Flawless, seamless, timeless...What do we say about a film that immortalised each one of its cast members and technicians?!

"Mughal-e-Azam" is to the pseudo-historical what the Taj Mahal is to Agra. Its imposing grandeur, breathtaking beauty and, most important of all, its emotional energy remain undimmed by the tides of time.

A work of art is the only phrase to describe this historical whose grand palaces-and-fountains look has an epic sweep and whose heart-wrenching core of romance has the tenderness of a feather's touch.

Not surprisingly, Mughal-e-Azam has become a must-see classic, an ineluctable part of Hindi film lore.

The film boasts a cache of riches: high drama exquisitely verbalised through dialogues that can be shimmeringly ornate yet have the edge of a medieval sword; magnificent music (lyricist Shakeel Badayuni's best work); powerful performances. And the other-worldly beauty of Madhubala at the centre of this phantasmagoria.

It took a possessed K Asif a decade and many million rupees to make Mughal-e-Azam.

Early in the film, the camera trails behind a beleaguered Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) on an arduous pilgrimage on foot, seeking an heir to the Mughal dynasty. He is rewarded with a son Salim. When the pampered prince shows a propensity for wine and women, the emperor banishes young Salim to the battlefield to enable him to become a capable king.

In a leitmotif that runs through the film, Akbar places consideration for his kingdom before paternal love.

Salim (Dilip Kumar) grows up and returns a strapping warrior. His hands have been soiled with blood; his heart still responds to pure beauty. He is spellbound by a 'live' statue created by an anti-establishment sculptor (Kumar). That statue is Nadira (Madhubala), a commoner with decidedly uncommon beauty.

Impressed by Nadira's raas during the birth celebrations of Lord Krishna, Akbar bestows the title of Anarkali on her and appoints her the court dancer.

Salim goes further and appoints her queen of his heart. With the connivance of chirpy go-between Suraiya, the embers of Salim and Anarkali's romance begin subdued but eventually consume both. The flames of their passion reduce a jealous minor royal Bahar (Nigar Sultana) to ash. Bahar's eyes, which sparkle like diamonds but are cold, hover on both the prince and the crown jewels and she leaves no stone unturned to sour things. She says while secretly trying out the crown: Taj unke kareeb nahin hota jinke kareeb khauf hota hain (The crown is not accessible to those who are accessible to fear).

Bahar informs Akbar about Salim's nocturnal rendezvous with Anarkali.

K Asif's mastery over the medium is evident in the tense sequence where Akbar thunders into Salim's chambers and catches him with Anarkali. The director refrains from employing lines here. Anarkali faints in Salim's arms. In doing so, she breaks his string of pearls. The sound shatters the ominous silence. This has a far more devastating effect than any heated exchange.

Infuriated, Akbar has Anarkali thrown into a dungeon only to have her defiantly proclaim 'Jab pyar kiya toh darna kya' to a crowded darbar when released. Akbar goes red in the face. But nothing can change the besotted Salim's mind: neither sentiment (his mother Jodhabai tries to sway him), nor reason (Akbar appeals to Salim's sense of duty), nor treason (Akbar wages and wins a war against Salim and says he will be spared any punishment if he hands over Anarkali).

A desperate Akbar orders Anarkali's execution. When asked to express her dying wish she asks to be allowed to spend a night with Salim, as his queen- so that his promise to her is fulfilled. Her wish is granted. A highly ecstatic night sequence is followed by a plunge into agony at daybreak when Anarkali is led away by the guards.

But will this indeed prove to be the last night of Anarkali's life?

Asif limns the film in his individualistic style: not a single extraneous frame, a relaxed exposition in his scenes. Suraiya is shown running from Salim's mahal to Anarkali's house and the long distance intelligently underlines the social distance between the two lovers.

R D Mathur's cinematography is one of the film's many pieces de resistance, whether it is epic scale battle scenes or intimate close ups of Dilip Kumar tickling an impassioned Madhubala's face with a feather. But the most talked about scene continues to be the Sheesh mahal shot where the image of a Madhubala twirling like a top to the strains of 'Chhup na sakega ishq hamara' is captured in hundreds of pieces of fragmented mirrors of the Sheesh mahal.

