Mughal-E-Azam,is the monumental film based on the supposed battle between the famous father and son duo of the Indian history ,Akbar and Jahangir, due to the courtesan Anarkali.The truth behind the existence of this lady is still unknown but history reveals the existence of a battle between them and with this as backdrop the story has been written. The director of this film, K.Asif, had created this magnum opus for the Indian audience at an expenditure of 1.5 crores, a figure unlikely of been heard during the era of Dilip Kumar (but contemporary directors can afford such a budget ). The movie’s release saw a sea of people wait outside the theatre , a seen unprecedented in the history of Indian films, surpassed later by Ramesh Sippy’s ‘SHOLAY’ starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra.
Mughal-E-Azam, starring Prithviraj Kapoor , Dilp Kumar and Madhubala., is known mainly for the excellent dialogue delivery ,the art direction and Naushad Sahib’s endearing music( nobody can miss that). The star attraction of the movie was the song
“ Pyar kiya toh Darna Kya” a song which motivated hundreds of couples to confess their love to their parents with boldness, urged them to show reverence to their love and to go to any heights to save their love!. The battleground in which Saleem fights a battle against his own father with Anarkali on his horseback, brings the audience to the edge of their seats! The army involved in this scene was the national army in deed. How could I forget the royalty with which Prithviraj Kapoor played Akbar? Or the dancers who performed at the court in the background with such perfection ? They transport us for a fleeting moment to the Mughul era; an era which gave the Indian culture a major asset in terms of Architecture- Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb or the Fatehpur Sikri, Literature- Dīn-i Ilāhī or the Mughul cuisine which we relish at Indian weddings to this date.
This movie saw the growth of Lata Mangeshkar as a singer and creating of a movie in the History of Indian cinema which has been credited of being the first movie to be made in technicolour from original black and white version. It inspired our very own Ashutosh Govarikar to make the grand um opus‘ Jodha Akbar’. The movie which is a leaf from an instance in Akbar’s life has set a landmark which any Indian movie has not surpassed, the glory of Indian cinema has been in great artworks such as this one. Lets hope our Indian film fraternity make more movies of this genre and prove their elan.
