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Join UsMughal-E-Azam Box Office: It has been 58 years since the release of Dilip Kumar and Prithviraj Kapoor ‘s Mughal-E-Azam, and no film till date has come close to the screenplay and picturization of this cult-classic, directed by K.Asif. In the recent years, Bollywood has made several period films, but none of them could match up with the perfection of the 1960’s epic saga of love.
Back then, when the directors were busy exploring various format of film making, and mainly stuck to the cinema that revolved around the lives of middle class people, K.Asif had the vision to make an epic period drama, Mughal-E-Azam.
When the concept of Visual Effects was not even introduced in totality in India, K.Asif visualized and shot a war sequence featuring 8000 troops, 2000 horses and 2000 camels. As a viewer, you will be bowled away with the way the director has shot the war sequence between Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) and Salim (Dilip Kumar). Mughal-E-Azam is rightly considered one of the most historic films to have been made in India, and the journey of making the film and the sweet story of success is mentioned here under:
· After getting inspired by a play set in the reign of Emperor Akbar, Mughal-E-Azam was conceptualized by K.Asif in 1944. He started working on the script and screenplay of the film and took approximately 2 years to lock the first cut of the complete screenplay. The shooting of the film started in 1946 with Chandra Mohan, D.K.Sapru and Nargis in lead, however it was stalled owing to the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947 as the producer of the film back then migrated to Pakistan. The principal photography of the film started yet again in early 50’s with Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala and the shooting of the film went on for nearly 9 years. Mughal-E-Azam holds the record for taking longest time to get made in history of Indian cinema.
· K.Asif had initially planned to make the movie in black and white, however after the introduction of colour technology in India in 1953-54, the director shot a the iconic song, Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya and a few other sequences of Sheesh Mahal in colour. Bowled away by the result, K.Asif wanted to scrap the entire film, and re-shoot it in colour format, however owing to pressure from producers and distributors, he couldn’t re-shoot the entire film. The movie was eventually released on 5th August 1960, with a few pivotal sequences in colour format, one of which was the Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya sequence featuring Madhubala.
· The set designers worked on creating the Sheesh Mahal for over two years. The glasses used to construct the set were exported from several countries. After finishing the shoot in the Sheesh Mahal, it was eventually kept open for public viewing, as the makers wanted people to witness the beauty of the set.
· The iconic song, Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya was rewritten 110 times. The director wanted the song to be flawless in terms of lyrics as well as music, as he wanted to shoot the same on the costliest set built for an India film. The song eventually found a place in one of the best made love song in the history of Bollywood.
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· The first reel of Mughal-E-Azam was around 3,00,000 feet long, and the final reel was a heavily edited outcome. The run time of the film was 197 minutes, and director K.Asif had cut more than 50% of the actual shooting stock.
· The distribution rights of the film were sold for approximately Rs 4,00,000 per territory back in the 60’s. However, Mughal-E-Azam set an all-time record by fetching Rs 17,00,000 per territory.
· The premiere of Mugha-E-Azam took place at Maratha Mandir in Mumbai, however Dilip Kumar did not attend the premiere owing to creative difference with the director. However, the legendary actor did attend the premiere of the film when it was re-released in colour in 2004.
· Upon its release, the film fetched an earth-shattering response from the audience across India. At Maratha Mandir in Mumbai, people used to stand in ques for 2 to 3 days to fetch tickets of the film for their family. The response to the ticket sales of Mughal-E-Azam was so high that Maratha Mandir had to shut the advance booking of the film for 3 weeks, as all the shows in the cinema hall were booked for coming few months.
· Mughal-E-Azam was the widest release back then as it released across India in 150 theatres.
· Mughal-E-Azam went on to become the highest grossing Hindi film of all time. The film collected approximately Rs 5.60 crore in India, thereby surpassing the previous record holder, Mother India, which raked in approximately Rs 4.00 crore in India. The record of Mughal-E-Azam stood tall for 15 years and was eventually broken by Sholay in 1976.
· It was the first film in history of world cinema to be digitally remastered in colour and re-released in cinema halls across the country. Several Hollywood films have been remastered in colour for the television sets, but none of them saw a release on the big screen.
· The remastered version of the film released in 2004, and to everyone’s surprise, the film was a commercial success at the Box-Office. As per archives, film collected approximately Rs 27 crore in India, and the recorded a successful run for 25 weeks across the country. In the first week, the film was released on 150 prints, and the same was increased to 176 in the second week.
· Apart from Mughal-E-Azam, director K.Asif directed just one other film in his career which was titled Phool (1945). The film was a fair success at the Box-Office in India. After the release of Mughal-E-Azam, he started shooting for his third directorial titled Love and God starring Sanjeev Kumar in lead, however during the film production, K.Asif died at the age of 48 leaving the film incomplete. As a mark of tribute to K.Asif, his wife, Akhtar Asif released the film in incomplete form in 1986. Love and God was K.Asif’s first and only film to be made in colour, but sadly, he wasn’t alive to see the final outcome of the film.
Have you watched this cult classic of India Cinema? If yes, do share your thoughts.
