Arguably Indian Cinema’s greatest epic immortalized not just for its grandeur, extravagance and opulence but for its brilliance as a ‘Movie Par Excellence!’Mughal-e-Azam had the widest release of any Indian film up to that time and patrons often queued all day for tickets. Released on 5 August 1960 it broke box office records in India, and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, a distinction it held for 15 years. The accolades awarded to the film include one National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards.
Mughal-e-Azam was directed by K ASIF who Directed only 2 films and the third film he was producing and directing was Love and God which could not be completed due to his untimely death.His Directorial debut, Phool (1945), did very well at the box-office due to the casting of and portrayals by famous actors and actresses of the time such as Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote and Suraiya.
In 1944, Asif planned to make a film called Mughal-e-Azam based on the life and times of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great's court dancer, with Chandramohan in the male lead and the then upcoming actress Nargis in the female lead. However, in 1946, before the production of the film could begin, the male lead, Chandramohan, died. After that he shelved the idea of making this film and started producing a film' Hulchal"in 1951 After the release of this film Asif recast Mughal-e-Azam with Dilip Kumar in the male lead and Madhubala in the female lead and began the production of the film in the same year
“Mughal-e-Azam is a tribute to the imagination, hard work and lavishness of its maker,” Filmfare wrote in its review of the film soon after its release. “For its grandeur, its beauty and the performances of the artistes it should be a landmark in Indian films.”
The development of Mughal-e-Azam began in 1944, when Asif read a play set in the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556–1605). Production was plagued by delays and financial uncertainty. Before its principal photography began in the early 1950s the project had lost a financier and undergone a complete change of cast. Mughal-e-Azam cost more to produce than any previous Indian motion picture; the budget for a single song sequence exceeded that typical for an entire film of the period. The soundtrack, inspired by Indian classical and folk music, comprises 12 songs voiced by playback singers including Lata Mangeshkar and classical singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. It is often cited as one of the finest soundtracks in Bollywood cinematic history.
Mughal-e-Azam had the widest release of any Indian film up to that time and patrons often queued all day for tickets. Released on 5 August 1960 it broke box office records in India, and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, a distinction it held for 15 years. The accolades awarded to the film include one National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. Mughal-e-Azam was the first black-and-white Hindi film to be digitally coloured, and the first in any language to be given a theatrical re-release. The colour version, released in November 2004, was a commercial success.
The film is widely considered a milestone of its genre, earning praise from critics for its grandeur and attention to detail. Film scholars have welcomed its portrayal of enduring themes, but question its historical accuracy. The film boasts a cache of riches: high drama exquisitely verbalised through dialogues that can be shimmeringly ornate yet have the edge of a medieval sword; magnificent music (lyricist Shakeel Badayuni's best work); powerful performances. And the other-worldly beauty of Madhubala at the centre of this phantasmagoria.
Much of the enjoyment of Mughal-e-Azam comes from the outstanding dialogue,delivered majestically by the entire cast,including Prithviraj Kapoor,Dilip Kumar,Madhubala,Durga Khote and Ajit.When the film played in cinema halls across North India,it is well known that audiences applauded in appreciation of a well-spoken line.
It was launched in black-and-white, but when Technicolor came in, Asif wanted to use color, and finally did so in the song Pyar kiya to darna kya and the climax. The film was finally completed at a cost of about Rs 1.5 crore in 1960.
Authentic grandeur, lavish perfection
The war sequences used 2000 camels, 4000 horses and 8000 men, most of the latter being real soldiers from the Army. Prithviraj wore real armour, real weapons were crafted and real jewellery used. The best tailors, embroiders, jewellers, shoemakers and other craftsmen from across the country were employed. The chains worn by Madhubala in prison were also real. Even the statue of Lord Krishna was in real gold.
The grandeur was incomparable: the mirrors for the dance sequence on the Sheesh Mahal set were coated with a thin, transparent wax layer to prevent reflection from studio lights. The set was 80 feet wide and 150 feet long - and 35 feet high. And cinematographer R.D.Mathur would sometimes take up to eight hours to light a single shot! Sometimes, 14 cameras were used when the norm then was just one or two, and unlike the normal 60 to 125 shooting days, MEA thus needed 500, with more than a million feet of negative being used.
Music director Naushad composed many more than the 12 songs finally seen in the film, and Lata Mangeshkar sang eight solos and the duet Teri mehfil mein with Shamshad Begum. The hits were led by Mohe panghat pe and Mohabbat ki jhoothi kahani.
Of these, Pyar kiya to darna kya cost Rs 10 lakh to shoot, which was equal to the production cost of a big film! This Lata chartbuster's graph was perfected by Naushad and Shakeel in a marathon session from four in the evening to daybreak the following day on the terrace of Naushad's bungalow. Neither ate food during this period.
A 100 chorus singers sang on Rafi's Ae mohabbat zindabad. And since Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan did not want to sing for films and quoted an exorbitant sum to discourage Naushad and Asif, they agreed to the sum (in multiples of the topmost playback singer's fees) and the maestro had no choice but to render Shubh din aayo and Prem jogan banke as he had no excuse left
When completed, Asif is said to have got Rs 17 lakh per territory for the film when the going rate was Rs 3-4 lakh. The premiere invite was written in Urdu on red velvet and "stamped" with the seal of Akbar's royal court. MEA ran for 100 weeks, was the biggest grosser of the 1960s and was finally beaten by the 1975 Sholay.
The premiere of Mughal-e-Azam was held at the then new,1,100-capacity Maratha Mandir cinema in Mumbai, The day before bookings for the film opened, a reported crowd of 100,000 gathered outside the Maratha Mandir to buy tickets.
