Pakeezah was Meena Kumari's Swan Song

Pakeezah took 16 years to reach the celluloid. The film started on July 16, 1956, and released on February 4, 1972. It was a dream project of Kamal Amrohi, he wanted his wife Meena Kumari to be Sahibjaan of Pakeezah. Pakeezah was conceptualised in 1954 as a Black & White venture. The mujra 'Inhin logon ne' was shot on July 16, 1956 , interestingly at that time the script was not ready, nor the star cast was decided, even the hero was not decided, the next several years went in scouting for locations, deciding on a leading man, writing and rewriting various bits of the film. By 1964, the film had still not been completed, while Meena Kumari had become a superstar, with films like Kohinoor (1960), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) and many others. That was also the year she and Kamal Amrohi separated, causing another blow to their already much-delayed dream production. In the meantime, Meena Kumari got addicted to alcohol ...