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139-402: Mughal-e-Azam ( transl.  The Great Mughal ) 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

278-475: A "benchmark film for both Indian cinema and cinema grandeur in general", and remarking that Mughal-E-Azam was an epic film in every way. Naman Ramachandran, reviewing the film for the British Film Institute , noted the depiction of religious tolerance and said the film had a tender heart. Nasreen Munni Kabir , author of The Immortal Dialogue of K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam , compared the film to

417-563: 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

556-571: A Sufi tract is one of the earliest Urdu prose. Other important writers included Shah Miranji and his son Shah Buran. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah , the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founder of the city of Hyderabad, was a royal poet and prolific writer in Persian and Dakhini. Other poets included Wajhi and Gavvasi. In 1655, Ibn e Nishati wrote Phul ban , a romance in 1300 lines. Qissa o bairam e Gul andman written by Tab’i

695-617: A biography of Saadi , Hayat-i Javed , a biography of Syed Ahmad Khan, and Yadgar-e-Ghalib , a biography and criticism on Ghalib , are some of his most important works in prose. In 1869, Nazir Ahmad Dehlvi published Mirat-ul-Uroos , the first original novel in Urdu. It served as Nazir's form of conduct literature about marriage. He also wrote Binat-un-Nash and Toba tun Nasoh during this period, both of which are conduct books designed to instill moral virtues. Muhammad Husain Azad laid

834-492: A book on the life of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb . He also wrote the first travelogue in Urdu, Safar Nama e Rome-o-Misr-o-Sham, which is an account of his travels abroad. Tarikh-e-Hindustan , a fourteen-volume compilation of Indian history in Urdu written by Zakaullah Dehlvi , was an monumental achievement of this period. Apart from poetry, Altaf Hussain Hali also made significant contributions to Urdu prose. Hayat-i Saadi ,

973-421: 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

1112-457: A cost of ₹ 6 lakh to enable Kamble to produce quality art for his hoardings. Kamble, who was offered a large sum of ₹ 8 lakh for his work on the stills of Mughal-e-Azam , did not receive any compensation in the end due to fraud. "Asif's logic was very clear – he had made a film which everyone associated with it would be proud of for generations. And he was proved right." —K.K. Rai of Stardust , on Asif's quoted distributor prices. At

1251-672: A few, turned the short story into a major genre of Urdu literature. The next generation of Urdu short story writers included Qurratulain Hyder , Qazi Abdul Sattar and Joginder Paul . The short story tradition continues with younger generation writers like Zahida Hina , Paigham Afaqui , Syed Muhammad Ashraf , Salam Bin Razzaq , Naeem Baig , Akhlaq Ahmed Khan , Moinuddin Jinabade , as well as notable women writers like Afra Bukhari and Wajida Tabassum . Urdu short stories have dealt with

1390-457: A film people will want to watch over and over again. Raja Sen of Rediff compared the film to Spartacus (1960) and said, " Mughal-e-Azam is awesomely, stunningly overwhelming, a magnificent spectacle entirely free of CGI and nonlinear gimmickry, a gargantuan feat of ... of ... well, of Mughal proportions!" Laura Bushell of the BBC rated the film four out of five stars, considering it to be

1529-433: 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

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1668-409: A fitting tribute to complete his grandfather's unfinished dream of colourising the entire film. The first step towards colourisation was the restoration of the original negatives , which were in poor condition owing to extensive printing of the negative during the original theatrical release. Costly and labour-intensive restoration was essential before colourisation could be carried out. The negative

1807-554: A historian from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. To undertake the colourisation, Siddiqui brought together a team of around 100 individuals, including computer engineers and software professionals, and organised a number of art departments. The entire project was co-ordinated by Deepesh Salgia, who partnered with companies including Iris Interactive and Rajtaru Studios to execute the colourisation. The task

1946-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia

2085-527: 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. Emperor Akbar , who does not have a male heir, undertakes a pilgrimage to a shrine to pray that his wife Jodhabai give birth to a son. Later, a maid brings the emperor news of his son's birth. Overjoyed at his prayers being answered, Akbar gives

2224-765: A prostitute in Bazaar-e-Husn , the problems of the farmers in Gosha-e Aafiat, and the problems of the middle class and women in Nirmala . Premchand was also the first writer to introduce European-style short stories in Urdu. His first collection of short stories, Soz-e- Watan , published in 1907, was banned by the British government. Other major writers during this period include Sudarshan, Mohammad Mehdi Taskeen, Qazi Abdul Gaffar, Majnun Gorakhpuri , Niaz Fatehpuri , Krishan Prasad Kaul, and L.M. Ahmed. In

2363-528: A scholar at the University of Iowa , has stated that while the theme of the conflict between passionate individual love and family duty may be very common in Hindi film making, with endless cinematic permutations, K. Asif's "excessive elaboration of the theme remains in a class by itself." Further, Emperor Akbar struggles between his personal desires and his duties to the nation. Ashis Nandy noted that apart from

2502-597: A wide range of the dimensions of life, but the most famous stories concern the trauma of the partition of the sub-continent and the violence generated out of it. Towards the end of the last century, short stories became grounded in the complexity of daily life which can be seen in the unique collection of short stories in Paigham Afaqui 's Mafia . An entirely different approach is seen in the collection of short stories T'abir by Moinuddin Jinabade and Taus Chaman Ka Maina by Nayyer Masood . Urdu drama evolved from

