Aadaab arz hain. Aadaab arz hain. Tasleem. Tasleem. The opening lines of the Asha Bhosle/Mubarak Begum qawwali from “ARZOO”. Words that the non-Urdu speaker learnt through songs and movies. Just as many of us picked up smatterings of the language from the same sources.
The panorama of Hindi Films presents a kaleidoscope of creative talents who presented in their creations the cultures and religions and languages of the land. That is too vast a subject to deal with in a brief essay. Here we merely say requiem to a film genre that has virtually vanished: the Muslim Social.
To the younger generation, movie names such as “MERE MEHBOOB” or “CHAUDHVIN KA CHAAND” are primarily associated with their songs. But in a different time, they represented a niche that has now passed into history.
The Muslim ‘ethos’ was once described by E. M. Forster as an ‘attitude towards life both exquisite and durable’.
Elegance of speech and surroundings was a marked feature of Muslim socials. Such films dealt with the Muslim North Indian middle class and its social milieu, spiced with ghazals and qawwalis. But even when it existed in Hindi cinema, it depicted a world that was pure fantasy: those poet-heroes, nawabs, burqa-clad heroines, courtesans, havelis and streets never existed in quite that way in real life.
The `Muslim social' gestured towards a culture that developed among the ruling elites of 18th and 19th century Awadh. It transported that culture to the mid-20th century and then re-imagined it in fantastic ways. The filmic re-creations had little to do with authenticity. No resident of Lucknow in the 1960s would have considered “MERE MEHBOOB” an accurate representation of the city and its culture. But for vast numbers of viewers across India, films like this contributed to their notion of what Lucknow, Muslims and poets were like.
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If “PUKAR” (1939) directed by Sohrab Modi with dialogues by Kamal Amrohi is credited as having been the first notable ‘Muslim social film’, “PAKEEZAH” (1971) is considered the ‘farewell’ film of the Muslim Social. Ironically, but perhaps appropriately, this too was crafted by Kamal Amrohi, an acknowledged expert on Urdu language and Muslim culture.
But during the intervening years there came several movies that belonged to this category. Made, and with portrayals, by non-Muslims. For this was then an accepted and integral part of the ‘Hindi’ movie landscape, with its own unique appeal to the film-goers. The Muslim ethos in Indian cinema was presented by a host of film-makers including Bimal Roy and Guru Dutt.
Let us try and recapitulate some of the better-known ones:
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That Guru Dutt should choose “CHAUDHVIN KA CHAND” (1960) to recover the losses wrung up by his classic “KAAGHAZ KE PHOOL” is an indicator of the definite appeal of the “Muslim social”. The film had several scoring points. Guru Dutt himself was non-descript and could fit into the character without superimposing the hackneyed mannerisms of a ‘star’ (no more Dev Anand for him!). More importantly, Waheeda Rehman and Rehman and Johnny Walker fit into their roles with no questions asked. And then, the music!
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Perhaps “MERE MEHBOOB” (1963) was the mother of all Muslim socials, the 'hero' falling in love with a veiled 'heroine' (did he even see her face before pouring out his heart?). The captivating title-song, the camera-lens that was in love with a stunning Sadhana, yet again the stately Ashok Kumar, the much-welcomed return of Nimmi in an appropriate and believable role, the colour and the music --- a grand combination that just could not go wrong! It was perhaps the most successful among all the films of this genre, not undeservedly.
“BENAZEER” (1964) would seem an odd output from the Bimal Roy camp. For a film-maker who created cinematic history with bold social themes in “DO BIGHA ZAMEEN” and “SADHNA” and “SUJATA”, who could present simple tales in realistic style with “PARAKH” and ‘PREMPATRA”, or give a twist to a “ghost story” with “MADHUMATI”, the handling of a “Muslim social” was perhaps a ‘new horizon’ to conquer. Partially saved by the dignified performance of Ashok Kumar, and diminished in turn by an prematurely ageing Meena Kumari portrayed as being attracted towards a young Shashi Kapoor, it was definitely not Bimal Roy’s finest hour. Apart from the Muslim setting of the story, there was little distinctive about the film.
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“PALKI” (1967) was a sentimental creation of composer Naushad who penned the story. Long delayed in the making, it had become 'dated’ by the time of its release and could not replicate anything like the success of the other Rajendra Kumar starrer. Despite the love he lavished on every ‘nazm’ and ‘qawwali’, despite every frame of the film reflecting the ‘nawabi’ culture of a bygone era, Naushad’s ‘period’ film petered out, leaving in its wake a few hummable tunes. Similarly, “DIL HI TO HAI” (1963), “MERE HUZOOR” (1968) and “MEHBOOB KI MEHNDI” (1971) also came and went.
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The grand finale of the Muslim Social was yet another film that had experienced prolonged birth-pangs. Originally shelved following the estrangement between the couple, “PAKEEZAH” (1971) would become a lasting monument to Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari. In making this tragedy of a courtesan, Amrohi got the period details just right: the ashraf or landed gentry culture of Uttar Pradesh in the first half of the century. The music and lyrics had both the nostalgia for a lost Eden and a lyricism all their own. But what truly elevated “PAKEEZAH” was Meena Kumari’s performance-of-a-lifetime, plus the old-world music. An apt swan-song for the legendary actress and for the vanishing genre. “PAKEEZAH” features one of the most memorable and romantic lines in Hindi cinema: "Aap ke paanv dekhe. Bahut khoobsurat hain. Khudaaraa inhein zameen par naa utaariyega varna yeh maile ho jaayenge."
After the 70s the Muslim Social faded away.
The flowery Urdu of the nawabs was supplanted by the patois of the streets.