Pakeezah

A passionate, opulent Indian melodama, far removed from the rarefied aesthetics of Satyajit Ray. Arguably the greatest achievement of Hindi popular cinema, Kamal Amrohi's tribute to his ill-starred wife, Meena Kumari (who died of drink shortly after the film's release), rivals Sirk and Minnelli in its quasi-feminist subversion of melodramatic norms. Kumari plays the title character, a Muslim courtesan who longs for escape from a Lucknow brothel; Raj Kumar is the wealthy young man who loves her, to the horror of his parents. In keeping with the conventions of Indian commercial films, the narrative proceeds at a leisurely pace and pauses frequently for song and dance...