2641-469: Is an important work of the period. Written in 1670, it is nearly 2700 lines long. Ibrahim Adil Shah II was another royal poet who was also a patron of art and literature. His Kitab-e-Navras (Book of Nine Rasas) in Dakhani is a collection of 59 poems and 17 couplets. Other important poets included Rustami, Nusrati, and Mirza. The most important Urdu writer of this period was Wali Mohammed Wali . In

2780-435: Is being walled up, Akbar is reminded that he still owes her mother a favour, as it was she who brought him news of Salim's birth. Anarkali's mother pleads for her daughter's life. The emperor has a change of heart, but although he wants to release Anarkali he cannot, because of his duty to his country. He therefore arranges for her secret escape into exile with her mother, but demands that the pair live in obscurity and that Salim

2919-466: Is depicted as a gentle and romantic hero, in contrast to the real Salim, who was documented as a brutal drunk who would often beat people to death. The real Salim did lead a rebellion against his father, tried to replace him as emperor, and had Akbar's friend Abu al-Fazl murdered in 1602, but the film ascribes these actions to his desire to marry Anarkali, which is historically inaccurate. Further, there were also discrepancies in sets, costumes, and music of

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3058-647: Is never to know that Anarkali is still alive. 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

3197-486: 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

3336-470: Is sentenced to death by his father, but is told that the sentence will be revoked if Anarkali, now in hiding, is handed over to die in his place. Anarkali gives herself up to save the prince's life and is condemned to death by being entombed alive. Before her sentence is carried out, she begs to have a few hours with Salim as his make-believe wife. Her request is granted, as she has agreed to drug Salim so that he cannot interfere with her entombment. As Anarkali

3475-485: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about

3614-466: Is that while the earlier Anarakali films based on Imtiaz Ali Taj's story ended as tragedies, K. Asif created a relatively happy ending in that Akbar gives amnesty to Anarkali by allowing her to escape through a secret route of tunnels below a false bottom of her prison wall, although his son is made to suffer in believing her to have perished. The film is based on a legend, but it is given credence by at least two texts that assert Anarkali's existence during

3753-715: The Aligarh Institute Gazette . The Aligarh movement produced a band of literary enthusiasts who had a far-reaching influence on Urdu literature. The chief among them were Shibli Nomani and Zakaullah Dehlvi who wrote on history, Chiragh Ali , Mohsin-ul-Mulk , and Waqar-ul-Mulk who wrote on literature. Shibli Nomani is regarded as the father of modern history in Urdu. He wrote several biographical and historical books such as Sirat-un-Nabi , Sirat an-Nu'man, Al-Farooq , Al-Ma'mun, Al-Ghazali, (a biography of Imam Al-Ghazali ), Mawlana Rumi (a biography of Mawlana Rumi ), and Aurangzeb Alamgir Par Ek Nazar,

3892-430: The qawwali scene, and chaste Urdu dialogues. Throughout the film there is a distinct depiction of Muslims as the ruling class who not only dressed differently but also spoke in complex Persianised dialogue. They are made to appear "distinct and separate from the mainstream." Film scholar Stephen Teo posits that Mughal-e-Azam is a "national allegory", a stylistic way of appropriating history and heritage to emphasise

4031-606: The 55th Berlin International Film Festival . Upon release, the film drew crowds to the cinemas, with an overall occupancy of 90 per cent. Subsequently, it completed a 25-week run. While some critics complained that the colours were "psychedelic" or "unnatural", others hailed the effort as a technological achievement. Film critic Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times remarked that while colourising

4170-469: The 8th Filmfare Awards . 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 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

4309-742: The Bahmani Sultanate and took the title of Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah . The Bahmani sultans cultivated the use of Urdu in the kingdom as opposed to Persian which was the court language of the Delhi Sultanate . This dialect, which up to 1375 had no difference with Delhi Urdu, was influenced by local languages like Gujarati and Marathi came to be known as Dakhini . The works composed during this period are mostly Dakhini prose and poetry on religious themes. Important writers of this period include Bande Nawaz whose Miraj ul Asiquin ,

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4448-485: The Janmashtami celebrations, during which Akbar is shown pulling a string to rock a swing with an idol of Krishna on it. Film critic Mukul Kesavan has remarked that he was unable to recall a single other film about Hindu-Muslim love in which the woman (Jodhabai) is Hindu. Scholars Bhaskar and Allen described the film as a tableau vivant of "Islamicate culture", evidenced in its ornate sets, musical sequences such as

4587-568: The Koh-i-Noor diamond for its enduring worth to Indian cinema. Outlook , in 2008, and Hindustan Times , in 2011, both declared that the scene in which Salim brushes Anarkali with an ostrich feather was the most erotic and sensuous scene in the history of Indian cinema. At the 1961 National Film Awards , Mughal-e-Azam won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi . In the 1961 Filmfare Awards , Mughal-e-Azam

4726-564: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of

4865-643: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state

5004-535: The 18th century, the three most important forms of Urdu poetry were ghazal , the qasida , and the masnavi . Shaikh Zahuruddin Hatim was an important poet in Delhi during this period. His major works include two volumes of poetry, Diwan and Diwanzada . Urdu poetry was dominated by Mazhar , Sauda , Mir , and Dard , who later came to be known as “the Four Pillars of Urdu Poetry”. Another major figure

5143-545: The 1930s, the short story became the leading prose genre in Urdu due to the influx of western influences especially the English, French, and Russian. The publication of Angarey , a short story collection by Sajjad Zaheer , Rashid Jahan , Mahmud-uz-Zafar, and Ahmed Ali in 1932 marked the beginning of the Progressive Writers' Movement that went on to substantially influence the content of Urdu literature for

