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Shatranj Ke Khilari

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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

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie poster
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)

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,
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 movie scenes

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 Khilari movie scenes

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

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie scenes

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.

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie scenes

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.

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie scenes

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

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie scenes  who feels lonely and abandoned by her husband s constant chess playing in their home and lashes out in humorous petulant ways in her few scenes

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.

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie scenes Image A scene from Shatranj Ke Khilari

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.

Shatranj Ke Khilari movie scenes Shatranj Ke Khilari Visually stunning films

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

  • Sanjeev Kumar as Mirza Sajjad Ali
  • Saeed Jaffrey as Mir Roshan Ali
  • Shabana Azmi as Khurshid, Mirzas wife
  • Richard Attenborough as General James Outram
  • Farida Jalal as Nafisa, Mirs wife
  • Amjad Khan as Wajid Ali Shah
  • David Abraham as Munshi Nandlal
  • Victor Banerjee as Prime Minister
  • Farooq Sheikh as Aqueel
  • Tom Alter as Captain Weston, Outrams aide de camp
  • Leela Mishra as Hirya, Khurshids maid
  • Samarth Narain as Kallu
  • Bhudo Advani as Abbajani
  • Other credits

  • Narrator - Amitabh Bachchan
  • Art direction - Bansi Chandragupta
  • Sound designer - Narinder Singh
  • References

    Shatranj Ke Khilari Wikipedia
    Shatranj Ke Khilari IMDbShatranj Ke Khilari Rotten TomatoesShatranj Ke Khilari themoviedb.org