It was a film that was destined to be a classic the day it was conceived. It took ten long years to make and was released in 1960 , and ever since Mughal-e-Azam has captured our imagination.
Half a century later its actors have become legends and so has the rich music , the artistic royal sets and the grand dialogues.
In fact the epic film is all poetry . All characters speak as if they were poets . And in chaste urdu the queen of all languages .
The story revolves around emperor Akbar , one of the greatest kings the world has ever seen . Played to perfection in the most grand and inimitable style by Prithviraj Kapoor .
Then there is India’s greatest actor ever Dilip Kumar who plays the intense , rebellious and passionate prince Salim with his usual flair and understated manner .
And then there is the ever beautiful Anarkali played by Madhubala perhaps the most beautiful woman to grace Indian cinema during the golden era .
Anarkali the court dancer dances her way into the heart of a war weary prince much to the anger of the emperor .
Durga Khote is queen Jodhabai . Murad as Raja Man Singh , Ajit as the brave and loyal rajput friend of prince Salim .
And then there is Nigar Sultana the least known of these actors . And yet her performance shines like a bright star !
This sultry , husky voiced court dancer delivers dialogues in some of the finest urdu you will ever hear on screen .
Involved in court intrigues , hiding behind silken curtains and singing lines like , “Kissi din yeh tamasha muskura kar hum bhi dekhenge .”
But if there wasn’t K Asif there wouldn’t have been this kohinoor of world cinema— Mughal-e-Azam .
If there was an ultimate dreamer , a dreamer who was possessed with one desire all his life , to make this film . A film of such epic scale , grandeur and splendour . It was K Asif.
He made no compromises , he was a perfectionist to the core .The costumes , the dialogues and the elaborate sets were so real and so convincing of the royal Mughal era .
It is said in the 1950s an entire film could be easily made at the cost of a single set for a scene in Mughal-e-Azam .
I am surprised Asif hasn’t been given the top honour of Indian cinema the Dadasaheb Phalke award !
The flawless story and dialogues were written by five men including K Asif , Kamal Amrohi and Wajahat Mirza .
Music director Naushad and lyricist Shakeel Badayuni together created some of the greatest songs of hindi cinema . They are naturally heavily inspired by Indian classical and folk music .
We even have a glimpse of the legendary Mia Tansen singing his mesmerising raagas(in the voice of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan) while Salim and Anarkali are in each others arms .
Amazingly Lata Mangeshkar sang nine of the twelve songs. Mohammad Rafi , Shamshad Begum and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sang the rest .
Mughal-e-Azam took almost ten years to make and was first released in 1960 . In 2004 it was re-released in full colour and the much changed world was able to appreciate the film again world wide .
This is one of those rare classics which will live on forever!
Filled with nostalgia on reading this beautiful article about the classy, bygone film era.. If only we had one percent of this class and beauty in today’s films! Written from the heart.. my compliments.. and thanks!