In a subdued role, Dilip Kumar expertly counterbalances fiery dialogue with eloquent silences. The regal Prithviraj Kapoor uses his booming voice to great effect and is very impressive.

But the show belongs to Madhubala. Always beautiful, she has never looked this luminous. She appears hopelessly in love, but more important, effectively conveys the innate strength that stems from her conviction in her love. Her beauty has stood the test of time for 48 years, and will do so as long as a print of Mughal-e-Azam is available.

Intresting facts about the movie:

*It took about 10 years for the movie to be complete, still one cannot find any difference between the actors 10 years older till the movie got completed.

*K Asif had originally conceived the film in the 1940s with Sapru, Chandramohan and Nargis for the roles of Akbar, Salim and Anarkali. But the plan was aborted when Chandramohan died suddenly and many of the supporting cast migrated to Pakistan during the partition. The project was revived in 1951, starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.

*The story, adapted from a famous stageplay, has been successfully filmed as Anarkali before, most famously with Bina Rai in 1953.

*Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain says, "I was considered for the role of the young Dilip Kumar. But the role was eventually played by Jalal Agha."

*Prithviraj Kapoor would look into a mirror as tall as himself before each shot. When K Asif asked him why he did so, he replied, "I do so to get under the skin of the character."

*Dilip Kumar was sent to London to be fitted with a special wig to give him a princely look.

*Mughal-e-Azam was Madhubala's crowning glory but sadly, she could not sign any films thereafter because of her heart problem.

*R D Mathur (cinematogrepher) used 8 cameras simultaneously, for filming the battle scenes, which are surprisingly realistic for a 1950s Bollywood movie.

*Its the first full feature-length movie to be revived/colorized for a theatrical re-release in the history of world cinema. It has been done for some Hollywood movies but only for re-release on home video.

*With the advent of Jhansi Ki Rani in 1951, colour films became a revolution. K. Asif wanted to remake the whole film in colour, but when the distributors lost patience, he settled for having two songs and the film's 30-minute climax shot in Technicolor, with the rest of the film (85%) black-and-white. However, in November 2004, the whole movie was restored and colorized in a year-long process by the IAAA (Indian Academy of Arts and Animation) and re-released.

*This was one of only two films K. Asif could complet, the other one being Phool (1944). When he died in 1971, he left behind two unfinished films, Sasta Khoon Mahenga Paani and Love and God, the latter released by K.C. Bokadia in 1986.

*This was (counting Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas) the most expensive film ever made in Indian history. Tailors were brought from Delhi to stitch the costumes, specialists from Surat-Khambayat were employed for the zardozi embroidery, Hyderabad goldsmiths made the jewellery, Kohalpur craftsmen designed the crowns, Rajasthan ironsmiths crafted the weapons, and the elaborate footwear was ordered from Agra. For the battle sequence, 2000 camels, 4000 horses and 8000 troops were used, many of them soldiers on loan from the Indian Army. Altogether the film cost over Rs. 15 million (more than 400 million rupees in present terms) and more than 500 working days!

*For the battle sequence, 2,000 camels, 4,000 horses and 8,000 troops were used, many of them soldiers on loan from the Indian Army. This was arranged through special permission through the Indian Ministry of Defence-a rare occurrence today. The soldiers came from the Jaipur regiment of the Indian army.

*The statue of Lord Krishna used in the film was made of pure gold.

*The heavy chains Madhubala wore in the film were authentic, not the lightweight models worn in those days. It was her greatest ordeal in the film and she was bedridden for days nursing the bruises caused by wearing those chains.

*Dilip Kumar wanted top billing in the titles but K Asif tactfully told him that the story was made from Akbar’s point of view and hence it would be Prithiviraj Kapoor whose name would appear in the title first.

*The movie was originally shot three times, once each for lips moving for Hindi, Tamil and English dialogs. The Tamil version of the movie did very poorly, so the dream of having Shakespearean actors from Britain doing the dubbing in English was dropped. In 2004, it was announced that after extensive search, no copies of the English version are available.

*Producer Surinder Kapoor assisted K Asif in the making of the film. He was a bachelor then. By the time the film was completed Kapoor had become a father of three children, producer Boney Kapoor, actors Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor.

