The Chess Players (film)
Shatranj Ke Khilari | |
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Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
Produced by | Suresh Jindal |
Screenplay by | Satyajit Ray |
Based on | Shatranj ke khiladi, a short story by Munshi Premchand |
Starring | Sanjeev Kumar Saeed Jaffrey Shabana Azmi Richard Attenborough Farida Jalal Amjad Khan David Abraham Victor Banerjee Farooq Shaikh Tom Alter Leela Mishra Samarth Narain Bhudo Advani |
Narrated by | Amitabh Bachchan |
Music by | Satyajit Ray |
Cinematography | Soumendu Roy |
Edited by | Dulal Dutta |
Release dates
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Running time
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129 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi Urdu English |
Budget | ₹ 2,000,000[1] |
Shatranj Ke Khiladi (Hindi: शतरंज के खिलाड़ी; The Chess Players) is a 1977 Indian film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's 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.
Summary
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.
The Chess Players employed stars of the Bombay cinema (Amjad Khan, Shabana Azmi and Amitabh Bachchan as a narrator) together with ethnic European actors such as Richard Attenborough.
It was India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, but did not receive a nomination.[2]
Plot
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 noblemen who are obsessed with shatranj, an ancient form of chess.[3]
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. Ray's basic theme in the film is the message that the detachment of India's ruling classes assisted a small number of British officials and soldiers to take over Awadh without opposition.
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 won't 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, Mirza's wife
- Richard Attenborough as General James Outram
- Farida Jalal as Nafisa, Mir's 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, Outram's aide de camp
- Leela Mishra as Hirya, Khurshid's maid
- Samarth Narain as Kallu
- Bhudo Advani as Abbajani
Other credits
- Narrator - Amitabh Bachchan
- Art direction - Bansi Chandragupta
- Sound designer - Narinder Singh
See also
- List of submissions to the 51st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- ↑ http://watchhindimovies4free.com/
References
- Andrew Robinson, "Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players", History Today, July 2007
External links
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Shatranj Ke Khilari at IMDb
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- EngvarB from September 2013
- Use dmy dates from September 2013
- 1977 films
- Articles containing Hindi-language text
- Films directed by Satyajit Ray
- Films about chess
- Chess in India
- Indian films
- Films based on short fiction
- Films set in the British Raj
- Films set in Lucknow
- Adaptations of works by Premchand
- Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award
- Films set in the 1850s
- Screenplays by Satyajit Ray
- Film scores by Satyajit Ray