5282-403: The 19th highest grossing Hindi film of the year, behind Aitraaz and Veer-Zaara (the top grosser), but ahead of Naach . Mughal-e-Azam became the first full-length feature film colourised for a theatrical re-release; although some Hollywood films had been colourised earlier, they were only available for home media. It was subsequently selected for seven international film festivals, including

5421-419: 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. Some film sequences were shot with up to 14 cameras, significantly more than the norm at that time. There were many difficulties with

5560-611: The Indian Academy of Arts and Animation (IAAA), proposed to enhance it digitally at a fraction of the cost. To convince the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, one of India's wealthiest companies, of the commercial viability of the project, the IAAA colourised a four-minute clip and showed it to them. They approved and gave the project the go-ahead. Shapoorji Mistry, grandson of producer Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, thought it

5699-791: The Love of the Country), and Madar-i-Hind (Mother India). His historical and religious poems include Padmani , Padmani-ki-Chita (Funeral Pyre of Padmani), and Sitaji-ki-Giria-o-Zari (The Laments of Sita). Ghalib , better known for his poetry, also wrote a considerable amount of Urdu prose during his lifetime which includes his collection of letters and three short pamphlets entitled Lataif-i-Ghalib , Tegh-i-Tez, and Nama-i-Ghalib . His letters, autobiographical in nature, were collected and published in two volumes as Urdu-i-Mualla (the Royal Urdu) and Ud-i-Hindi (Fragrant Stick of India). Until

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5838-513: The Maratha Mandir for three years. The film thus became the highest-grossing Hindi film by surpassing Mother India (1957), and retained this record until Sholay (1975) surpassed its net revenue. In terms of gross revenue, Mughal-e-Azam earned ₹110 million ( $ 23.11 million ). According to Ziya Us Salam of The Hindu in 2009, Mughal-e-Azam was the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time if adjusted for inflation. According to

5977-559: The Mughal empire and kingdom of Awadh after the Rebellion of 1857 and the contact with English language started a new movement in Urdu literature. The flag bearers of this new movement were Syed Ahmad Khan , Muhammad Husain Azad , and Altaf Hussain Hali . This period saw the rise of prose, criticism, and drama in Urdu literature. Writers and poets began to explore new subjects and themes and experiment with new forms. Altaf Hussain Hali

6116-592: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder

6255-448: The adjusted net income of Mughal-e-Azam is equivalent to ₹13 billion ( $ 200 million ) in 2017. In 2011, it was ranked as the highest grossing Hindi film by a distance, when adjusted to gold -price inflation by Box Office India with adjusted nett gross of ₹1234.95 crore. The list was compiled using the relative price of gold in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box-office collections of past films, which as per

6394-441: The art of story-telling to a new level." Urdu literature has included the short story form for slightly more than one hundred years. During this period it has passed through some major phases including the early romantic period, progressive writings, modernist writings, and the current phase. Although a number of male and female writers wrote short stories during the first phase(including both romantic stories and social criticisms),

6533-408: The authenticity of the colouring was later verified when a costume used in the film was retrieved from a warehouse, and its colours were found to closely match those in the film. Every shot was finally hand-corrected to perfect the look. The actual colourisation process took a further 10 months to complete. Siddiqui said that it had "been a painstaking process with men working round the clock to complete

6672-532: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both

6811-488: The budget on a number of occasions. The final budget of the film is a subject of debate. Some sources state that Mughal-e-Azam cost ₹ 10.5 million to produce (about US$ 2.25 million at the time) while others state that it cost ₹ 15 million (about $ 3 million). This made Mughal-e-Azam the most expensive Indian film of the period. A number of estimates put the film's inflation-adjusted budget at ₹ 500 million to ₹ 2 billion. The budget situation strained

6950-664: The centre of Urdu poetry as it received poets from Delhi with much enthusiasm. Chief among these poets were Khaliq, Zamir, Aatish , and Nasikh . Other poets included Anis and Dabir. The second quarter of the nineteenth century saw the revival of Urdu poetry in Delhi in the Mughal court. Bahadur Shah Zafar , the last Mughal Emperor, was himself a poet and a patron of poetry. Chief poets who flourished under his patronage includes Zauq , Ghalib , Azurda, and Momin . Some of Momin's pupils in poetry such as Shefta and Mir Hussain Taskin became distinguished poets themselves. The fall of

7089-506: The changing times under the progressive writing movement inspired by Sajjad Zaheer. However, the partition of India had a great impact on the novel, bringing up questions of identity and migration as can be seen in the major works of Abdullah Hussain and Quratul Ain Haider. Towards the end of the last century the novel took a serious turn towards the contemporary life and realities of the young generations of India. The most significant novels of

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7228-400: The conflict between Akbar and his son, there is also an "unwritten alliance" between Akbar and Bahar that compounds the problems of Anarkali. He also thought it highlighted the "idea of justice and the notion of unconditional love" to uphold tradition. The song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" sung by Anarkali was an indication of her defiance of societal norms. A major difference from the original story

7367-618: The couplets that come down from him are representative of a latter- Prakrit Hindi bereft of Arabo-Persian vocabulary, his influence on court viziers and writers must have been transcendental, for a century after his death Quli Qutub Shah was speaking a language that might be considered to be Urdu. Sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah was a scholar in Persian and Arabic. He also wrote poetry in Telugu language, Persian language and Urdu language. His poetry has been compiled into Dewan or volume entitled "Kulliyat-e-Quli Qutub Shah." Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah had

