Indian cinema has a reputation for producing magnificent historical epics. However, a few films have also fallen flat and failed to become hits because they did not connect with the audience. This is the tale of one such disaster that ultimately brought down the whole industry. At the time, it was the most expensive Indian film ever filmed, with a budget of Rs 10 crore. The movie was, however, a complete disaster, taking in just Rs 2 crore globally.
Legendary filmmaker Kamal Amrohi was renowned for making larger-than-life cinema. In search of a more ambitious project to follow up his masterpiece Pakeezah, the director wanted something grander. He discovered it in a biography of Razia Sultana, the sole female Delhi ruler of the Middle Ages. The end product was the 1983 release of Razia Sultan, starring Dharmendra and Hema Malini, following an eight-year development period.
The film was criticized for its conservative Urdu language, which alienated many viewers; it was also infamous for having a suggestion of same-sex romance, which was a bit ahead of its time; this controversy is also claimed to have turned off family audiences.
In the movie, Dharmendra portrayed the African slave Yakut with a painted black face, Razia’s love interest. This invited criticism from throughout the world.
For the most part, Razia Sultan was a box office fiasco, with many criticizing its slow pacing and others finding the usage of Urdu in the movie too confusing. It ended up being one of the most financially disastrous projects in the history of the Bollywood business.