*One hundred and fifty carpenters, decorators and painters worked for more than 10 months on the construction of the set of the Mughal Darbar.

*Real rice pearls were used in the scene showing Prince Salim’s necklace breaking and the pearls scattering on the floor.

*The film released in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir with bookings for seven weeks, even before the first show of the film. For the premiere, the print of Mughal-E-Azam was brought to the cinema hall on elephant back. Only those who possessed the ‘Royal Invite’, written in Urdu on red velvet and stamped with the seal of Akbarnama, could gain entry to the premiere.

*There was major chaos during the booking of the film. Police arrived on the scene and there was rioting to book tickets! People used to wait in the queue for four or five days, and somebody from home would bring them their tiffin!

*The film was also released at Broadway and Dadar (in Bombay, now Mumbai) resulting in so much traffic that a bridge at Dadar was declared one-way for a few days.

*When the movie was first released, in the black market, the tickets sold for Rs 100; the normal rate then was Rs 1.50.

*The film had an uninterrupted run of three years in full shows, a record unbeaten for 48 years.

*The song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya" has an unusual history to it: it cost Rs. 1.5 million at a time when a film would be made for less than a million; it was written and re-written 105 times by the lyricist, Shakeel Badayuni, before the music director, Naushad, could approve of it; it was shot in the renowned Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors); and in those days of sound recording, editing and mixing, as there was no way to provide the reverberation of sound, Naushad had Lata Mangeshkar sing the song in a studio bathroom!

*The song "Ae Mohabbat Zindabad" had singer Mohammed Rafi with a chorus of 100 singers.

*Naushad says he recorded some 15 to 20 songs for the film but not all of them were used. Dilip Kumar, in keeping with his princely role, did not sing a single song!

*For Jab pyar kiya toh darna kya, lyricist Shakeel Badayuni and Naushad had a brainstorming session in the latter's bungalow's terrace that lasted a whole night. They came up with a song that has become the signature tune for rebellious lovers.

*Naushad lost the filmfare award for best music to Shankar- Jaikishan for Dil Apna Preet Parayi.

*Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal' was almost edited out from the movie. "It's bakwas...it'll ruin the film," thundered Vijay Bhatt after the recording. "Why show Akbar celebrating Lord Krishna's birth?"
Music director Naushad argued that with Jodhabai present in the Mughal court, it wasn't all that illogical. After discussions with the panel of script writers, a line was incorporated in Anarkali's introduction scene to Prince Salim. A courtier was made to say "Aaj Krishna janmashtami hai aur Radha ke liye Anarkali theek rahegi." The song went on to become piece-de-resistance.
K.Asif wanted the best choreographer for the song. Naushad suggested Lachchu Maharaj. The great Kathak exponent burst into tears the minute he heard the song. Asif was baffled! "Why is he crying?!" he asked Naushad. "Tell him to start dancing!" Naushad took the dancer aside and asked him why he was weeping. Lachchu Maharaj confided that his father, Alkaji Bindadin, had been Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's darbari dancer. And "mohe panghat pe nandalal" with nawab playing Krishna, was his favourite composition. "Hearing the number after all these years, I was overwhelmed. It reminded me of baba."
It took Lachchu Maharaj five days to choreograph the number! His Radha was lovely, but she was no classical dancer. So the camera would zoom in on Madhubala for the close-ups, and one of Lachhu Maharaj's boys doubled for the actress in the long shots. On every one of those five days, there was an important visitor from across the border- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto! He would drive down from Worli to Mohan Studio and spend the day there raptly watching the song being picturised.

*There were times when Naushad wondered why he'd taken on the project. He almost hadn't the first time K.Asif had approached him. "I was upstairs in my music room. The family had strict instructions that I was not to be disturbed," Naushad reminisces. "But who could stop Asifsaab? He entered the room and announced, 'I'm making Mughal-e-Azam.' Immersed in my work I didn't hear him. He repeated himself. I didn't react. Then he threw a bundle of notes on my harmonium. I was livid. I glared at him. He still insisted that I should compose the music for his film." Meanwhile Rs 75,000 lay scattered in the room. When the servant came up with a trayful of tea and snacks, he was horrified! He rushed to the music director's wife with the news that currency notes were scattered all over. She shrugged, "Maybe they're counterfiet." He insisted that they were real. She finally gathered the notes unnoticed by her husband!

