NEW DELHI: Dilip Kumar and Madhubala’s classic masterpiece ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, which follows the ill-fated romance between Prince Salim and Anarkali, turned 62 on Friday.
The black-and-white film premiered on August 5, 1960, and went on to become one of the most loved movies of all time. It is a perfect combination of the 16th century Mughal era and the charm of 1960s Bollywood.
One of the greatest love stories, ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ has everything. Be it simple yet inquisitive screenplay, beautiful acting, serene classical music, graceful dance, Urdu dialogues or royal costumes, the film aces it all.
Director K Asif featured top stars of that time in the movie, including Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, and legendary Prithviraj Kapoor in the pivotal roles. The most celebrated classic of Hindi cinema is also known for its memorable songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Shamshad Begum and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
‘Mughal-e-Azam’ took 16 years to complete and was made on a budget of approximately Rs 1.50 crore, which was the highest amount spent on any Bollywood film at that time. The sets representing Mughal courts and palaces, especially Sheesh Mahal where the iconic song ‘Jab Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ was shot were awe-inspiring.
The war sequence, vast desert and lifelike fighting scenes contributed to making ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ one of the biggest gems of Indian cinema. ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ was the first black-and-white Hindi film to be digitally coloured and the first in any language to be given a theatrical re-release. The colour version, released on November 12, 2004, was also a commercial success.
It also won many awards like National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was also nominated in seven categories which include, Best Film, Best Director (K Asif), Best Actress (Madhubala), Best Playback Singer (Lata Mangeshkar), Best Music (Naushad), Best Cinematography (R D Mathur) and Best Dialogue (Aman, Wajahat, Mirza, Kamaal Amrohi and Ehsan Rizvi), winning the awards for Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Dialogue. (ANI)