7506-711: The current generation of Indian novelists in Urdu, which demonstrate a new confidence in contemporary life, are Makaan by Paigham Afaqui , Do Gaz Zameen by Abdus Samad, and Pani by Ghazanfer. These works, especially Makaan , brought the Urdu novel out of the prevailing themes of partition and identity issues and took it into the realm of modern-day realities and issues of life in India. Makaan had an impact on many English writers such as Vikram Seth , who turned to novel writing. These Urdu novels further impacted significant works such as Andhere Pag by Sarwat Khan, Numberdar Ka Neela by S M Ashraf and Fire Area by Ilyas Ahmed Gaddi. Paigham Afaqui's second major novel, Paleeta ,

7645-450: 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). 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

7784-421: The day of resurrection"). The author of the stage play on which the film is based, Imtiaz Ali Taj, believed that the legend had no historical base, but historians have suggested that Anarkali may have been a painter, a dancer, or a courtesan, or one of Akbar's wives and the mother of Salim's half-brother Prince Daniyal. While an earlier film version of the story, Anarkali (1952), contained a disclaimer stating that

7923-429: 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

8062-486: The dialogue, saying that "the characters of Mughal-e-Azam do not just speak – they refine communication, they distil it, they crystallize it into many faceted glittering gems, they make poetry of ordinary language." Gowri Ramnarayan of The Hindu has also emphasised the power of the dialogues in the film, in that they "create not only the ambiance of this period drama, but also etch character and situation. Every syllable breathes power and emotion." Philip Lutgendorf ,

8201-812: The distinction of being the first Saheb-e-dewan Urdu poet and is credited with introducing a new sensibility into prevailing genres of Persian/Urdu poetry. It is said that the Urdu language acquired the status of a literary language due to his contributions. He died in the year 1611. Sayyid Shamsullah Qadri is considered as the first researcher of Deccaniyat. some of the works of Allama Hakeem Sayyid Shamsullah Qadri are Salateen e Muabber 1929, Urdu-i-qadim 1930, Tareekh E Maleebaar, Mowarrikheen E Hind, Tahfat al Mujahidin 1931, Imadiya, Nizam Ut Tawareekh, Tareekh Zuban Urdu-Urdu-E-Qadeem, Tareekh Zuban Urdu Al Musamma Ba Urdu-E-Qadeem, Tareekh Zuban Urdu Yaani Urdu-E-Qadeem, Tarikh Vol III, Asaarul Karaam, Tarikh Shijrah Asifiya, Ahleyaar, Pracina malabar Urdu literature

8340-610: 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

8479-424: The early 20th century. Azmatullah Khan (1887-1923) is believed to have introduced this format to Urdu poetry. Other renowned Urdu poets who wrote sonnets are Akhtar Junagarhi, Akhtar Sheerani , Noon Meem Rashid , Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi , Salaam Machhalishahari and Wazir Agha . Initially, Urdu novels focused on urban social life, eventually widening in scope to include rural social life. They also covered

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8618-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on

8757-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with

8896-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of

9035-407: The extent that at one point Asif considered abandoning the project. Kumar defended the long duration of filming, invoking the massive logistics of the film and explaining that the entire cast and crew were "acutely conscious of the hard work [they] would have to put in, as well as the responsibility [they] would have to shoulder." The production also suffered from financial problems, and Asif exceeded

9174-474: The film industry, although Dilip Kumar did not attend the event owing to his dispute with Asif. The film's reels arrived at the premiere cinema atop a decorated elephant, accompanied by the music of bugles and shehnai . The day before bookings for the film opened, a reported crowd of 100,000 gathered outside the Maratha Mandir to buy tickets. The tickets, the most expensive for a Hindi film at that time, were dockets containing text, photographs and trivia about

9313-561: The film was "restored in appealing candy-colours and high quality sound", considered it a "cross between Gone With the Wind and Ben-Hur ". Other critics have said that they prefer the black and white version. In 2006, Mughal-e-Azam became only the fourth Indian film certified for showing in Pakistan since the 1965 ban on Indian cinema , and was released with a premiere in Lahore . It was distributed by Nadeem Mandviwala Entertainment, at

9452-489: The film's lighting ; cinematographer Mathur reportedly took eight hours to light a single shot. In total, 500 days of shooting were needed, compared to a normal schedule of 60 to 125 shooting days at the time. Owing to the very large size of the Sheesh Mahal set, the lighting was provided by the headlights of 500 trucks and about 100 reflectors. The presence of the mirrors on the set caused problems, as they sparkled under

9591-465: The film, and are now considered collector's items . They sold for ₹ 100 (valued at about US$ 21 in 1960), compared to the usual price of ₹ 1.5 (US$ 0.31). Bookings experienced major chaos, to the extent that police intervention was required. It was reported that people would wait in queues for four to five days, and would be supplied food from home through their family members. Subsequently, the Maratha Mandir closed bookings for three weeks. Mughal-e-Azam

9730-479: The film. The Sheesh Mahal, actually the royal bath of the queen, was depicted in the film as a dancing hall, and much larger. Music and dancing styles from the 19th century were depicted, although the story takes place in the 16th century. For example, thumri , a semi-classical music form developed in the 19th century, is adopted in a dance sequence in Kathak style, which is a 16th-century dance form. The soundtrack

9869-658: The first Indian film to be shot in colour, and by 1957, colour production had become increasingly common. Asif filmed one reel of Mughal-e-Azam , including the song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya", in Technicolor . Impressed by the result, he filmed three more reels in Technicolor, near the story's climax. After seeing them, he sought a complete re-shoot in Technicolor, angering impatient distributors who were unwilling to accept further delays. Asif subsequently released Mughal-e-Azam partially coloured, although he still hoped to see

