The Chess Players (1977)
Shatranj Ke Khilari
Satyajit Ray's First Hindi feature Film
129 min
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.
- Release date
- October 2, 1977
- Country of origin
- India
Where to watch
Free
Fawesome
Hoopla
Free with ads
Tubi TV
Streaming data: JustWatch, via TMDB. · See on JustWatch
Cast
- Sanjeev Kumar as Mirza Sajjad Ali
- Saeed Jaffrey as Mir Roshan Ali
- Amjad Khan as Wajid Ali Shah
- Shabana Azmi as Khurshid, Mirza's wife
- Farida Jalal as Nafisa, Mir's wife
- Veena as Queen Mother
- David Abraham as Munshi
- Victor Banerjee as Prime Minister
- Farooq Shaikh as Aqueel
- Tom Alter as Capt. Weston (Outram's aide de camp)
- Leela Mishra as Hirya, Khurshid's maid
- Barry John
- Richard Attenborough as General Outram
- Kamu Mukherjee
- Amitabh Bachchan as Narrator (voice)
Crew
- Satyajit Ray · Director
- Munshi Premchand · Writer
- Satyajit Ray · Writer
- Shama Zaidi · Writer
- Javed Siddiqui · Writer
- Suresh Jindal · Producer
- Satyajit Ray · Composer
- Dulal Dutta · Editor