🙏
LikeLike
Sorry about that.. i may have pressed posted twice .. And its not about not likng her Or insulting her . Personally i like her on some movies and in some i dont.. my info about her behaviour is just collected info from interviews , autobiographies, articles.. etc .. i think ot bothers her fans so i will skip mentioning about her issues with B R chopra and Sanjay khan.
LikeLike
I did not know she had published an Auto Biography 🤔
As far as Sanjay goes it was an affair that did not materialize and things went sour.
She had no issues with BR Films , she was one of their favorites and gave several memorable films with them like Dhool ka Phool , Gumrah , Dharm Putra etc . She had to decline Itefaq due to dates problems .
LikeLike
Autobography i mentioned was by mr sanjay khan best mistakes of my life. ..B r chopra I mentioned was about them not casting her when her time as a lead was almost over and chopra s never kept in touch … They did regret casting her daugther with dharmendra and amrita singh cant remember the name of the movie…. And please shed some light when she admitted in the court her earning as a ….. to save the income tax . Heard on some tv report recently which was hard to believe.
LikeLike
best part of this movie is the music. One of the best score from Shankar Jaikishan and it had amazing solos from Rafi. Rukh se, Jo guzar, gum uthane are all amazing songs.
LikeLike
Firdaus’s role was played by Indira Billi I think and Mala Sinha was wearing “ Ghararas” not shararas throughout the movie which is an authentic dress for women in Lucknow .
Mala look lovely & slim throughout the movie and except for one scene and one song she was very much subdued and in control of her emotions in the movie . Surprised she did not get any nominations 🤔. This was one of her best performances.
LikeLike
Thanks for the clarification about shararas/ghararas.
LikeLike
Hehe.. I like Mala Sinha and love Raaj Kumar. Yet, I must confess that this is quite a torturous film, with nothing going for it except the superb music. Technically the film is poor and even Raaj Kumar and Mala Sinha irritate here. Jeetendra is anyways a super misfit in Muslim socials and he doesn’t disappoint in being a misfit here again!!
Coming back to Mala Sinha, I think apart from Ankhen, Gumrah, Jahanara n some other Hindi films, quite a significant bit of her best work is in Bengali cinema. There, keeping in sync with the idioms of good old Bengali filmmaking, she is allowed to be restrained, sweet and mellowed. And its exactly when Mala is in a subdued form, that she is at her best. She was particularly impressive in Abhaya o Srikanto, Khelaghor n Lukochuri, among others.
LikeLike
Pasand Apni Apni
Khayal Apna Apna
LikeLike
I must try and get hold of some of her Bengali films. Thank you for the recommendations!
LikeLike