Mughal-e-Azam: An Epic on Celluloid & Epitome of Grandeur is Sixty-Year Young

Mughal-e-Azam is the most proto-typical, expensive and passionate piece of work that Hindi cinema has ever produced. The immaculate recreation of Mughal magnificence “Mughal-e-Azam”, sixty years after its release on 5^th August, 1960, still continues to fascinate and enthral each succeeding generation of movie-goers and connoisseurs alike with its splendour and opulence. This movie is absolutely intoxicating expression of love with the most erotic and sensuous sequence of Indian cinema in which Salim fondling Anarkali’s face with an ostrich feather. Madhubala’s beautiful and iconic face is motionless in ecstasy as Dilip Kumar watches in adoration, forbidding the audience’s look but inviting their speculation. The theme of the conflict between passionate individual love and duty is an abiding preoccupation that spawns endless cinematic permutations. Yet for sheer baroque grandiosity, K. Asif's excessive elaboration of the theme remains in a class by itself and is worth preserving in granite. The film is now the stuff of cinematic lore, universally appreciated for its seamless direction, superb cinematography and grand costumes/sets.

The first version of the enchanting story of Salim-Anarkali was a silent movie ‘The Loves of a Mogul Prince’ (1928). Imperial Film Company made its own version with Sulochana and Filmistan made ‘Anarkali’ in 1953, but the spell cast by Mughal-e-Azam (1960) is unique. K.Asif launched the film titled ‘Anarkali’ in 1944 with financier Shiraz Ali, casting Chandramohan, Sapru, and Nargis in the roles later done by Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. But Shiraz's migration to Pakistan after Partition and Chandramohan's death in 1949 made him shelve the project. The venture was revived as ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ in 1951 with Shapoorji Pallonji, the construction magnate, as the producers. It took seventeen years to shoot and reached fruition after many hiccups. The making of Asif's grand operatic vision piles spectacle on spectacle with a whooping budget of Rs1.25crore, an astronomical sum at that time, of which a large proportion was spent on royal costumes, opulent sets and thousands of extras. The statue of Lord Krishna used in the film was made of pure gold. The real pearls are strewn all through his path in welcome of Salim after his battle-field training. Moreover, Dilip Kumar wore shoes made of real gold to feel like the prince of Hindustan.

This film is based on the play ‘Anarkali’ written by Imtiaz Ali ‘Taj’. It brings to life the tale of the doomed love affair between the Mughal crown prince Salim and the beautiful ill-fated court dancer Anarkali, whose fervor and intensity perpetrates a war between the prince and his father emperor Akbar. Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor), long childless despite his ample harem, goes on an arduous pilgrimage to the Dargah of Salim Chishti, seeking an heir to the Mughal dynasty. The murmured prayers fade into rejoicing in the palace over the birth of a son to Joda Bai (Durga Khote). The young prince is reared amidst bevies of doting slave girls. When Akbar finds him collapsed in a drunken stupor, he packs him off to the battlefront. War works wonders, the chastened grown-up Salim (Dilip Kumar) becomes a courageous warrior, sending home versified reports penned in his own blood. Eventually, Akbar calls him back, Salim soon slips back into the sybaritic lifestyle of the court.

The head courtesan Bahaar (Nigar Sultana), an ambitious lady-in-waiting aspires to become the empress. Seeking to ingratiate herself with Salim, she hires anti-establishment sculptor (Kumar). Beholder's envy, creator's pride, Nadira (Madhubala) is spectacular in her deception as sculpture art. Salim is spellbound and the awestruck Emperor rechristens her as Anarkali. A forbidden romance blossoms between the enamoured Prince and beautiful Anarkali. Obviously, this is too bitter a pill for the Emperor to swallow. Anarkali dresses up to romance her beau under the moonlit skies imbued with Tansen's melody and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's divine rendition of ‘Prem Jogan Ban Ke’ transports the listener to another world. The personal equations of Dilip Kumar and Madhubala changed dramatically during an arduous decade of filming, but the camera is oblivious to their rancour. The two strong-willed males battling over honour and authority, with one beautiful woman as the stake and another as scheming nemesis for every conceivable drop of blood and pathos. Salim rebels and in the battle, he is defeated and condemned to death. However, eternal love changes the course of history when Anarkali renounces her life to save Salim.

