Mughal-E-Azam (1960)

Director:

K. Asif

Writers:

K. Asif (screenplay) and
Aman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Plot:

Inspired by true events, a 16th century prince falls in love with a court dancer and battles with his emperor father.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Mughal | Love | Empire | Muslim

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Prithviraj Kapoor	...	Emperor Akbar (as Prithviraj)
Madhubala	...	Anarkali
Durga Khote	...	Maharani Jodha Bai
Nigar Sultana	...	Bahar
Ajit	...	Durjan Singh
M. Kumar	...	Sculptor (as Kumar)
Murad	...	Raja Mann Singh
Jilloo Maa	...	Anarkali's Mother (as Jillo Bai)
Vijayalaxmi
S. Nazir
Sheela Delaya	...	Suraiya, Anarkali's Sister
Surendra		(as Surinder)
Johnny Walker
Jalal Agha	...	Young Prince Saleem
Tabassum		(as Baby Tabassum)
Gopi Krishna
Dilip Kumar	...	Prince Saleem
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jago	...	(uncredited)
Khurshid Khan	...	(uncredited)
Khanna	...	(uncredited)
Khwaja Sabir	...	(uncredited)
Pal Sharma	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
K. Asif

Writing credits
K. Asif		(screenplay) and
Aman		(screenplay)
Aman		(dialogue) and
Kamal Amrohi		(dialogue) and
Ehsan Rizvi		(dialogue) and
Wajahat Mirza		(dialogue) (as Vajahat Mirza)

Produced by
K. Asif	....	producer

Original Music by
Naushad

Cinematography by
R.D. Mathur

Film Editing by
Dharamvir

Art Direction by
M.K. Syed

Makeup Department
Abdul Hamid	....	makeup artist
P.G. Joshi	....	makeup artist
R. Pitamber	....	assistant makeup artist
T. Rajaram	....	assistant makeup artist (as Raja Ram)

Production Management
Madan Chopra	....	assistant production manager
S.V. Koregaonkar	....	assistant production manager
Sultan Mohammad	....	assistant production manager
Aslam Noori	....	production manager
Laxman Singh	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rashid Abbasi	....	assistant director
Khalid Akhtar	....	chief assistant director
Md. Anwar	....	assistant director
Rafiq Arabi	....	assistant director
Surinder Kapoor	....	assistant director
K. Manohar	....	assistant director
H.A. Riaz	....	assistant director
S.T. Zaidi	....	associate director

Art Department
Syed Imam	....	assistant settings
B.R. Khedkar	....	chief moulder
Shaik Lal	....	assistant settings
L.D. Lingayat	....	painter assistant
H.J. Mhatre	....	painter assistant
Adam Mistry	....	assistant settings (as Late Adam Mistry)
Agha Jani Shirazi	....	glass artwork: Sheesh Mahal (as Agha Shirazi)
S.P. Worlikar	....	chief painter

Sound Department
Shaikh Akram	....	director of sound
Ranjit Biswas	....	sound assistant
M.G. Mehta	....	sound assistant
Hasan Raje	....	sound assistant
Brahmanand Sharma	....	sound mixer (as B.N. Sharma)

Special Effects by
Ansari	....	main titles

Stunts
S. Azim	....	fighting instructor: swords (as Azim)
Master Roshan	....	fighting instructor: swords

Camera and Electrical Department
Md. Ayub	....	additional camera operator: battle scenes
Md. Ayub	....	assistant camera
Chandu	....	still photographer
K. Gopalrao	....	assistant camera
K. Gopalrao	....	chief electrician
Kerve	....	additional camera operator: battle scenes
Shaffan Mirza	....	additional camera operator: battle scenes (as Shaffan)
Shaffan Mirza	....	assistant camera
M.K. Mukadam	....	additional camera operator: battle scenes
A.L. Syed	....	outdoor still photographer
M.K. Syed	....	outdoor still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jaggi	....	costumes
Habib Mirza	....	embroidery
B.N. Trivedi	....	wardrobe in charge

