Bollywood Home » Popular Movie Reviews » Historical Movies » Raziya Sultan Raziya Sultan one of the greatest historical movies of all times in Bollywood was a big budget, multi starring presentation by the reputed director Kamal Amrohi. Also written by Kamal Amrohi, the storyline in this film centers around Raziya Begum, the leading figure of the Delhi Sultanate period, her love and her life. Elegantly played by Hema Malini and Dharmendar, the film was a huge success and a box office hit as soon as it was released. The songs in Raziya Sultan- the film were also popular nationwide due to the heavenly playback performance by Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary nightingale of Indian cinema.

The story in Raziya Sultan depicted the Delhi Sultanate era with great aptness and perfection, presenting Raziya, played by Hema Malini, to be the apple of the eye of old emperor Iltutmish. Being a great warrior, the beautiful princess fell in love with Jamaluddin, an ex-slave of the emperor, played by the great actor Dharmendar. Soon the people of the Sultan's court and the political rivals couldn't stand the idea of the princess falling in love with a lowly slave. They raised a revolt against Raziya and attempted to dethrone her. Raziya tried to face the danger standing steadfast and brave at the grave hour still not losing the faith on her love. The story elegantly depicts the eternal strife between love and one's duty to the country bringing out the charm of the old imperial era that appealed the public.

The casting in Raziya Sultana was perfect with Hema Malini perfectly bringing out the real flavor of the character. The performance of Dharmendar as Jamaluddin was also well above the standards. The supporting cast in Raziya Sultana included the great actor Pradeep Kumar as Sultan Iltutmish, Vijayendra Ghatge as Amir Altuniya, Ajit as Amir Balban and Sohrab Modi as Wazir-e-Azam. Each and every actor in Raziya Sultana showed an excellent performance in adding a new dimension to the movie. The rich interplay of characters between that of the Sultan and her daughter were skillfully delivered by Pradeep Kumar and Hema Malini.

The excellent music composed by Khayyam and the poetic lyrics upheld the flavor of the era in an elegant way throughout the movie Raziya Sultana. The songs like: Ay Dile Nadaan and Tera Hijra Mera Naseeb were an instant hit bringing up the public opinion about the movie by a hundred fold. Raziya Sultana won the Filmfare Award for best art direction in the year 1984.

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