Mughal-e-Azam () is a 1960 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) and Anarkali, a court dancer. Salim's father, Emperor Akbar, disapproves of the relationship, which leads to a war between father and son.
The development of Mughal-e-Azam began in 1944, when Asif read the 1922 play Anarkali, by playwright Imtiaz Ali Taj, which is set in the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556–1605). Production was plagued by delays and financial uncertainty. Before its principal photography began in the early 1950s, the project had lost a financier and undergone a complete change of cast. Mughal-e-Azam cost more to produce than any previous Indian motion picture; the budget for a single song sequence exceeded that typical for an entire film of the period. The soundtrack, inspired by Indian classical and folk music, comprises 12 songs voiced by playback singer Lata Mangeshkar along with Mohammed Rafi, Shamshad Begum, and classical singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and is often cited among the finest in the history of Hindi cinema.
Mughal-e-Azam had the widest release of any Indian film up to that time, and patrons often queued all day for tickets. Released on 5 August 1960, it broke box office records in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film, a distinction it held for 15 years. The accolades awarded to the film include one National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards at the 8th Filmfare Awards. Roughly 30 minutes were filmed in colour; decades after its release Mughal-e-Azam was the first black-and-white Hindi film to be fully digitally coloured, and the first in any language to be given a theatrical re-release. The colour version, released on 12 November 2004, was also a commercial success.
The film is widely considered to be a milestone for its genre, earning praise from critics for its grandeur and attention to detail, and the performances of its cast (especially that of Madhubala, who earned a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress). Film scholars have welcomed its portrayal of enduring themes, but question its historical accuracy. It was the most expensive Indian film made until then.
Plot Anxious over not having a male heir to succeed him, Mughal Emperor Akbar undertakes a pilgrimage to a holy shrine. His prayers are answered when his wife, Empress Jodhaa Bai, gives birth to a son. Overjoyed by the news, which is delivered to him by a palace maid, Akbar gifts her his royal ring and vows to grant any single wish she desires in the future.
The young prince, Salim, grows up pampered and self-indulgent. To instill discipline and courage, Akbar sends his son to the frontlines of war. Fourteen years later, Salim returns to the court of Agra as a distinguished military commander and an accomplished warrior. Upon his return, he deeply falls in love with a tawaif named Nadira, the daughter of the very maid who brought the news of his birth to Akbar years earlier. Recognizing her remarkable beauty and grace, Akbar renames her Anarkali ().
Bahar, a high-ranking court dancer, soon discovers their clandestine affair. Harbouring ill intentions to wed Salim to become the Empress, an envious Bahar exposes Salim's forbidden relationship with Anarkali to Akbar. Outraged by the prospect of a common court dancer entering the royal family, Akbar vehemently forbids the romance and orders Anarkali's imprisonment. When Akbar orders her to renounce her love for Salim, she steadfastly refuses out of her loyalty to Salim.
Enraged by his father's cruelty, Salim raises a rebel army to revolt against his father and rescue Anarkali. The conflict ends in Salim's defeat. Akbar sentences Salim to death on charges of treason, but agrees to spare him from decree if Anarkali, who has escaped from the prison, surrenders herself to face death in Salim's place. Learning of the ultimatum, Anarkali surrenders herself to save the prince's life.
Subsequently, Akbar condemns Anarkali to death by immurement. As her final request, she begs to spend a few hours with Salim as his symbolic wife. Akbar grants the request on the condition that she drugs Salim, ensuring he remains unconscious and unable to stop the execution.
Just as the final bricks are being laid around Anarkali, her mother approaches Akbar with the royal ring and invokes his long-forgotten promise. Bound by his dedication to justice, Akbar decides to honour the vow by secretly arranging for Anarkali and her mother to escape through a hidden passage behind the wall into a permanent exile. However, he demands that they must live in complete obscurity, ensuring Salim spends the rest of his life believing his true love is dead.
Cast
Production Development
The Urdu dramatist Imtiaz Ali Taj wrote a play about the love story of Salim and Anarkali in 1922, based more on a 16th-century legend than on fact. A stage version was soon produced, and screen versions followed. Ardeshir Irani made a silent film, Anarkali, in 1928, and remade it with sound in 1935. In the early 1940s, the tale of Anarkali inspired producer Shiraz Ali Hakeem and young director K. Asif (Karimuddin Asif) to make another film adaptation which they would title Mughal-e-Azam. They recruited four Urdu writers to develop the screenplay and dialogue: Aman (Zeenat Aman's father, also known as Amanullah Khan), Wajahat Mirza, Kamaal Amrohi, and Ehsan Rizvi. It is not known how the writers collaborated or shared out their work, but in 2010 The Times of India said that their "mastery over Urdu's poetic idiom and expression is present in every line, giving the film, with its rich plots and intricate characters, the overtones of a Shakespearean drama." As the script neared completion, Asif cast Chandra Mohan, D. K. Sapru, and Nargis for the roles of Akbar, Salim, and Anarkali, respectively. Shooting started in 1946 in Bombay Talkies studio.
