Mughal-e-Azam
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Mughal-e-Azam (Urdu: مغلِ اعظم, Devanagari: मुग़ल-ए आज़म) is an Indian romance film, a product of the Bollywood movie industry. It was produced and directed by K. Asif and released in 1960. It was nine years in the making and was a lavish production for its time.
The film initially had a lacklustre opening, but quickly gathered momentum, eventually becoming one of India's most celebrated movies.
Its most famous dance sequence takes place in the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) of the Lahore Fort, where a defiant slave-girl (played by Madhubala) dances for the Mughal Emperor and his court, singing Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, "I have loved, so what is there to fear?" This song was one of three sequences shot on Eastman Kodak color film, while the rest of the movie was in black and white. The singing is, of course, playback singing by Lata Mangeshkar and lip-synched by Madhubala.
In 2004, a colorized version of the movie was released by Legend Films. The movie was again a success.
Synopsis
The film is a re-telling of a popular Indian tale, previously filmed as Loves of a Mughal Prince (1928) and Anarkali (1953). It is loosely based on an episode in the life of the Mughal prince Jahangir. In the movie, the great conqueror Akbar (played by Prithviraj Kapoor) and his Rajput wife have but one son, a weak and pleasure-loving prince named Salim (Dilip Kumar). Salim falls in love with Anarkali (Madhubala), a slave and court-dancer. He wants to marry her; his father objects, and throws Anarkali into prison. Anarkali refuses to reject Salim. Salim revolts against his father, is beaten in battle, and sentenced to death. Anarkali buys his life with her own and is condemned to be walled up alive. However, the emperor relents at the last moment.
Trivia
- Famed qawwali singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sang several songs for the movie, as the voice of Tansen. He reportedly charged Rs. 25,000 per song. At the time, the going rate for popular playback singers such as Lata and Rafi was below Rs. 500 per song.
- Although the dance sequence Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya is set in the Shish Mahal (Mirror Room) of the Lahore Fort, it was actually filmed in the Shish Mahal of the Agra Fort. The Sikh Golden Temple also has a Shish Mahal, a mirror room. Decoration with mirrors (known as Aleppo glass) was a recurring theme in early Mughal-period architecture.