*About 20 songs were recorded for Mughal-e-Azam. Each one was a classic. And yet, almost ten of them were left out, including "Husn ki baraat chali" sung by Lata, Shamshad Begum and Mubarak Begum because the scene where Salim comes to the boathouse to give away awards to the court singers was deleted from the film.
So were "akele mujhe chhod ke kahan chale re" and "aai ishq yeh duniyawale bekaar ki baaten karte hain". Another hummable Shamshad Begum song "chala ja re nami chhalakte hua" was also never heard again because Anarkali never did send her prince a love letter in a floating lotus.

*The song Prem Jogan Ban...rendered by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khaan has an intresting story behind it:

K Asif explained the situation to Naushad. A moonlit night, Salim is caressing Anarkali's cheek with a feather. "No
dialog," decided Asif. "Just a song playing in the background. Tansen." The song was 'Prem Jogan Ban Ke' in Raag Sohni.

Naushad: "Excellent! We shall take the voice of Ustad Ameer Khan for Tansen."

K Asif: "Does he sing better than Baade Ghulam Ali Khan?"

Naushad: "No."

K Asif: "Then the voice must be of Bade Gulam Ali Khan."

Naushad: "He does not sing for films!"

Nothing doing. K Asif was sure he will be able to convince the ustad. Both reached the home of Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan. Naushad explained the purpose of their visit.

Khan saheb: "You know I do not sing for film!"

Naushad: "I know. But I had to come to you under pressure of Asif saheb."

K Asif was silently listening to all this, He had a lit cigarette in one hand and he was rolling his tin of capstan
in the other hand.

Khan Saheb: "Who is this man smoking so arrogantly? Doesn't he know this is a musician's house? I can't sing for him."
Ustadji hated Asif on sight!

K Asif shed the ash of the cigarette he was smoking and said, "Ganaa to Khan saheb aap hi gayenge!" (only you will sing this song)

Khan saheb was astonished! He held the hand of Naushad and said, "Kyaa pagal hai yeh aadami?" (is this man mad?)

Naushad: "Ji, nim pagal hai. Apani dhun ke aage kisi ki sunata nahin. Wo manega nahin. To Kudaara aap hi gaden." (Yes, he is half mad. He does not listen to anybody against his will. He wont take anything, so, for God's sake, please sing!)

Khan saheb: "Main pagalon ko thik karna janta hoon! (To K Asif) Main gaa to dunga, par 25,000 rupaye lunga. (I know how to
cure madness! I will sing but I will charge Rs 25,000)
Khan saheb thought Asif will run away listening to such a huge figure. These were the times when Lata and Rafi used to get Rs. 300 to 400 per song. 25,000 was an astronomical amount!

K Asif took out a wad of Rs 100 from his pocket and handed over to Khan Saheb as Advance (Rs 10,000). He promised to pay the rest at the day of recording.

Khan saheb was trapped in his words.

*On the day of the recording, Khan Saheb was there at the Mehboob Studio on the dot. Glancing around the studio he thundered, "Where is the gadda (mattress), chaddar (sheet), takiya (pillow)? I can't sing like this!" Within minutes, the studio was transformed into a baithak. The Ustad started in the 'gamak taan' but it sounded too heavy for a romantic scene. When Asif suggested something softer, Ustadji called for pack-up. "Show me the scene first, only then will I sing," he
said before leaving the baithak. Fortunately, the scene had already been shot. It was edited over-night and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saw it the next morning. One look and he was fida over Madhubala. "Anarkali kafi khubsoorat hai. Shehzada bhi kafi khubsoorat hai. The scene's been photographed well," he nodded approvingly. He rendered the number four times and each time the film had to be rewound and played. At the end of the marathon session, all he had to say was, "Take whatever you want.. Just see that it's good."

