The Chess Players
“Satyajit Ray's First Hindi feature Film”
Synopsis
In 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah ruled Awadh, one of the final independent kingdoms in India. The British sought to take control of the prosperous region and dispatched General Outram to pave the way for annexation. Amid mounting pressure, intrigue, and political maneuvering, the Nawab spent his time pursuing pleasure and religious practice. The court offered no assistance, as noblemen Mir and Mirza neglected their duties and devoted themselves to endless games of chess.
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Principal cast & crew: 16
These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Dulal DuttaScored by Satyajit Ray
Also known as
- Die Schachspielerde
- The Chess Playersen
- Los jugadores de ajedrezes
- Les Joueurs d'échecsfr
- I giocatori di scacchiit
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Cast & Crew
16 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Sanjeev Kumar
as Mirza Sajjad Ali
Saeed Jaffrey
as Mir Roshan Ali
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
Directors
1Writers
4Producers
1Other crew
2Parents Guide
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