Shatranj Ke Khilari | |
---|---|
Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
Produced by | Suresh Jindal |
Screenplay by | Satyajit Ray |
Based on |
Shatranj ke khiladi, a short story by Munshi Premchand |
Starring |
Sanjeev Kumar Saeed Jaffrey Shabana Azmi Richard Attenborough Farida Jalal Amjad Khan David Abraham Victor Banerjee Farooq Shaikh Tom Alter Leela Mishra Samarth Narain Bhudo Advani |
Narrated by | Amitabh Bachchan |
Music by | Satyajit Ray |
Cinematography | Soumendu Roy |
Edited by | Dulal Dutta |
Release date
|
March 11, 1977 |
Running time
|
129 minutes |
Country | India |
Language |
Hindi Urdu English |
Budget | ₹ 2,000,000 |
Shatranj Ke Khiladi (Hindi: शतरंज के खिलाड़ी; The Chess Players) is a 1977 Indian film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Amjad Khan plays the role of Wajid Ali Shah, King of Awadh, and Richard Attenborough plays the role of General James Outram. The film also features the actors Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, David Abraham and Tom Alter.
The film is set in 1856 on the eve of the Indian rebellion of 1857. The British are about to annex the Indian State of Awadh (also spelt Oudh). The daily life of two wealthy men who are devoted to chess is presented against the background of scheming officials of the British East India Company, the history of its relations with the Indian ruler of Awadh, and the ruler's devotion both to his religious practice and the pursuit of pleasure.
The Chess Players employed stars of the Bombay cinema (Amjad Khan, Shabana Azmi and Amitabh Bachchan as a narrator) together with ethnic European actors such as Richard Attenborough.
It was India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, but did not receive a nomination.