10008-532: The first to be given a theatrical re-release. The Sterling Investment Corporation, the negative rights owner and an arm of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group , undertook restoration and colourisation of Mughal-e-Azam and assigned Deepesh Salgia as Project Designer and Director. They initially approached Hollywood executives for help, but found the sales quotations, ranging from $ 12–15 million, too high. In 2002, Umar Siddiqui, managing director of

10147-514: The foundation of historical novels in Urdu with Qisas ul-hind and Darbār-e akbarī . His Aab-e hayat , which is a history of Urdu poetry from Wali to Ghalib, is regarded as the first chronological history of Urdu poetry. Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar introduced proper fiction and touch of realism in Urdu novels with his serialised novel Fasana-e-Azad which was influenced by Don Quixote . His other notable novels are Sair-i-Kohsar and Jam-i-Sarshar . He also wrote articles and short stories for

10286-413: The full film in colour. By the end of filming, more than a million feet of negative had been used, necessitating significant editing. A number of songs were edited out owing to the running time, which in the end was 197 minutes. Almost half of the songs recorded for the film were left out of the final version. Mughal-e-Azam is a family history highlighting the differences between father and son, duty to

10425-485: The glare. Such was the all-round commitment that nobody saw the delay as tiresome. We were experienced enough to know that a film involving such overwhelming craftsmanship, minute detailing, massive gathering of artistes and unit hands, strenuous schedules with large units of artistes and trained animals, day and night shoots cannot be a simple affair. —Dilip Kumar, on the duration of filming A number of problems and production delays were encountered during filming, to

10564-425: The great poets along with biographical information and commentaries on their styles. They are often a collection of names with a line or two of information about each poet, followed by specifics about his composition. Some of these tazkiras give biographical details, and a little idea of the style or poetical power is transmitted. Even the large anthologies do not systematically review an author's work. Most of them have

10703-688: The head of the college, was author of many Hindustani works such as Oriental Linguist, an Introduction to the Language of Hindustani and Hindustani Grammar . He gathered a group of Indian scholars at the college who went on to write books for the use of fresh officers and also created a standard prose for Urdu and Hindi. The chief among these scholars were Mir Amman Dehelvi, Mir Sher Ali Jaafri, Mir Bahadur Ali Husaini, Sayid Haidar Bakhsh, Kazim Ali Jawan, Nihalchand, Hafizuddin Ahmad, Ikram Ali Khan, Lallujilal, Beni Narayan, and Mirza Ali Lutf. Syed Ahmed Khan ,

10842-417: The historical period of Emperor Akbar (1556–1605). One of the books states that in 1615 a marble tomb was built on Anarkali's grave in Lahore by Salim, when he had become Emperor Jehangir. On the tomb is a Persian inscription that reads: Ta Kiyamat shukr geom kardgate khwesh ra, Aah garman bez benaam roo-e yare khwesh ra ("Ah! could I behold the face of my love once more, I would give thanks to my God until

10981-453: The history of Indian cinema. In 2011, Anupama Chopra called it "the best Hindi film ever made" and "the apotheosis of the Hindi film form", noting specifically the performances, father-son drama and song sequences. Dinesh Raheja of Rediff called the film a must-see classic, saying "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

11120-487: The humorous journal, Awadh Punch . Influenced by the historical romances of Walter Scott , Abdul Halim Sharar introduced historical elements in his own works such as Malikul Azia Vārjina . Mirza Hadi Ruswa was a poet and writer, best remembered for his Umrao Jaan Ada , published at the end of the nineteenth century. Drama in Urdu was introduced in the 19th century through the production of Inder Sabha written by Agha Hasan Amanat , and first staged in 1853. It

11259-657: 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 150 feet (46 m) in length, 80 feet (24 m) in breadth and 35 feet (11 m) in height. A much-discussed aspect

11398-579: The leading figure of the Aligarh Movement , was also a voracious writer and journalist who wrote various books from theological to historical subjects. His major theological work, Al-Khutbat al-Ahmadiya fi'l Arab wa'I Sirat al-Muhammadiya (A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary Therein), was published in 1876. He made significant contributions to Urdu journalism through his journals and periodicals, Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq and

11537-470: The lights. Foreign consultants, including British director David Lean , told Asif to forget the idea since they felt that it was impossible to film the scene under the intense glare. Asif confined himself to the set with the lighting crew, and subsequently overcame the problem by covering all the mirrors with a thin layer of wax, thereby subduing their reflectivity. Mathur also used strategically placed strips of cloth to implement "bounce lighting", which reduced

11676-402: The maid his ring and promises to grant her anything she desires. The son, Prince Salim , grows up to be spoiled, flippant, and self-indulgent. His father sends him off to war, to teach him courage and discipline. Fourteen years later, Salim returns as a distinguished soldier and falls in love with court dancer Nadira, daughter of the maid who brought the emperor news of his son's birth. Nadira

11815-449: The music. The soundtrack contained a total of 12 songs, which were rendered by playback singers and classical music artists. These songs account for nearly one third of the film's running time. The painter G. Kamble was lured away from V. Shantaram 's Rajkamal Kalamandir to paint the posters. Kamble also created cinema displays at Maratha Mandir theatre. Asif needed to buy all available stocks of Winsor & Newton paint in India at

