Sheesh Mahal

<p>An old feudal aristocrat, Thakur Jaspal Singh ( ) lives with his two daughters, Ranja ( ) and Nalini (Pushpa Hans), and son Balram in a grand mansion called Sheesh Mahal. He maintains his long family ancestry and honour, citing the valour of olden days. His way of life far exceeds the money he has. His children try to warn him regarding his excessive spending, but his feudal mind-set refuses to let others see that they are in dire straits. They finally have to sell their mansion to a former worker, Durgaprasad ( ), who is now rich. They settle in a small hovel-like place. The brother finds work in the factory, but meets with an accident where his leg is amputated. Desperate Ranjana finds work as a maid to Roopa ( ), Durgaprasad’s daughter. Jaspal Singh refuses Durgadas when he comes to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage to his son Vikram (Jawahar Kaul) claiming that Durgadas may have bought the Sheesh Mahal, but he’s still a labourer compared to the aristocratic family. Balram argues with his father about keeping up false pretences. Sundarmukh ( ), who was to marry Ranjana, but has broken the engagement because they are poor, comes and tells Jaspal that his daughter, in the guise of working at Durgadas’ house is having an affair with his son. Jaspal is furious and rushes to kill Ranjana to avenge the Rajput honour. At the Sheesh Mahal, Durgadas stops him with a lecture on different warriors and honour. Jaspal falters and falls down the steps. Before he dies, he blesses the union between Ranjana and Vikram. Though the film is still praised for its lavish sets show-casing the mansion almost on par with as cited by , the film came in for extremely harsh criticism from of , who had an old feud going with Modi. Patel in the October 1950 issue of claimed “… Sheesh Mahal fails miserably to appeal”. However, in its February 1951 issue commended Modi for assuring the public that he still retained the “mastery of his craft”. In overall terms, the film, despite some shortcomings, has a strong storyline and is well-directed by Modi, with exceptional roles by Naseem and Mubarak. composed all the songs. The singers were Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Pushpa Hans and . was a known singer and actress of those days. and were her notable films.</p>