The project faced multiple hurdles, which forced its temporary abandonment. The political tensions and communal rioting surrounding India's 1947 partition and independence stalled production. Shortly after partition, Shiraz Ali migrated to Pakistan, leaving Asif without a financier. The actor Chandra Mohan suffered a heart attack and died in 1949. Shiraz Ali had previously suggested that business tycoon Shapoorji Pallonji could finance the film. Although Pallonji knew nothing about film production, in 1950 he agreed to finance the film because of his interest in the history of Akbar. Production was then restarted with a new cast.
Believing that the film had been cancelled, Kamal Amrohi, one of the scriptwriters who was also a director, planned to make a film on the same subject himself. When confronted by Asif, he agreed to shelve the project. Another unrelated film production based on the same stage play was Nandlal Jaswantlal's Anarkali, starring Bina Rai and Pradeep Kumar, which became the highest grossing Hindi film of 1953.
Casting
Asif had initially rejected Dilip Kumar for the part of Prince Salim. Kumar was reluctant to act in a period film, but accepted the role upon the insistence of the film's producer. According to Kumar, "Asif trusted me enough to leave the delineation of Salim completely to me." Kumar faced difficulty while filming in Rajasthan owing to the heat and the body armour he wore. The part of Anarkali had first been offered to Nutan, who declined it; Suraiya was considered for the role but eventually it went to Madhubala, who had been longing for a significant role. Upon signing the film, Madhubala was advancely paid a sum of 1 lakh, which was the highest for any actor/actress at that time. She suffered from congenital heart disease, which was one of the reasons why at times she fainted on set; she also endured skin abrasions while filming the prison sequences, but was determined to finish the film.
To become the character of Emperor Akbar, Prithviraj Kapoor was reported to have "relied completely on the script and director". Prior to make-up, Kapoor would declare, "Prithviraj Kapoor ab jaa rahaa hai" ("Prithviraj Kapoor is now going"); after make-up, he would announce, "Akbar ab aa rahaa hai" ("Akbar is now coming"). Kapoor faced difficulty with his heavy costumes, and suffered blisters on his feet after walking barefoot in the desert for a sequence. Lance Dane, a photographer who was on set during the filming, recalled that Kapoor struggled to remember his lines in some scenes; he mentioned one scene in particular that Kapoor required 19 takes to get right. At the time of filming, Kapoor who was on a diet, was told by Asif to regain the lost weight for his portrayal of Akbar. Durga Khote was cast as Akbar's wife Jodhabai, and Nigar Sultana as the dancer Bahar. Zakir Hussain, who later became a tabla maestro, had initially been considered for the part of the young Prince Salim, but it became the debut role of Jalal Agha, who later performed on the song "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from Sholay (1975).
Design The production design of the film, led by art director M. K. Syed, was extravagant, and some sets took six weeks to erect. The film, mostly shot in studio sets designed to represent the interior of a Mughal palace, featured opulent furnishings and water features such as fountains and pools, generating the feel of a Hollywood historical epic of the period. The song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" was filmed in Mohan Studios on a set built as a replica of the Sheesh Mahal in the Lahore Fort. The set was noted for its size, measuring in length, in breadth and in height. A much-discussed aspect was the presence of numerous small mirrors made of Belgian glass, which were crafted and designed by workers from Firozabad. The set took two years to build and cost more than 1.5 million (valued at about US$314,000 in 1960), more than the budget of an entire Hindi film at the time. The film's financiers feared bankruptcy as a result of the high cost of production.
Artisans from across India were recruited to craft the props. The costumes were designed by Makhanlal and Company, and Delhi-based tailors skilled in zardozi embroidery stitched the Mughal costume. The footwear was ordered from Agra, the jewellery was made by goldsmiths in Hyderabad, the crowns were designed in Kolhapur, and blacksmiths from Rajasthan manufactured the armoury (which included shields, swords, spears, daggers, and armour). The zardozi on costumes were also stitched by designers from Surat. A statue of Lord Krishna, to which Jodhabai prayed, was made of gold. In the scenes involving an imprisoned Anarkali, real chains were placed on Madhubala. The battle sequence between Akbar and Salim reportedly featured 2,000 camels, 400 horses, and 8,000 troops, mainly from the Indian Army's Jaipur cavalry, 56th Regiment. Dilip Kumar has spoken of the intense heat during filming of the sequence in the desert of Rajasthan, wearing full armour.
Principal photography Principal photography for Mughal-e-Azam began in the early 1950s. Each sequence was reportedly filmed three times, as the film was being produced in Hindi/Urdu, Tamil, and English. The film was eventually dubbed in Tamil and released in 1961 as Akbar, but that version's commercial failure resulted in the abandonment of the planned English dubbing, for which British actors were considered. Asif was accompanied by an extensive crew, which included his assistant directors S. T. Zaidi, Khalid Akhtar, Surinder Kapoor (assisting primarily for the English version), and five others. Additional crew members included cinematographer R. D. Mathur, choreographer Lachhu Maharaj, production manager Aslam Noori, cameraman M. D. Ayub, editor Dharamavir, makeup artists P. G. Joshi and Abdul Hamid, and sound director Akram Shaikh.