In Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah, there are early references to colour and the psychological states it evokes.
The courtesan Nargis tells her aristocratic lover Shahabuddin who has promised to marry her that she can already imagine the house they will be living in. The house will be white, like their pure love. Nargis dreams of crossing the threshold dressed in bridal red threads.
As the story unfolds, viewers learn that Nargis’s profession comes in the way of the marriage, leading to her early death. Shahabuddin switches to black sherwanis, the shade of mourning as he hunts for Sahebjaan, the daughter he has had with Nargis.
Sahebjaan is the leading light of Delhi’s pleasure quarter. Bedecked out in an array of bright ensembles (flame orange, coral pink, emerald green), Sahebjaan entices her patrons even as she longs to be known as “pakeezah”, the symbol of purity and respectability. Away from the dance floor, Sahebjaan is seen mostly in white, the colour-coded expression of her yearning.
Pakeezah, as cinephiles know, is a classic among Indian colour films. But not so many remember that it was initially shot in black and white. Made over a 15-year period and finally released in 1972, Pakeezah was interrupted by Amrohi’s decision to reshoot in colour and...