Sheesh Mahal
About Sheesh Mahal
Thakur Jaspal Singh keeps up a Rajput household in the mirror palace Sheesh Mahal long after the money is gone. His children warn him. He sells the house to Durgaprasad, a former labourer who can now pay for it, and the family moves into a hovel. Son Balram loses a leg in a factory accident. Daughter Ranjana takes work as maid to Durgaprasad's daughter Roopa. Jaspal refuses Durgaprasad's offer of Roopa's brother Vikram for Ranjana. Sundarmukh, who had broken his own engagement to Ranjana over the poverty, tells Jaspal she is carrying on with Vikram inside the old house. Jaspal goes there to kill her. Durgaprasad stops him on the stairs. Jaspal falls, and before he dies he blesses Ranjana and Vikram.
Cast & crew
More about Sheesh Mahal
Sohrab Modi produced and directed, and plays Jaspal. Hakim Ahmad Shuja, an Urdu poet, wrote the story. Munshi Abdul Baqui and Shams Lucknawi wrote the screenplay and dialogue. M. N. Malhotra photographed. D. D. Shirdhankar and P. Bhalchander edited. Rusi K. Banker was art director. The negative went through Bombay Film Laboratory.
Themes
Reviews
Baburao Patel, who had a running quarrel with Modi, wrote in the October 1950 Filmindia that Sheesh Mahal "fails miserably to appeal." Motion Picture Magazine, in February 1951, said the film showed Modi still had "mastery of his craft." Amrit Gangar has set the mansion sets beside those of Mughal-e-Azam.
Music
Vasant Desai composed. Aajiz, Shams Lucknowi, and Nazim Panipati wrote lyrics, and one song adapts a poem by Hakim Ahmad Shuja. Pushpa Hans sings "Bhoole Zamane Yaad Na Kar." Shamshad Begum sings "Muqaddar Ke Hathon." Mohammed Rafi and Geeta Dutt sing "Jise Dhundti Phirti Hai Meri Nazar."
Notes
- Naseem Banu plays Ranjana. In Pukar (1939) she had been a costumed queen. Here she is dressed plainly, with little makeup.
- Nigar Sultana plays Roopa, Durgaprasad's daughter, not the thakur's. Mubarak plays Durgaprasad.
- Pran plays Sundarmukh. Jawahar Kaul plays Vikram. Pushpa Hans plays the other daughter, Nalini, and also sings.
- Amarnath plays Balram. Leela Mishra plays Vikram's mother.
- Prem Dhawan staged the dances. Gajanan Jagirdar is credited in the cast without a role named in the plot.
- Wikidata lists 138 minutes against the Wikipedia running time of 144.
Scenes
- The children tell Jaspal the spending cannot continue. He will not hear it.
- Ranjana comes back to Sheesh Mahal as Roopa's maid.
- Sundarmukh reports an affair, and Jaspal goes to the palace with a weapon.
- He falls on the steps and blesses Ranjana and Vikram as he dies.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Sheesh Mahal 1950.webm)
