Anarkali

Anarkali (meaning “Pomegranate blossom”) is a 1955 Telugu historical romance written and directed by Vedantam Raghavayya and produced by P. Adinarayana Rao for Anjali Pictures, who also composed the music. Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi star in the legend of the love between the Mughal prince Salim, later the emperor Jahangir, and the court dancer Anarkali, with S. V. Ranga Rao as Akbar. Released on 28 April 1955, it was a commercial success, running more than 100 days in many theatres, according to The Hindu.

What the story is about

Nadira, a Persian girl, arrives in Agra with her tribe. Prince Salim, enchanted by her voice and her beauty, introduces himself to her as an ordinary soldier, and the two fall in love, meeting regularly in a pomegranate garden. One day Emperor Akbar hears her sing there and, delighted, gives her the title “Anarkali”, pomegranate blossom. When Salim is sent to command a campaign at Kabul, the lovers are parted, and the story follows their romance as it runs up against the will of the emperor, the warnings of Raja Man Singh, and the jealousy of the court dancer Gulnar, who has her own ambitions to marry the prince.

Cast

• Anjali Devi as Anarkali
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Salim
• S. V. Ranga Rao as Akbar
• Kannamba as Jodha Bai
• V. Nagayya as Man Singh
• S. Balasaraswathi as Gulnar
• Gadiraju Kesavarao as Tansen

How it was made

After Anjali Pictures’ first production, Paradesi (1953), did only average business, Adinarayana Rao and Anjali Devi, a husband-and-wife team, planned a folklore film next, as The Hindu recounts. The success of the 1953 Hindi film Anarkali changed their minds, and, according to Telangana Today, they shelved the folklore project, which later became Suvarna Sundari (1957), to tell the same story in Telugu. Samudrala Sr. wrote the dialogue, Kamal Ghosh shot the film and N. S. Prakasam edited it, with A. K. Sekhar as art director. Anjali Devi presented the film as well as playing the title role, and associate director Gadiraju Kesavarao appeared briefly as Tansen. Production began at Neptune Studios on 11 March 1954, with outdoor scenes shot in Mysore.

Music

P. Adinarayana Rao composed the songs, with lyrics by Samudrala Sr. Most are original, but two were adapted from the 1953 Hindi film: “Ravoyi Sakhaa” from “Aa Jaane Wafaa” and “Jeevitame Saphalamu” from “Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hai”.

Release and box office

According to The Hindu and Scroll.in, Anarkali was a commercial success that ran more than 100 days in many theatres, and its Tamil-dubbed version, with lyrics by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass, was also successful.

Where to watch Anarkali

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Anarkali on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Anarkali and the articles it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.