11954-460: The names in alphabetical order, but one or two are ordered by historical chronology. The majority quote only lyrics, and the quotations are usually chosen randomly. Urdu poetry ( Urdu : شاعری ), reached its peak in the 19th century. The most well-developed form of poetry is the ghazal , known for its quality and quantity within the Urdu tradition. Urdu poets influenced by English and other European-language poetry began writing sonnets in Urdu in

12093-1053: The narrative dastans were recorded in the early nineteenth century, representing the inclusion of 'wandering' motifs borrowed from the folklore of the Middle East, central Asia and northern India. These include Bagh-o-Bahar ( The Garden and Spring ) by Mir Amman, Mazhab-i-Ishq ( The Religion of Love ) by Nihalchand Lahori, Araish-i-Mahfil ( The Adornment of the Assembly ) by Hyderbakhsh Hyderi, and Gulzar-i-Chin ( The Flower Bed of Chin ) by Khalil Ali Khan Ashq. Other famous Urdu dastans include Nau Tarz-i Murassa‘ by Husain ‘Atā Khān Tahsīn, Nau Ā'īn-i Hindī ( Qissa-i Malik Mahmūd Gīti-Afroz ) by Mihr Chand Khatrī, Jazb-i ‘ishq by Shāh Husain Haqīqat, Nau Tarz-i Murassa‘ by Muhammad Hādī (a.k.a. Mirzā Mughal Ghāfil), and Talism Hoshruba by Muhammad Husain Azad. Tazkiras (تذکیرہ) are compilations of literary memoirs that include verses and maxims of

12232-420: The national identity. He believes the arrogance of Bahar represents the power of the state and that Anarkali's emotion, which is highly personal, represents the private individual. Teo states that the theme of romantic love defeating social class difference and power hierarchy, as well as the grandeur of the filming, contribute to the film's attractiveness. Author Ashis Nandy has commented on the poetic quality of

12371-538: The next two decades. Ismat Chughtai was an important progressive novelist and short story writer who wrote extensively on femininity. Her major works include the collection of short stories Kaliyan and Chotein . She is best remembered for her short story Lihaaf published in 1942. Krishan Chander realistically portrayed life in his novel and stories such as Ek Gadhe ki Sargushisht , Shikast , Zindagi ke Mor Par , Hum Waishi Hain , Anna Datta , Kalu Bhangi , and Paude . Another leading writer of this period

12510-654: The nineteenth century, Persian was the official language of the court and culture and all correspondence was carried out in Persian. The development of Urdu prose for practical purposes can be traced back to the establishment of the Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800 which was founded to instruct British officers of the East India Company in Indian vernacular languages. John Gilchrist ,

12649-591: The online box office website Box Office India in January 2008, the film's adjusted net revenue would have amounted to ₹1,327 million , ranking it as an "All-Time Blockbuster". According to Box Office India in June 2017, Mughal-e-Azam may have had more than 100 million footfalls at the domestic box office more than films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) and Baahubali 2 (2017). According to financial newspaper Mint ,

12788-417: The original premiere, was in attendance. The colour version was edited to a running time of 177 minutes, as compared to the original version's 197 minutes. The new release also included a digital reworked soundtrack, produced with the assistance of Naushad, the original composer. The release on the festive Diwali weekend came with three other major releases: Veer-Zaara , Aitraaz , and Naach . It became

12927-676: The poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on

13066-417: The prevailing dramatic traditions of North India raas as practiced by exponents like Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. His dramatic experiments led to the famous Inder Sabha of Amanat and later this tradition took the shape of Parsi Theatre . Agha Hashr Kashmiri is the culmination of this tradition. Urdu theater traditions have greatly influenced modern Indian theatre . Among all the languages, Urdu (which

13205-574: The project." The exact cost of the colourisation is disputed, with a wide variety of estimates ranging from ₹ 20 million (US$ 240,000) to ₹ 50 million, or ₹ 100 million. The film's colour version was released theatrically on 12 November 2004, in 150 prints across India, 65 of which were in Maharashtra . The new release premiered at the Eros Cinema in Mumbai. Dilip Kumar, who had not attended

13344-639: 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,

13483-564: The public over family, and the trials and tribulations of women, particularly of courtesans . According to Rachel Dwyer, author of the book Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema , the film highlights religious tolerance between Hindus and Muslims . Examples include the scenes of Hindu Queen Jodhabai's presence in the court of the Muslim Akbar, the singing of a Hindu devotional song by Anarkali, and Akbar's participation in

13622-469: The record for the highest distribution fee received by any Hindi film at that time. The premiere of Mughal-e-Azam was held at the then-new 1,100-capacity Maratha Mandir cinema in Mumbai . Mirroring the nature of the film, the cinema's foyer had been decorated to resemble a Mughal palace, and a 40-foot (12 m) cut-out of Prithviraj Kapoor was erected outside it. The Sheesh Mahal set was transported from

13761-399: The relationship between Asif and Pallonji, while the production also faced troubled relationships among other crew members; differences crept up between Asif and Kumar when the former married the latter's sister. Another source of trouble was the romantic relationship and ultimate break-up of Kumar and Madhubala, who had been dating for nine years. Sohrab Modi 's Jhansi Ki Rani (1953) was

13900-420: The relationship, which leads to a war between father and son. The development of Mughal-e-Azam began in 1944, when Asif read a 1922 play called Anarkali, by the 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

14039-443: The request of Asif's son, Akbar Asif. Epic film Epic historical films would usually take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from

14178-400: 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

14317-415: 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

14456-427: 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. Asif had initially rejected Dilip Kumar for the part of Prince Salim. Kumar

