Razia Sultan

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" :(

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.

'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!

This film should have everything going for it - directed by Kamal Amrohi, lavish palace sets, costume design and loosely based on an true story from the era of the Turkish sultanates in India. Razia trained in combat by her Ethiopian slave Yakoot (who suspiciously looks like a blacked up Dharmendra!) proves herself a more worthy heir than her brothers. After the death of her father Razia assumes control of the sultanate to become the first female Muslim leader in South Asia. But Turkish nobility enraged at her relationship with a black man start a power struggle for the throne.

The Turkish sultanate era is nicely brought to life but despite having topics such as gender, politics, history and race on offer the film has a major problem - its coma inducing lack of pace. I can watch a slow film but this takes some effort. Although made in the eighties it tries very hard to recreate the feel of the old epics so there's a lot of silence, overacting and shouting which grates after a while.

However... the whole film is saved by the truly beautiful song 'Ay Dil-e-Nadaan' (My Innocent Heart). With a video to match we see Hema Malini, looking every inch the Turkish princess, wandering through the desert at sunset lonely and frustrated at her inability to express her love for Yakoot.

Worth a watch if you're into slow romantic epics, the history or the girl power angle but you could just read up on real story of Razia Sultan and save yourself three hours. Perhaps ripe for a serious remake?

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.