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In the 13th-century biography Razia Sultan, this actress played the title role, with Dharmendra, Parveen Babi, Vijayendra Ghatge, Ajit, and Sohrab Modi providing support.
Director Kamal Amrohi's first film after Pakeezah, Razia Sultan, took a full three years to complete and cost Rs 10 crore, the most amount ever spent on an Indian film at the time.
The movie was Razia Sultan that did not perform as expected at the movie office, earning just Rs 2 crore globally, including several lakhs abroad. More than 80% of its landing costs were wasted.
The actress is none other than Hema Malini. In the movie, Dharmendra played Yakut, Razia's lover, and his face was painted black to represent the African slave. Due of blackface, the movie received negative reviews abroad.
A little ahead of its time, the movie also infamously hinted at same-sex romance. Many family audiences were put off by the song that was filmed with Parveen Babi and Hema Malini.
To establish Razia Sultan, Kamal Amrohi had taken out a large loan. Many distributors, financiers, and other investors suffered significant losses when it crashed.
A significant section of the film business suffered as a result of the film's scope. According to an article in a trade journal at the time, the film industry was in debt as a result of the movie's box office failure.
Razia Sultan, according to Kamal Amrohi, was misinterpreted and not a failure. After the movie, he took a long sabbatical before starting work on Aakhri Mughal, which is said to be a biography of Bahadur Shah Zafar. But when he passed away in 1993, the script was lost.