Editorial Department
Satte Singh Rawat	....	assistant editor
Md. Shahid	....	assistant editor
Prabhakar Supare	....	assistant editor (as P.G. Supare)

Music Department
Bare Gulam Ali Khan	....	playback singer
Shakeel Badayuni	....	lyricist
Shamshad Begum	....	playback singer (as Shamshad Begam)
Robin Chatterjee	....	song recordist (as Robin Chatterji)
M. Ibrahim	....	music assistant (as Ibrahim)
R. Kaushik	....	song recordist (as Kaushik)
Lata Mangeshkar	....	playback singer
Mohammad Rafi	....	playback singer
Mohammed Shafi	....	music assistant (as Mohammad Shafi)
Noor Jehan	....	playback singer (uncredited)

Other crew
Rama Devi	....	dance assistant
Laxmi	....	dance assistant
Lachchu Maharaj	....	dance director
Haji Shamsuddin	....	junior artists supplier (as Shamshuddin)

Production Companies

• Sterling Investment Corp.

Distributors

• UTV Motion Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (colorized version)
• STAR TV
• Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd. (2004) (India) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Famous Cine Laboratories & Studios  processing (as Famous Cine Lab., Tardeo, Bombay)
• Government of India  grateful acknowledgment
• Ministry of Defense  grateful acknowledgment (as Ministry of Defence)
• Technicolour  colour sequences by (as Technicolour Ltd., London)
• Umber Jewellery Mart  jewellery supplied by (as Umber Jeweller)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

173 min | 185 min (2004 colorized version)

Country:

India

Language:

Urdu

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (2004 re-release) | Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

Sterling Investment Corp.

Trivia:

The movie was originally shot three times, once each for lips moving for Hindi, Tamil and English dialogs. The Tamil version of the movie did very poorly, so the dream of having Shakespearean actors from Britain doing the dubbing in English was dropped. In 2004, it was announced that after extensive search, no copies of the English version are available.

Quotes:

Anarkali:In return for your Majesty's magnanimous gifts, this slave forgives Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar for her murder.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.11" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Mohabbat Ki Jhooti Kahani Pe Roye

Today I am very lucky and felt an honored of writing the review for the greatest epic of Indian cinema and biggest Indian film ever which has been hailed as a masterpiece

The ostentatious look, the unforgettable music, the awesome war scenes, superb performances, the well-known romance between Salim and Anarkalis MUGHAL-E-AZAM will always remain as a point of reference.

After 44 years, this masterpiece has been released after reviving it in color (the original version was 85 percent black and white and 15 percent colour), with an upgraded, contemporary sound system (Dolby Digital).

The Story is about the Ruler Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) and Queen Jodha (Durga Khote) give birth to a son, Salim, after years of prayer.

Prince Salim (Dilip Kumar) grows into a commendable combatant. Salim falls in love with court dancer Anarkali (Madhubala). Initially wary of his affections because of the difference in their positions, she soon reciprocates his love.

Akbar finds out about the affair and that creates a rift between the father and son.

It is a must see movie for every moviegoer for its pure canvass, for its majestic framing and not just for being a colorful costume drama, for its romance, for the glorious Sheesh Mahal and also for our fake filmmakers (like karan johar, aditya chopra, nikhil advani, kunal kohli and many others like them) who cannot think beyond Manhattan and singing heroes and have light years to reach this level of film-making.

MUGHAL-E-AZAM is a must for those who have seen it in B & W. Now watch it in color and experience the grandeur. MUGHAL-E-AZAM is a must for todays generation, who, perhaps, may not have watched this classic. Watch this epic and you will realize the difference between the cinema of yore and the cinema of today. MUGHAL-E-AZAM is a must for every moviegoer. Here is a prime example of pure, unadulterated cinema. 4 ½ Out of 5