Saqi (transl. "Bartender") is a 1952 Indian Hindi-language film directed by H. S. Rawail and starring Madhubala and Prem Nath. The film's music was composed by C. Ramchandra. Based on Arabian Nights, Saqi was one of the most expensive Indian films at the time of its release.
Contents
Plot
The film told the story a common man named Ajeeb, who tries to woo the princess Rukhsana.
Cast
Madhubala as Rukhsana
Prem Nath as Ajeeb
Gope as Genie
Randhir as Sultan
Iftekhar as Abdul
Bipin Gupta as Vazir
Cuckoo Moray as the item number "Door Door Se"
Production
Saqi was the Indian version of Arabian Nights. The film was announced in February 1951, along with Badal, also starring Madhubala and Prem Nath.
Made on a budget of ₹10 lakhs, Saqi was an expensive venture at the time of its release.
Reception
Writing for Filmindia, Baburao Patel called Saqi "a monumental waste of money" and "a stupid and boring picture".
The film was a financial failure. Alongside other big-budget flops like Amar and Bahut Din Huwe (both 1954), the failure of Saqi reportedly led to Madhubala being labelled a "jinx" by producers in the early 1950s.
Saqi was the last collaboration of Madhubala and Prem Nath. Eight years later, they planned to star in her production house venture, Pathan (released in 1962), but Madhubala fell sick and was replaced by Mumtaz.