14595-448: The short story crystallized as a regular part of Urdu literature in the growth of the writings of Munshi Premchand . His notable short stories include "Kafan" and "Poos Ki Raat". The Urdu short story gained momentum with the phenomenal publication of Angare , a collection of many writers towards the end of the life of Premchand. Writers like Ghulam Abbas , Manto , Rajinder Singh Bedi , Krishan Chander and Ismat Chughtai , to name but

14734-602: The short story, or afsana ( افسانہ ). Urdu literature is popular mostly in Pakistan , where Urdu is the national language , and in India , where it is an Eighth Schedule language . Urdu developed during the 13th century, although the name "Urdu" did not exist at the time for the language. Amir Khusrau , who lived in the thirteenth century, wrote and gave shape to the Rekhta dialect (The Persianized combination of Hindavi), which

14873-474: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of

15012-471: The sound cleaned at Chace Studio in the United States. The background score and the entire musical track was recreated by Naushad and Uttam Singh. For the songs, the original voices of the singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Mohammed Rafi were extracted from the original mixed track and the same were recreated with re-recorded score in 6.1 surround sound. The process of colourisation

15151-399: The story had no foundation in history, Mughal-e-Azam made no such claim. Mughal-e-Azam takes numerous liberties with historical fact. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann says that although the real Salim was a heavy consumer of alcohol and opium from the age of 18, he was not necessarily a mischievous boy, as depicted in the film. When the film's Salim returns from his time in the military, he

15290-466: The studio to the cinema, where ticket holders could go inside and experience its grandeur. Invitations to the premiere were sent as "royal invites" shaped like scrolls , which were written in Urdu and made to look like the Akbarnama , the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar. The premiere was held amidst great fanfare, with large crowds and an extensive media presence, in addition to hosting much of

15429-478: The tenderness of a feather's touch." Sujata Gupta of Planet Bollywood gave the film nine out of ten stars, calling it a "must see" that "has captured interest of people over generations". K. K. Rai, in his review for Stardust stated, "it can be said that the grandeur and vintage character of Mughal-e-Azam cannot be repeated, and it will remembered as one of the most significant films made in this country." Ziya Us Salam of The Hindu described Mughal-e-Azam as

15568-421: The time of the release of Mughal-e-Azam , a typical Hindi film would garner a distribution fee of ₹ 300,000–400,000 (about US$ 63,000–84,000 in 1960) per territory. Asif insisted that he would sell his film to the distributors at no less than ₹ 700,000 per territory. Subsequently, the film was actually sold at a price of ₹ 1.7 million (US$ 356,000) per territory, surprising Asif and the producers. Thus, it set

15707-453: The trade magazine was a more appropriate measure of comparison as compared to official ticket-price inflation rates. Mughal-e-Azam received universal acclaim from Indian critics; every aspect of the film was praised. A review dated 26 August 1960 in Filmfare called it a "history-making film ... the work of a team of creative artists drawn from different spheres of the art world". It

15846-490: The two men, and Asif apologised. With this, Naushad accepted the offer to compose the film's soundtrack. As with most of Naushad's soundtracks, the songs of Mughal-e-Azam were heavily inspired by Indian classical music and folk music , particularly ragas such as Darbari , Durga , used in the composition of "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya", and Kedar , used in "Bekas Pe Karam Keejeye". He also made extensive use of western classical orchestras and choruses to add grandeur to

15985-627: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which

16124-479: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Urdu literature India Portal Urdu literature ( Urdu : ادبیاتِ اُردُو , “Adbiyāt-i Urdū” ) comprises the literary works, written in the Urdu language . While, It tends to be dominated by poetry , especially the verse forms of the ghazal ( غزل ) and nazm ( نظم ), it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of

16263-414: Was Mir Hasan , known for his masnavis, the most famous being Sihar-ul-Bayan, often referred to as Masnavi e Mir Hasan . Other important poets of this period include Mas'hafi , Insha and Nazeer . During the nineteenth century, the centre of Urdu literature shifted from Delhi as most literary men migrated to other parts of India like Hyderabad , Patna , and Lucknow . The Lucknow court emerged as

16402-524: Was Saadat Hasan Manto who wrote elaborately drawn stories like Khol do , Toba Tek Singh , Mozelle , and Thanda Gosht . } Amir Khusrau exercised great influence on the initial growth of not only Urdu literature, but the language itself (which only truly took shape as distinguished from both Persian and Old Hindi during the late 13th century). He is credited with the systematization of northern Indian classical music , including Hindustani music , and he wrote works both in Persian and Hindavi . While

16541-523: Was a musical comedy with a thin plot line and was modelled after the European opera . Premchand emerged on the literary scene in the early 1890s and soon became probably the most significant writer and novelist in the history of Urdu literature. He also wrote in Hindi. He wrote on the themes of religious and social reforms in Isare-e-Muabid and Hum Khurma-O Hum Swab , on the predicament of

16680-503: Was a prolific poet who left a vast amount of work behind. His major poetic works include Masnavis , Musaddas e Hali , Shikwa e Hind, and Qasida e Ghyasia . He also wrote marsias or elegies on the deaths of Ghalib, Hakim Mahmud Khan, and Sir Syed. Suroor Jahanabadi was another exponent of the new movement in Urdu poetry. He wrote patriotic poems like Khak-i-Watan (The Dust of the Motherland), Urus-i-Hubbi-Watan (The Bride of

16819-641: Was a reflection of this cultural amalgamation. Literary composition in Urdu first started in the Deccan in the 14th century. An early form of Urdu was first introduced in the Deccan by the soldiers of Alauddin Khalji who raided the Deccan from 1294 to 1311. In 1326, Muhammad bin Tughluq shifted his capital from Delhi to the Deccan and in 1347 Zafar Khan, his governor in the Deccan, declared independence establishing