The outdoor battle scenes which were shot in Rajasthan featured 2000 camels (dropped from the final cut), 4000 horses and 8000 jawans requisitioned from the Indian army. Sheesh Mahal, a set which was 30 ft high, 80 ft wide and 150 ft long, created with lakhs of small convex mirrors by craftsmen from Ferozabad. Tailors were brought from Delhi to stitch the costumes, Hyderabadi goldsmiths made the jewellery, Kolhapuri craftsmen made the crowns, Rajasthani ironsmiths fabricated the shields, swords, spears, daggers and armour, specialists from Surat-Khambayat were employed for the exquisite zardozi embroidery on the costumes while the elaborate footwear was ordered from Agra. The filming itself took 500 working days.

The main cast included Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nigar Sultana, Kumar, Ajit, Jillo Bai, Surendra, Sheila Dalaya, Murad, Jalal Agha, Vijayalaxmi, S. Nazir, Paul Sharma and Tabassum et al. In the role of Akbar, Prithviraj Kapoor gives his quintessential performance as outwardly-stern-but-inwardly-suffering patriarch, declaiming every line in a stentorian baritone. During his pilgrim to Dargah of Chisti, he actually walked barefoot in the desert sun and his soles were full of blisters. Dilip Kumar portrayed the warrior-lover with his restrained passion and well modulated dialogue delivery. Madhubala was breathtakingly beautiful and she varies between shades of despair and promises of love. She was bedridden for days, nursing the bruises caused by the heavy iron chains worn to portray Anarkali's pain and suffering. Jillo Bai mesmerized the viewers with her unmatched acting.

Naushad whipped up the magic along with Shakeel Badayuni’s poetry. His melodies were unbeatable, in particular, two numbers sung by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (Shubh Din Aayo and Prem Jogan Banke), the thrillingly dramatic ‘Mohabbat Ki Jhooti Kahani Pe Roye’ and the wonderful qawwali competition ‘Teri Mehfil Mein Kismat’. There are splendid musical numbers, stunning kathak dances set in the Palace of Mirrors. The song ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ was written and re-written 105 times by Shakeel Badayuni before Naushad could approve of it. In those days, there was no way to provide the reverberation of sound, Naushad had Lata Mangeshkar sing the song in a studio bathroom. Surprisingly, there is not a single song lip-synched by Dilip Kumar.

Karimuddin Asif not only dreamt big but also realized it by making a memorable movie, which generations after generations will cherish till eternity. During making of the film, he came under huge debt, so he even bought paan and cigarettes on credit. Shapoorji Pallonji, a newbie to film financing, agreed to produce and finance solely because of his interest in Prithviraj Kapoor as Akbar. The dialogues were written by four stalwarts Wazahat Mirza (Changezi) ,Kamaal Amrohi, Aman and Ehsan Rizvi. Almost every dialogue spoken by not just the lead players but even the support cast remains etched in memory. The cameraman R.D. Mathur was able to pull of those cinematographic feats by the device of bounce lighting. There is a colossal battle scene that set a new standard in military spectacle and pyrotechnic effects.

Each scene in Mughal-e-Azam was actually shot thrice. The first was for the Hindi version, second had lips moving to Tamil dialogues while third in English. Hindi version was a blockbuster but the Tamil version ‘Akbar’ flopped badly. So the makers subsequently aborted the idea of dubbing the English version with British actors. The movie was released in 150 theatres simultaneously amidst great pomp and fanfare to a rapturous reception. The premiere invite was written in Urdu on red velvet and ‘stamped’ with the seal of Akbar's royal court. Interestingly, the print of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ arrived on an elephant top for the premiere.

As part of promos, a 40 feet cut-out of Prithviraj Kapoor (Akbar) was erected outside the theatre while the film was also publicised on long distance trains. Film critics from all over India were treated lavishly and given a special tour of the iconic Sheesh Mahal set. The massive anticipation for ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ resulted in nearly one lakh people lining up outside Mumbai's Maratha Mandir for advance booking. The cinema's foyer was decorated to resemble a Mughal palace. The Sheesh Mahal set was transported from the studio to the cinema hall, where ticket holders could experience its grandeur. The ticket price was hiked to Rs100.00 against the normal rates of just Rs1.50, and it included a docket containing text, photographs and trivia about the film. K.Asif is said to have got Rs17.00lakh per territory when the going rate was Rs3.00 to 4.00lakh.

This magnum opus ran for three years straight and has gained a cult status over the years. The film had won the National Film Award (1961) for Best Feature Film in Hindi and also Filmfare Awards in the category of Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Dialogues. After restoration, the historical drama was re-released on November 12 2004, in colour with six track Dolby Digital sound. Despite countless paeans, it has never really been given its due.

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