MUGHAL-E-AZAM (2004 RE-RELEASE)

Producer: Shapoorji Pallonji
Director: K Asif
Cast: Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nigar Sultana, Durga Khote

RS RATING: 10/10

Background:
Part history and part fiction, Mughal-e-Azam has been the best Indian period film ever made till date. Though there can be a lot of discussion on whether Sholay was the biggest film or Mughal-e-Azam, there is no denying that this is the best costume drama ever on the Indian silver screen. The film was made in 15 per cent colour and 85 per cent black and white by K Asif. With the advent of colour, Asif wanted to remake the entire film in colour, but the distributors panicked. The film was made at a cost of 15 million rupees at that time which was a huge sum and it made double the money.

And now the film has been totally coloured and the sound digitally remastered. The movie was re-released in the UK two years ago in the Black and White version. But the coloured version is worth a look.

Synopsis:
The Emperor of Hindustan Jalaluddin Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) wants an heir to the Mughal throne and he sets off on foot on a tough pilgrimage. (Prithviraj Kapoor had problems in his feet for years after this role). He gets a son Salim (Jalal Agha). Salim grows up to be a fine young man (Dilip Kumar) and is pampered a lot and thus becomes vulnerable towards wine and women. Akbar is aghast and in order to discipline his son sends him off on a series of conquests and extend the Mughal Empire. Salim tastes blood and wants more.

He has become a great warrior now. When he returns home after his victory, he sees a ‘live’ statue Nadira. He falls for the charm of this commoner with mystic beauty. Naira then performs a brilliant dance number after which Akbar bestows the title of Anarkali on her and confers her post of the court dancer on her.

This move also allows Salim to come closer to Anarkali. They slowly but steadily come closer to each other. The love between a commoner and a royal is sacrilege and that allows another woman of royal blood Bahar (Nigar Sultana) to create confusion and terror. Bahar complains about the proximity between Salim and Anarkali and also squeals about the nocturnal rendezvous that take place between the couple.

Akbar barges into Salim’s room and Anarkali faints in the young prince’s arms… She is thrown into the dungeon. She is freed and she proclaims rebellious love through the song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya…

Salim refuses to let go of Anarkali and is forced into war with his father which he loses. Now an angry Akbar who cannot kill his son orders the execution of Anarkali… Does she die? She didn’t in the black and white version… Will this film have another colour? Go; watch Mughal-E-Azam.

Critique:
The best part of the film is the coloured version. This is the first time in the world that a movie has been coloured completely after it was released in black and white. An attempt like this has happened on television before. Believe me, the effects are mind-boggling. The film looks real. The colouring along with the subject is also so fresh and lively that the film can pass of as a fresh one even today. One hopes that there are more people drawn to see this film by word of mouth. Never before has a masterpiece been made like this.

The dialogues in the film are history. Who can forget Prithviraj Kapoor in his baritone with a rasping breath stating, “Hum apnay bete ke dil kee dhadkan ke liye Hindustan kee taqdeer badal nahin sakte?” Equally the lover’s line “Woh mohabbat jo darti who mohabbat nahin… ayyashi hai, gunaah hai” is part of folklore now.

Durga Khote as Salim’s mother and Akbar’s wife Jodhabai also delivers a powerhouse performance. Prithviraj Kapoor is magnificent and no one can repeat his act ever in history. Dilip Kumar is very subdued and holds his won as a prince. He has no songs in the film keeping in mind his royalty.

Madhubala as Nadira/Anarkali is the prize catch. She travels through her role like a dream. She is what one could describe as a fitting answer to the famed Mona Lisa painting. She is the real mystery, a mystique which can or could never be unraveled.

Sadly, this was K Asif’s second film. He never made anything after his. His earlier film was called Phool in 1944. Mughal e Azam was started in 1944 with Nargis as Anarkali, Chandramohan as Akbar and Sapru as Salim. But the financer went to Pakistan in 1947 during Partition and the film was shelved. The film was restarted in 1951 with a fresh cast and competed in 1960.

Tabla maestro Zakir Husain was slated to do the role of young Salim - a role which was eventually done by Jalal Agha. RD Mathur’s cinematography, especially in the war scenes with 8000 infantry, 4000 horses and 2000 camels and in the coloured Sheesh Mahal shot is commendable. It fetched him a Filmfare Award. Maestro Naushad’s music coupled with Shakeel Badayuni’s melancholic and sometimes thundering lyrics rocks. It breathes melody; something that music directors don’t even understand today.

There is nothing wrong with this film at all. There has been so much attention paid to detail. Akbar’s Hindu wife Jodhabai’s clothes resemble the Rajput era and design while the rest of the cast have the Mughal look.
There is so much attention to detail. 50 tailors, painters and craftsmen worked on the film for ten months to get it ready.

Conclusion:
It was a good idea to colour the film and not make a coloured one like in the case of Devdas. Mughal-E-Azam can never be remade. A film called Anarkali was made in 1953 with Bina Rai and Pradeep Kumar, but it released seven years before this one. No one has dared to make this film again, and no one will or should. The ticket cost Rs 1.50 when the film was first released at the Maratha Mandir theatre in then Bombay. The tickets were sold in the black market for an astounding Rs 100 then. People came in from Pakistan to watch the movie as well. Today the cost of the ordinary ticket is over Rs 100. Imagine what would happen if the film picks up by word of mouth? What would be the cost of the ticket in black then?

Reviewed by: Qamar Zaman