Aasman Mahal

Aasman Mahal (lit. 'Sky palace') is a 1965 Hindi social family drama film directed by K. A. Abbas.[1] Produced for the "Naya Sansar" banner, its story was written by Abbas, and the cinematographer was Ramchandra.[2] The script and dialogues were by Inder Raj Anand.[3] Prithviraj Kapoor's role as the impoverished Nawab, was acclaimed in the film for its "authenticity".[4] Dilip Raj, son of P. Jairaj, played the hero, having earlier acted in Shehar Aur Sapna (1963).[5] The other co-stars were Surekha, David, Nana Palsikar, Anwar Hussain.[6]

Aasman Mahal
Directed byK. A. Abbas
Produced byK. A. Abbas
Written byK. A. Abbas
StarringDilip Raj
Surekha
Nana Palsikar
David
Music byJ. P. Kaushik
CinematographyRamchandra
Production
company
Naya Sansar
Release date
  • 1965 (1965)
Running time
172 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

The story revolves around a Nawab, who having lost his money, still continues to live in the old traditional style, maintaining a grandeur facade. His son opposes the unrealistic life-style.

Plot

An elderly impoverished Nawab lives in his ancestral Haveli (Mansion). A business man wants to buy it, in order to convert it into a hotel. Though financially in a desperate state, the Nawab refuses to sell his property and clings on to his old-fashioned ideals of nobility. His son, is dissolute and not of much account, but he is able to let go of the aristocratic baggage. He is in love with the daughter of the house help.

Aasman Mahal evokes other stories of a decaying aristocracy like Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard set in Russia and Lampedusa's The Leopard set in Sicily and Premchand's Shatranj Ke Khilari set in Lucknow.

Cast

Production

Cited in the Limca Book of Records to be one of the first films to be "shot on location without sets", thereby not making use of "studio" sets.[7] The film shooting took place in its entirety in Hyderabad. Prithviraj Kapoor's acting won him a special "Honor at the Karlovy Awards".[8]

Soundtrack

One of the notable songs by composer J. P. Kaushik from the film, and described as an "introspective" and "philosophical" number, was "Main Aahein Bhar Nahin Sakta".[9] The lyricists were Ali Sardar Jafri and Majaz Lakhnawi, and the singers were Vijaya Majumdar, Mahendra Kapoor, Geeta Dutt and Madhukar.[10]

Songlist
#TitleSingerLyricist
1 "Tune Samjha Hi Nahi Kya Hai" Vijaya Mazumdar Ali Sardar Jafri
2 "Main Aahe Bhar Nahi Sakta" Mahendra Kapoor, Vijaya Majumdar Majaz Lakhnawi
3 "Khubsurat Hai Teri Tarah Shikayat Teri" Mahendra Kapoor Ali Sardar Jafri
4 "Ae Raat Zara Aahista Guzar" Geeta Dutt, Madhukar Ali Sardar Jafri
5 "Kaun Achcha Hai Yahan Kaun Kharab" Mahebdra Kapoor Ali Sardar Jafri
6 "Mai Sharabi Hoon" Mahendra Kapoor,Vijaya Majumdar Ali Sardar Jafri

References
  1. "Aasman Mahal". gomolo.com. Gomolo.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  2. "Khwaja Mohammed Abbas". abbaska.com. K. A. Abbas Memorial Trust. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  3. Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 1994. ISBN 978-1-135-94325-7.
  4. Ashok Raj (2009). Hero Vol.1. Hay House, Inc. p. 56. ISBN 978-93-81398-02-9.
  5. Ashok Raj (2009). Hero Vol.2. Hay House, Inc. p. 105. ISBN 978-93-81398-03-6.
  6. "Aasman Mahal". Alan Goble. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  7. Limca Book of Records. Bisleri Beverages Limited. 2003. ISBN 978-81-901148-6-8.
  8. Firoze Rangoonwalla (1975). 75 years of Indian cinema. Indian Book Co.
  9. K. Moti Gokulsing; Wimal Dissanayake (2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. p. 457. ISBN 978-1-136-77291-7.
  10. "Aasman Mahal". hindigeetmala.net. Hindi Geetmala. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
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