16958-413: Was also described as "a tribute to imagination, hard work and lavishness of its maker, Mr. Asif. For its grandeur, its beauty, and then performances of the artists it should be a landmark in Indian films." Another contemporary review from The Indian Express focused on the acting and dancing "gifts" of Madhubala. Since 2000, reviewers have described the film as a "classic", "benchmark", or "milestone" in

17097-421: Was cleaned of fungal growth, damaged portions were restored, and missing parts of frames were re-instated. After cleaning, each of the 300,000 frames of the negative was scanned into a 10 megabytes -sized file and then was digitally restored. The entire restoration work was undertaken by Acris Lab, Chennai. The dialogues in the original soundtrack were also in a bad state of preservation, which necessitated having

17236-436: Was composed by music director Naushad , and the lyrics were written by Shakeel Badayuni . After conceiving the idea of the film, Asif visited Naushad and handed him a briefcase containing money, telling him to make "memorable music" for Mughal-e-Azam . Offended by the explicit notion of money as a means of gaining quality, Naushad threw the notes out of the window, to the surprise of his wife. She subsequently made peace between

17375-408: Was controlled and supervised by the producers, who received daily updates and progress reports. The colourisation team spent 18 months developing software for colouring the frames, called "Effects Plus", which was designed to accept only those colours whose hue would match the shade of grey present in the original film. This ensured that the colours added were as close to the real colour as possible;

17514-474: 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

17653-493: Was generally composed more of poetry than of prose. The prose component of Urdu literature was mainly restricted to the ancient form of epic stories called dāstān ( داستان ). These long stories have complicated plots that deal with magical and otherwise fantastic creatures and events. The genre originated in the Middle East and was disseminated by folk storytellers. It was assimilated by individual authors. Dastan plots are based both on folklore and classical literary subjects. Dastan

17792-509: 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 for Mughal-e-Azam began in

17931-431: Was nominated in seven categories: Best Film , Best Director (Asif), Best Actress (Madhubala), Best Playback Singer (Mangeshkar), Best Music (Naushad), Best Cinematography (Mathur), and Best Dialogue (Aman, Wajahat Mirza, Kamaal Amrohi, and Ehsan Rizvi), winning the awards for Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Dialogue. Mughal-e-Azam was the first black-and-white Hindi film to be digitally coloured and

18070-454: Was not a good idea for most black-and-white classics, it was perfect in this particular instance. He compared it to films by Cecil B. DeMille and to Gone With the Wind (1939) for its larger-than-life storytelling. The Guardian said that although the new version was an improvement, "the fake colours tend to look flat and brash, detracting from cinematographer RD Mathur's elegantly composed shots." The BBC's Jaspreet Pandohar, observing that

18209-499: Was particularly popular in Urdu literature, typologically close to other narrative genres in Eastern literatures, such as Persian masnawi, Punjabi qissa, Sindhi waqayati bait, etc., and also reminiscent of the European novel. The oldest known Urdu dastans are Dastan-i-Amir Hamza , recorded in the early seventeenth century, and Bustan-i Khayal ( The Garden of Imagination or The Garden of Khayal ) by Mir Taqi Khayal (d. 1760). Most of

18348-482: Was preceded by extensive research. The art departments visited museums and studied the literature for background on the typical colours of clothing worn at that time. Siddiqui studied the technology used for the colourisation of black-and-white Hollywood classics. The team also approached a number of experts for guidance and suggestions, including Dilip Kumar, production designer Nitin Chandrakant Desai , and

18487-576: Was published in 2011 and depicts the tension of the political sickening of a common Indian citizen in the six decades after India's independence. Bewildered by the disappointing state of democracy and the transformation of Indian society into a mental desert the central character dies after leaving behind his writings which catch fire. In the first decade of twenty first century Rahman Abbas has emerged as most influential Urdu fiction writer. 'The Hindu', writes about work of Rahman Abbas, "With his uncanny ability to subvert what people believe, Rehman Abbas raises

18626-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of

18765-451: Was released on 5 August 1960 in 150 cinemas across the country, establishing a record for the widest release for a Hindi film. It became a major commercial success, earning ₹ 4 million (US$ 839,000) in the first week, eventually earning a net revenue of ₹ 55 million (US$ 11,530,000), and generating a profit of ₹ 30 million for the producers. Mughal-e-Azam also experienced a long theatrical run, screening to full capacity at

18904-458: 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

19043-566: Was renamed by the emperor as Anarkali , meaning pomegranate blossom. The relationship is discovered by the jealous Bahar, a dancer of a higher rank, who wants prince Salim to love her so that she may one day become empress. Unsuccessful in winning Salim's love, she exposes his forbidden relationship with Anarkali. Salim pleads to marry Anarkali, but his father refuses and imprisons her. Despite her treatment, Anarkali refuses to reject Salim, as Akbar demands. Salim rebels and amasses an army to confront Akbar and rescue Anarkali. Defeated in battle, Salim

19182-496: Was the early form of Modern Standard Urdu. He was thus called, the "father of Urdu literature". The continuing traditions of Islam and patronizations of foreign culture centuries earlier by Muslim rulers, usually of Turkic or Afghan descent, marked their influence on the Urdu language given that both cultural heritages were strongly present throughout Urdu territory. The Urdu language, with a vocabulary almost evenly split between Sanskrit -derived Prakrit and Arabo - Persian words,

19321-430: 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

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