Shatranj Ke Khilari
8.4 /10 1 Votes
88% Genre Comedy, Drama, History Budget 2 million INR Duration Language Hindi
Urdu
English | 7.8/10 IMDb Director Satyajit Ray Release date October 3, 1977 (India) Music director Satyajit Ray Country India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 10 March 1977 (1977-03-10) Based on Shatranj ke khiladi, a short story
by Munshi Premchand Writer Munshi Premchand (story), Satyajit Ray (dialogue), Satyajit Ray (screenplay), Javed Siddiqui (dialogue), Shama Zaidi (dialogue) Cast Richard Attenborough (General Outram), Amitabh Bachchan (Narrator), Sanjeev Kumar (Mirza Sajjad Ali), Saeed Jaffrey (Mir Roshan Ali), Shabana Azmi (Khurshid), Farida Jalal (Nafisa)Similar movies Mysterious Manoeuvre , The Green Mile , Tied Hands , Dabangg , The Atheist , Night at the Museum |
Chess in cinema shatranj ke khilari 1977
In 1856, two obsessive chess players fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.
Contents

Shatranj Ke Khilari (Hindi: ; The Chess Players) is a 1977 Indian film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchands short story of the same name. Amjad Khan plays the role of Wajid Ali Shah, King of Awadh, and Richard Attenborough plays the role of General James Outram. The film also features the actors Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, David Abraham and Tom Alter.

Shatranj Ke Khiladi (Hindi: ????? ?? ???????; The Chess Players) is a 1977 Indian film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. The film is set in 1856 and shows the life and customs of 19th century India on the eve of the Indian rebellion of 1857. The focus is on events surrounding the British annexation of the Indian State of Awadh (also spelt Oudh), the politics of colonial expansion by the British East India Company and the deluded divisions of Indian monarchs.
Summary

The film is set in 1856 and shows the life and customs of 19th century India on the eve of the Indian rebellion of 1857. The focus is on events surrounding the British annexation of the Indian State of Awadh (also spelt Oudh), the politics of colonial expansion by the British East India Company and the deluded divisions of Indian monarchs.

The Chess Players employed stars of the Bombay cinema (Amjad Khan, Shabana Azmi and Amitabh Bachchan as a narrator) together with Western actors such as Richard Attenborough.

It was also selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Plot

The film shows in parallel the historical drama of the Indian kingdom Awadh (whose capital is Lucknow) and its Muslim Nawab Wajid Ali Shah who is overthrown by the British, alongside the story of two shatranj (chess) obsessed noblemen.

Satyajit Ray portrays the Nawab as an extravagant but sympathetic figure. He is an artist and poet, no longer in command of events and unable to effectively oppose the British demand for his throne. Parallel to this wider drama is the personal (and sometimes humorous) tale of two rich noblemen of this kingdom, Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali. Inseparable friends, the two nobles became passionately obsessed with the game of shatranj (chess), neglecting their wives and failing to act against the real-life seizure of their kingdom by the East India Company. Instead, the two nobles abandon their families and responsibilities, fleeing from Lucknow to play chess in village exile untroubled by greater events. Rays basic theme in the film is the message that the detachment of Indias ruling classes assisted a small number of British officials and soldiers to take over Awadh without opposition.

The role of Captain Weston, so British in his ways, but in love with Urdu poetry, is also worth noting.
In the last scene, after which Mir shoots at Mirza and complains out loud "I wont have a partner to play chess with", Mirza responds to him "but you have one in front of you!" (thus making him understand that he forgives him). He finally concludes that "after nightfall, we will go back home. We both need darkness to hide our faces."
Cast
Other credits
References
Shatranj Ke Khilari WikipediaShatranj Ke Khilari IMDbShatranj Ke Khilari Rotten TomatoesShatranj Ke Khilari themoviedb.org