“1949 was the year my father’s Mahal was released. It is now 2023…so many generations of moviegoers love his work. He was not just about Pakeezah. His talent ran far deeper than people realize. He wrote films like Mughal-e-Azam. He directed imperishable films like Mahal, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi and Pakeezah. But if you ask me to name his best work , it would have to be Daaera. A film way ahead of its time, a High Court judge in Allahabad had gone on –record to say, ‘It’s sad that Daaera was rejected by the audience, not only because it’s such a great film,but also because Kamal Amrohi would never again be emboldened to direct such a bold subject.”
Tajdar wants Daeera to be re-mastered and screened like Mahal. “Of course I’m very happy that Mahal has been restored for new generations and that it’s being screened again. I am honoured that I’ve been invited as the chief guest. I remember I was at the Maratha Mandir with my father and Choti Ammi(Meena Kumari) for the premiere of Pakeezah on 4 February, 1972. But the very next day, 5 February 1972, I was at Regal Cinema to see Pakeezah. I never went back to Regal again.Now on July 26 I will be at Regal Cinema again for my father’s Mahal. If this is not nostalgia, what is?”
Tajdar has been asked to speak at the screening of Mahal. “I wouldn’t know where to start. My father was so much more than his films.”