Anarkali (1955 film)

Anarkali
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vedantam Raghavaiah
Produced by	P. Adinarayana Rao Anjali Devi (presents)
Written by	Samudrala Sr (dialogues)
Screenplay by	Vedantam Raghavaiah
Based on	Epic of Anarkali
Starring	Akkineni Nageswara Rao Anjali Devi
Music by	P. Adinarayana Rao
Cinematography	Kamal Ghosh
Edited by	N. S. Pragasam
Production company	Anjali Pictures
Release date	28 April 1955 (1955-04-28)
Running time	153 mins
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Anarkali (Telugu: అనార్కలి) is a Telugu, Historical film, produced by P. Adinarayana Rao on Anjali pictures banner and directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah. Starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi in the lead roles and music also composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. The film is simultaneously released in Tamil with same title.

Sharfunissa alias Nadira is a dancer in the Emperor’s court. She is bestowed the name Anarkali meaning pomegranate blossom, on account of her dazzling beauty. Prince Salim is smitten by her and they fall in love. Learning that his son has fallen for a lowly courtesan, Akbar is furious and warns them to stay away from each other. However, love has never bowed to convention or authority. Events move to a tragic climax where Akbar sentences Anarkali to death. She is entombed alive before Salim could reach her.

Music composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. The song Rajasekhara is an evergreen blockbuster. Lyrics were written by Samudrala Sr. Music released on Audio Company.

Lyrics were by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. All the tunes for all the songs and singers for both languages are the same.

Anarkali has been the subject of a number of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani books, plays and films. The lines in Persian inscribed on a sarcophagus housed, rather appositely, in the offices of the Records Department of the Government of Punjab in the bustling Mall Road of Lahore hide within their poetic flourish an ancient tale of love and loss. The musty interiors of the office building do not give away the secret that successive centuries have attempted to camouflage that the building was once the mausoleum that housed the tomb of Anarkali. The century-old Bazaar that abuts the Mall Road is called Anarkali Bazaar. Dara Shikoh, in his Sakinat al-Auliya, mentions the tomb.

This love story has always caught the eye of writers, poets, dramatists, and filmmakers, for with its historical backdrop and having a liberal share of the essential elements -palace intrigue, love, loyalty, and loss of a magnificent entertainer, the theme offered infinite exciting possibilities. The stage version by Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj in 1922 which have inspired the subsequent celluloid adaptations. The silent movie Loves of a Mughal Prince in 1928 by The Imperial Film Company had Sulochana as Anarkali, directed by Charu Roy and Prafulla Roy.