However, K. Asif was not finished with the Ustad yet. Salim was returning home after 14 years. Jodhabhai sends word to Tansen to sing in a raag which would make Salim forget the sound and fury of the cannon blasts. And Tansen meant going back to Bade Ghulam Ali Khan! Another Rs 25,000! "Shubh din aayo re" was recorded. And only a 15 seconds long segment from it was retained!

Below is the list of songs:

1. Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal Chhed Gayo Re
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 4:01
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

2. Mohabbat Ki Jhoothi Kahani Pe
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 2:39
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

3. Humen Kash Tumse Mohabbat Na Hoti
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 3:08
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

4. Bekas Pe Karam Kijiya
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 3:52
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

5. Teri Mehfil Mein Kismat Aazma Kar
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar, Shamshad Beghum
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 5:04
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

6. Yeh Dil Ki Lagi Kya Hogi
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 4:45
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

7. Aye Ishq Yeh Sab Duniya Wale
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 4:17
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

8. Khuda Negeban Ho Tumhara Dhadakte
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 2:51
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

9. Prem Jogan Banke
Singer- Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 5:03
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

10. Shubh Din Aayo Re
Singer- Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 2:49
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

11. Aye Mohabbat Zindabaad
Singer- Mohd. Rafi
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 5:01
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

12. Jab Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya
Singer- Lata Mangeshkar
Movie- Mughal-e-Azam
Year- 1960
Music Director- Naushad Ali
Lyricist- Shaqeel Badayuni
Duration- 6:00
Format- mp3
Bitrate- 192kbps

the next lot...

really real gems & so many facts about the film
thanks for all these
please uploasd remaining songs & if all the other songs which were not included in the film if you had
taiyab53

the last one...

thanks!
i'm sorry i dont have the unreleased songs...infact i was about to post a request for the same!

sincere regards
saksham

dont worry may be somebody may come up as we got the blessing of PAKEEZA unreleased versions
taiyab53

Thanks for very interesting information.

The detail regarding the billing credit reminded of something I had read earlier. As most would agree Mugal-e-Azam rates preety high in Dilipkumars movies. But he said he almost regretted doing the movie mainly becasue he felt Prithviraj Kapoor had a more prominent role than his.

Sakshamji,

What a magnificent tribute you wrote for the movie Mughal-E-Azam! My heartfelt kudos to you.

I am going to take this opportunity to add few other pertinent tidbits of this movie. Here we go ...

When the movie was released, Dilip Kumar's performance was heavily criticized. For the Filmfare awards, he was not even nominated! Dilip did win the best actor award in 1960 for "Kohinoor!" The Mughal-E-Azam movie for all of its glory and grandeur cound garner only three Filmfare awards; best film, best dialogue, and best cinematography. It deseved at least two other awards, that for music as well as direction. Also, probably for all the technical achievemnets the movie was a landmark of. During Filmfare presentations, Asif was so upset and annoyed with the cold treatment his magnum opus got from the judges, he refused to accept the award for best picture!

During the filming of Mughal-E-Azam, which also starred among others Asif's wife Nigar Sultana, Dilip's younger sister was a frequest visitor to the sets. During this time Asif and she became romantically involved. When Dilip learned about this, he was outraged. He finished shooting for the movie under this cloud but never talked to Asif during this time.

Irrespective of ups and downs this movie and its release faced, it still shines in the hearts of moviegoers like its beautiful leading lady Madhubala's smile.

Cheers,
Swarapriya

i too, have my fingers crossed
btw, i dont think these songs were ever released! unlike pakeezah, where the album 'pakeezah rang barang' released later had all the remaining songs. i went looking for the same, but was unable to aquire it. when i inquired about mughal-e-azam, nothing like this was available!
I HOPE SOMEONE PROVES ME WRONG!!

regards

you are welcome desai ji. thanks to you too

dear swarapriya ji

my first reaction to your post was....hey, i didnt know that!!
so a BIG BIG thanks for those very intresting tidbits! and thanks again for your appreciation!

regards

Swarapriya,
I congratulate for giving us the history of making of Mughale-Azam. My thanks are also in order.
Why did Dilip Kumar not attend the premiere of that magnum opus. Was it to do with Akhtar his sister.
Besides, I seem to remember reading in the press during those days that both of them had actually eloped.