Shatranj Ke Khilari

Shatranj Ke Khilari
Directed by	Satyajit Ray
Produced by	Suresh Jindal
Screenplay by	Satyajit Ray
Based on	Shatranj ke khiladi, a short story  by Munshi Premchand
Narrated by	Amitabh Bachchan
Music by	Satyajit Ray
Cinematography	Soumendu Roy
Editing by	Dulal Dutta
Release dates	10 March 1977 (1977-03-10)
Running time	129 minutes
Country	India
Language	Urdu/Hindi
Budget	2,000,000[1]

Shatranj Ke Khilari (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.

Unlike most of Ray's films, the dialogue in the film is in Urdu and Hindi. The fastidious research and sophisticated portrayal of clashing cultures earned acclaim from both film critics and historians of the period.^{[citation needed]}

Plot

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 Western actors such as Richard Attenborough. Much of the film was shot on location in Lucknow and Rajasthan. Ray was so impressed with Amitabh Bachchan that he decided to use him as the film's narrator since he could not find any suitable role for him.

The film went on to win three Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Movie, and was a nominee for the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.^[2] It was also selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.^[3]

Cast

• Sanjeev Kumar as Mirza Sajjad Ali
• Saeed Jaffrey as Mir Roshan Ali
• Shabana Azmi as Khurshid, Mirza's wife
• Farida Jalal as Nafisa, Mir's wife
• Amjad Khan as Wajid Ali Shah
• David Abraham as Munshi Nandlal
• Richard Attenborough as General James Outram
• Victor Banerjee as Prime Minister
• Farooq Shaikh as Aqueel
• Tom Alter as Capt. Weston, Outram's aide de camp
• Leela Mishra as Hirya, Khurshid's maid
• Samarth Narain as Kallu
• Bhudo Advani as Abbajani

Story

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 chess-obsessed noblemen.^[4]

The Nawab is portrayed as a debauched but sympathetic figure by Satyajit Ray. 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."

Other credits

• Art direction: Bansi Chandragupta
• Sound designer: Narinder Singh
• Narrator : Amitabh Bachchan

Awards

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

References

• Andrew Robinson, "Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players", History Today, July 2007

External links

• Shatranj Ke Khilari at the Internet Movie Database
• "Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players)". Satyajit Ray official site. Retrieved 24 April 2009. 

• "The Chess Players (Shatranj Ke Khilari) - Chess and Movies". TuskerChess site. Retrieved 29 December 2013.