Mughal-E-Azam (1960)

A 16th century prince falls in love with a court dancer and battles with his emperor father.

Director:

K. Asif

Writers:

K. Asif (screenplay), Aman (screenplay)

Stars:

Prithviraj Kapoor, Madhubala, Dilip Kumar

Top Rated Indian Movies #35 | 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Prithviraj Kapoor	...	Emperor Akbar (as Prithviraj)
Madhubala	...	Anarkali
Dilip Kumar	...	Prince Saleem
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

Storyline

Set in the 16th century AD, the movie brings to life the tale of the doomed love affair between the Mughal Crown Prince Saleem and the beautiful, ill-fated court dancer, whose fervor and intensity perpetrates a war between the prince and his father the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, and threatens to bring an empire to its knees.

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Plot Keywords:

love | emperor | prince | mughal | dancer | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Urdu

Release Date:

5 August 1960 (India)

Also Known As:

The Emperor of the Mughals

Box Office

Budget:

INR 15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$60,258, 3 April 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$161,434, 8 May 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sterling Investment Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

197 min (1960) 184 min (2004 colorized)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (2004 re-release) Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cinematographer R D Mathur had to experiment with lighting to shoot the famous Sheesh Mahal setting of Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya. He tried painting the mirrors with wax to check the glare, which worked but also made the visuals dull. He then tried placing strips of cloth strategically to create bounced lighting.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

2004: The End Credits play the song 'Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya' and its 1960 end credits are adjacent to the 2004 (Technicians) credits.

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Alternate Versions

The original version is in B/W and only one song 'Pyar kiya to darna kya...' was shot in color as most of the film (by the time color technology was available) was complete. This was at the end of almost 10 years that the film was being completed. However, the year 2004 re-release is re-mastered from the original B/W version to Color with Dolby Digital sound and some visual enhancements.

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Connections

Spoofed in Ready (2011)

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Soundtracks

Hume Kaash Tumse
Sung by Lata Mangeshkar
Written by Shakeel Badayuni

User Reviews

Art!

I haven't seen the black and white original of Mughal E Azam since the '80's, but I recently saw the restored revived colourised 2004 re-release for the first time and was astounded by the results. I'm not a believer in messing around with the originals, but bearing in mind director Asif always wanted to make the whole film in colour but didn't have enough money the "final" product is amazing to see - such is technology! It was incredibly expensive to make as it was, the restoration process must have cost a fabulous amount too.

Seminal Indian epic purporting to deal with events from about 400 years ago around Prince Saleem (Dilip Kumar) falling in love with a court dancer Anarkali (Madhubala) to his father Akbar's utter opposition and eventually causing a rift leading to all out war. The drama and war spectacle scenes are memorable enough, with thousands of humans and animals as extras, and the music is uniformly superb too. But it's Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (If I have loved someone>why should I be afraid?) sung by Anarkali (Lata) to the 2 of them in the Hall Of Mirrors that is absolutely stunning - I will have to get the original and compare, because the remaster seems to have turned this song into something even more magical and mesmerising than I remembered. It took Naushad and Shakeel Badayuni one night to compose music and lyrics so timeless - a colourful piece of poetry in motion, with the insistent kaleidoscopic climax added by Asif. Awesome! According to the legend it was supposed to have an unhappy ending - needless to say I'm glad it was altered here to a happy one after such a roller-coaster ride!

A tremendous work of Art, showing the very best of Indian cinema.