

129 minutes
10/2/1977
In the year 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the King of Awadh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British intend to control this rich land and send General Outram to clear way for an annexation. Pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political maneuvers, but the Nawab whiles away his time in pursuit of pleasure and religious practice. The court is of no help either — noblemen Mir and Mirza ignore all duties and spend their days playing endless games of chess. Based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2010.

Sanjeev Kumar
as Mirza Sajjad Ali

Saeed Jaffrey
as Mir Roshan Ali

Amjad Khan
as Wajid Ali Shah

Shabana Azmi
as Khurshid

Farida Jalal
as Nafisa

Veena
as Queen Mother

David Abraham Cheulkar
as Munshi

Victor Banerjee
as Prime Minister

Farooq Shaikh
as Aqueel

Tom Alter
as Capt. Weston

Leela Mishra
as Hirya

Barry John

Richard Attenborough
as General Outram
Samarth Narain
as Kallu
Bhudo Advani
as Abbajani

Kamu Mukherjee
Uttamram Nagar
Khairatilal Lahori
Pradip Shankar
Ashfaq Mirza
Amrit Bhushan Gujral
Ramesh Khosla
Shaik Farid
Madan Sudan
Saswati Sen
as Dancer (uncredited)

Amitabh Bachchan
as Narrator (voice)