Razia Sultan

'Razia Sultan' stands out as that one gem made too behind of its times! If Amrohi Sb had made the film just a decade or two before he actually did, it would have perhaps been a major success! Exquisite in style, taste and language, the film is a soulful and sensuous, respectful look at one of history's favourite daughters - one who historians can't really decide where to place!

Hema Malini in one of her most controlled performances - full of grace and integrity, Dharmendra proving once again, his looks are as much a killer as his talent.

The ensemble of music, sets, costumes and design works amazingly well. Recommended highly for lovers of history, romance and drama, as also those of good music - gems galore - 'Ae dile nadaan' has to be one of Lata's all time greats, and 'Aayi zanjeer ki jhankaar' does not have another song or voice to compare to in Hindi film music. 'Jalta hai badan' and 'Choom kar' as also 'Hariyala banna aaya re' are greats in their own right!

Razia Sultan, a visually extravagant yet underappreciated Indian period drama, strives to immortalize the story of Razia Sultan, the first and only female ruler of Delhi (1236-1240). Directed by Kamal Amrohi, this ambitious film stars Hema Malini as the trailblazing monarch and Dharmendra as Yakut, her loyal Abyssinian slave and rumored romantic interest. Despite its grand vision and sumptuous production design, the movie stumbled at the box office, leaving viewers divided over its uneven execution.

One of the film's most celebrated aspects is its evocative music. Composed by Khayyam, the soundtrack features timeless melodies, with "Aye Dil-e-Nadaan" standing out as an emotional masterpiece. The song poignantly captures Razia's internal conflict between her royal responsibilities and personal yearnings-a central theme of the narrative. While the music remains a highlight, it wasn't sufficient to elevate the film's overall reception.

Visually, "Razia Sultan" dazzles with its richly detailed sets and costumes, offering a vivid glimpse into medieval India. However, while the cinematography successfully conveys the era's opulence, the film's pacing feels slow and cumbersome, making it challenging for contemporary audiences to remain invested. Moreover, the on-screen chemistry between Hema Malini and Dharmendra-though anticipated-falls short of delivering the emotional intensity required to make their forbidden love story truly captivating.

The film does shine in moments that feel remarkably progressive, even by today's standards. One such scene features Parveen Babi and Hema Malini in a bold and striking sequence. Unfortunately, these instances are sparse and fail to offset the film's larger flaws.

I've awarded the film 7 stars primarily for its audacity and ambition in tackling such a monumental story in 1983. While it may not have succeeded entirely, it remains a noteworthy effort worth revisiting for its artistic merits and historical significance.

This is an example of a stupid unimaginable piece of work by a great director having an amazing score. I can't believe how some people giving it rave reviews when it has clearly distorted history. Razia Sultan's romance with Yakut was a myth, it was cooked up the royalties of Razia's kingdom who were jealous of her reign and wanted her to bring her down. Also their main objective was to give birth to seeds of jealousy in Altunia's mind who was Razia's childhood lover and companion.

Mr Amrohi instead went onto make a film based on the affair of Razia and Yakut mainly because to cash on the popularity of Hema Malini and Dharmendra's onscreen pairing at that time. But you can't play with history to satisfy your disbeliefs. The result? the film bombed at the box office and rightfully so, I watched this film online and kept skipping for the sheer audacity it displayed onscreen.

The climax's simply laughable. Dharmendra as Yakut going on a killing spree to save Hema Malini from clutches of Altunia played by Vijendra Ghatge. Razia plays a damsel in distress and Yakut takes her on her horse and they rode off, it's left for the audience imagination whether she was killed or if they made their way to safety. Simply Stupid ! While in reality, Razia and her forces were captured by Altunia and Yakut was killed, later Altunia realized his mistake and they get married.

The next day they set off to get the throne of Delhi back where they encounter a huge force by Balram Shah. After a fierce battle, Altunia loses his life, Razia continues fighting but gets outnumbered and hence lay her life in the battle. Her story deserves a great film. Mr Amrohi has only insulted her Image and nothing else.

The only good thing about this film are the songs by Khayaam Sahab. They are unforgettable. Simply outstanding. Watch the film for just the songs if you really want to, otherwise go read Amar Chitra Katha comic of Razia Sultan that's far more interesting than this trash.

I saw this film on DVD and was thankful for the skip features which allowed me to jump to heavenly songs rather that endure cheesy 'acting', pathetic artwork and a real bad mis-en-scene by Kamal Amrohi who had delivered a much better Pakeezah. No wonder that the 'masses' did not take to it. Only positive feature is divine music by ever wonderful Khaiyyam Saab and matching lyrics by Kaifi Saab and others. The movie frankly did not deserve these gems. Actors were just going through motions. The language (Persian in good part) does give it a period look but thats just about it. Who would understand that kind of language in India? A handful. Really avoidable; better stick to its music CD.

Kamal Amrohi's Razia Sultan is one of the most interesting historical films made in India. The story of the love between a 10th century queen and her slave general, what makes it especially interesting is the unconventional behavior and values of the primary characters, which makes the film seem campy at times, but which reflects the presumed historical context and values of the times.

The highlight of the film is the amazing music by Khayyam and beautiful song visualizations by VK Murthy. The language and lyrics are beautiful Urdu and Persian so requires repeated viewings by the modern viewer to fully understand and absorb the richness of the narrative. The sets and acting are also very high grade, especially by veteran Pradeep Kumar, who steals the first half in what was probably his best performance. Hema Malini and Dharmendra do a great job, as do some veterans like Sohrab Modi and Shahu Modak, in what may be their last roles. Special mention to the late Shandaar Amrohi whose portrayal of the dissolute prince Rukn-ud-din Firoz Shah is spot on for the character.

Khayyam's music, featuring a dazzling array of classical Indian instruments and voices, continues to be considered an all-time classic. The two songs by rarely recorded Kabban Mirza reach deep into the listener's soul. The classical Indian dances by dance maestro Gopi Krishna's troupe are also simply superb. The sets are magnificent and successfully evoke the historical period. Songs are filmed lovingly by the legendary cinematographer VK Murthy and are on par with the work he did for Guru Dutt on his classics - every song is a classic.

Now for the sad and shameful part, as the film took 10+ years to make and release, audience tastes had coarsened during its making and the released film was a huge commercial disappointment. Maybe as result of this failure, the Eros DVD print of the film is a dreadful "camera print" - poor transfer, terrible black transfers in the evening/night scenes, clipped images, unsynchronized sound, missing songs, and shamefully, the ~180 min film has been hacked down to ~140 min, causing huge continuity issues, muddled narrative, unresolved story lines and incomplete character arcs.

In spite of this shameful mutilation by Eros, the narrative is fascinating and demands repeat viewing by any interested viewers. I hope Eros, Hema Malini and/or the Amrohi family reads this review and publishes a complete and accurate remastered DVD print of this classic, so this labor of love is not lost to future viewers. The effort should not cost more than $10,000 if an original 35 mm print can be found.

Shahkaal weeps tears of blood for this lost classic - as a lyric in the movie says "khoon dil ka na chalak jaaye meri aankhon se" :(