The promos show Om Puri and a white actress kissing, and a girl dancing with a broomstick. Pakeezah told a love story set in Lucknow, with its elegance and decadence at the turn of the 19th century. It has evocative music by Ghulam Mohammed, a relatively less known composer. He had set Lata's voice against an orchestra of the tabla, sarangi and dancing bells. A man from a noble family, played by Raajkumar, falls in love with a courtesan, played to much critical acclaim by Meena Kumari.
Parents oppose their love.
He went to HMV to complain, but the company was reportedly unrepentant. He feels they are legally wrong too, selling away rights to FilmFour, makers of the English film, without even bothering to renew their contract with him. HMV's agreement, he says, was made in 1971 and ends in 1981. Pakeezah took 11 years to complete. In 1959, when shooting began, cinemascope still hadn't arrived in India.