A strange mixture of fact and fiction gives birth to an immortal classic. It would perhaps be an understatement to say that Mughal-e-azam, which is celebrating its golden jubilee this year, was just that.
The story of Mughal-e-azam is similar to every second ‘boy meets girl’ love story of Hindi cinema. The film was first planned in the late 1940s with Chandramohan, Sapru and Nargis. But in 1947, the producer Shiraz Ali migrated to Pakistan. Then lead artist Chandramohan passed away and K Asif was left with Nargis and Sapru. The movie was re-planned in the 1950s, with a new star cast and a new producer Shapoorji Pallonji, one of the richest Indians of the time. Prithviraj Kapoor and Madhubala were signed on. Dilip Kumar joined the cast after much persuasion by the producer. But in 1953, Filmistan’s Anarkali, based on the same story, turned out to be a huge hit. K Asif remained devoted to his dream project, though. When shooting finally started, it was after innumerable obstacles had been overcome. Tailors were employed from Delhi, goldsmiths from Hyderabad worked on the jewellery, Kolhapuri craftsmen on the crowns, ironsmiths from Rajasthan gave shape to the terrifying weapons and the footwear was ordered from Agra. An era of history was being painstakingly reconstructed for the audience. Asif even shot the last few reels and a song in colour.
On August 5, 1960, when the film released, one lakh people queued up for tickets in advance, even sleeping on the roads — the roads around Maratha Mandir in Bombay were clogged for weeks together. Mughal-e-azam was declared an instant classic, becoming a legend in its own time.
Prithviraj Kapoor carried the regal bearing and charisma of Akbar with elan. His long-time theatre associate Durga Khote was cast as Jodha Bai. Nigar Sultana as Bahar was a refined vamp full of chutzpah and panache. Dilip Kumar, the most eligible bachelor in the nation at that time, set hearts abuzz as the royal lover Salim. It was hardly his best performance but the movie was his biggest hit. Madhubala, his heroine, was born to play Anarkali. She emoted with the movement of her eyelids, her tears conveying the deepest of pathos, her sweat-laden eyebrows shivering with fear, with her movements maintaining the balance between style and coquetry and her smile lighting the cinema hall like lightening in a dark sky. Sadly, she remained bed-ridden after this movie till her tragic death at the age of 35 in 1969. Madhubala and Dilip Kumar had one of the most passionate affairs of the time and had parted ways by the time of the film was released. Their unmatched on-screen chemistry was a result of their off-screen tragedy.
What is often ignored is that Mughal-e-azam is a deeply socialistic movie. It was irreverent cleverly placing a sculptor’s character to speak against the monarch. The dialogues, written by Kamal Amrohi, Ehsan Rizwi, Wajahat Mirza and Aman cut like swords in some scenes and caress our minds like a feather in some.
MK Syed’s art direction is unparalleled. The battle scenes, which featured 2,000 camels, 400 horses and 8,000 soldiers, were shot with resources borrowed from the Jaipur regiment of the Indian Army. RD Mathur’s genius was behind every still of the movie looking like a classic painting.
Several contemporary films have paid homage to Mughal-e-azam. In the opening scene of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, we see a re-enactment of Jodhabai’s joy at the arrival of Salim. Amitabh Bachchan’s frosty eyes giving weak knees to Shahrukh and Kajol in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham follows the tradition of the pre-interval scene in Mughal-e-azam. A decade before Raju and Bobby decided to elope (Bobby), Salim and Anarkali attempted exactly the same. From Maine Pyar Kiya to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Pakeezah to Shakti many a Hindi drama owes something to Mughal-e-azam.
But the film’s strongest pillar is undoubtedly Naushad’s music. Deeply researched, finely arranged and superbly delivered, each song makes us pine for a lost era in the yellowing pages of cinema. For Ae mohabbat Zindabad, he used a record number of 100 singers and convinced Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to sing two songs at a total fee of `50,000, at a time when Lata and Rafi were paid `500 for a song! Shakeel Badayuni, who formed a formidable team with Naushad in film after film, re-wrote Pyar Kiya toh Darna Kya over 100 times until he got it right. When Pandit Lachchu Maharaj, the choreographer, listened to Mohe Panghat Pe, he had tears in his eyes as his grandfather had performed it before Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow. After seeing Madhubala’s limitations as a dancer, Maharaj got one of his disciples to perform the difficult Kathak steps in the movie, cleverly panned in long shots by RD Mathur.
Mughal-e-azam recreated its magic when it was colourised and re-released worldwide in 2004. Old-timers relived the past and the young got to see the magic of the cinema of yore. Today, Mughal-e-azam stands tall in the annals of cinema, a mark of brilliance, hardwork, imagination and genius. It is a textbook for those who seek to create a benchmark in the annals of cinema.
— arjunnarayanan.100@gmail.com