Movie-E-Azam - My Thoughts on Mughal-E-Azam (1960)

Some movies are meant to be seen for the script, some for the performances, some for the production values, some for the music and still some for the director’s ability to transcend all inertia and present a dream; however there are some which transcend all limits and become a benchmark for the successive generations of filmmakers. In other words, it no longer remains just another film, it becomes a classic …. A case for study, a watershed for the future. Sometimes it becomes the signature tune of an era gone by and the zenith of a style that people look back to when they speak of the finest hour of Cinema. Truly and obviously, such films are hard to find – only one in a thousand can reach this pinnacle of excellence wherein it becomes the point which defines a style.

One of the few great movies that have managed such a great but rare feat is Mughal-E-Azam, an extravaganza which is a case study for all those inclined to believe that film making is all about camera angles and opulent costumes, all about cinematography and 50 crore budgets; a film that can be so different from what all formulae speak and yet be so simple to actually become a formula in itself.

A movie that speaks volumes about the perseverance and dedication of one man to a dream that held true inspite of severe setbacks, Mughal-E-Azam is a full three course lunch, a sumptuous feast for the eyes and an epic in motion. I would not do justice to the movie if I do not call it a watershed in the history of Indian Cinema.

In simple terms, Mughal-E-Azam narrates the story of a powerful but lovable Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) caught between his love for his duty as an emperor and his love for his son and the dilemma he finds himself in when these two loves move on a course destined to put them on loggerheads with each other.

Yet, on another level, Mughal-E-Azam is also the story of two star-crossed lovers (Salim and Anarkali) caught in the whirlpool of social, political and cultural norms that are but a foreboding of the imminent doom in their love story. The pain of the love is matched only by the depth of the love and to the credit of the Director, the pain is so-well etched in the movie right from the acceptance of the love to the final doom, that you think there could not have been another end to this tragedy, although your heart begs for another end, another dream, another hope. Sadly, love has no such qualms and it accepts it’s realities with a silence more powerful than the speech of a million cannons.

To the credit of the film, both stories move on parallel tracks and still maintain their essence; whilst complementing each other like multi-layered layers of the same crust.

Prithviraj Kapoor is simply brilliant in his performance as Emperor Akbar. The booming voice, the towering personality and the intense anguish in his eyes speak volumes. One has to just see his confident walk and his deep gaze, the silent stare in which he holds his son and the feeling of anguish in his voice when he speaks of his unfortunate circumstances to his wife. Who could do it better than the true Mughal of Indian Cinema – Prithviraj Kapoor! Some of his scenes are so strong that one can feel the quiver in the air when he calls on to Man Singh or when he chides his son and heir for his inclination towards love.

Mughal-E-Azam was a fitting culmination to a career that began as Sikandar and ended figuratively with Akbar. Although Prithviraj continued performing and performing well till his death in 1972, Mughal-E-Azam marked the zenith of his career. Some of the best scenes in this movie show him in a brilliant confrontation with one of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema ever – Dilip Kumar. Incidentally, this movie boasts of some of the greatest confrontation scenes in the history of Hindi cinema, some of them have passed themselves into the popular lore of moviedom.

if Prithviraj, the icon of the progressive 40s, could be so strong and powerful, would he not be matched with the greatest actor ever to grace Indian Cinema? Dilip Kumar shows why he is not the type to be relegated to the back-benches ever. His performance is the performance of a Prince, of a Lover, of a Warrior and of a human… and on each of these fronts Dilip delivers!

As the only son of Akbar and the Crown Prince of Mughal India, Dilip Kumar delivers an impeccable and regal performance and as is expected of him lives the role upto the expectations and beyond it too. As Shehzaada Salim, his performance shows the fearlessness of a warrior, the cold arrogance of a prince who considers all within his realm – classically embodied in the scene wherein he removes the message from the lotus and then just throws the lotus away without a look or a glance, his deep love for Anarkali, the frustration of a loser, his eyes show the disdain in which he holds the law and the spirit of rebellion so well characterized by the blood of youth. In fact, if today you look at his performance in the movie, you find that in this performance he predates the Angry Young Man that was to take the Hindi film industry by storm 15 years later. Watching him perform, one cannot but feel the sheer power of performance. No doubt, he’s considered by many critics to be the greatest actor to grace the Indian film screen.

A prince is not supposed to care for any except for his own wishes, a warrior is not supposed to accept humiliating conditions and a lover is not expected to let go of his beloved but to fight till the last end – not an easy combination but you need to see him perform to understand what performance is all about.

Ajit as Durjan Singh is a classic act. Ajit was already firmly ensconced in the film industry when this role was offered to him. Many would have balked at the suggestion of being a part of a movie that had stalwarts like Dilip and Prithviraj but Ajit not only holds his own but is also strongly remembered for his portrayal of a loyal friend and a great warrior. Ajit brings to Durjan the sublime ego and proud chivalry of a Rajput chieftain and the dialogue delivery of “Ek Rajput apni jaan haarta hai, apna vachan nahin harta” is simply a lesson for all who think a booming voice is all that makes a dialogue a success. Till date, the portrayal of Ajit stands as the ultimate portrayal of Rajput Chivalry…

Durga Khote as Empress Jodha Bai lives the role with characteristic élan. She is simply brilliant in the portrayal of a woman caught between a husband and a son and who also has to discharge her duties as an Empress in the face of emotional anguish. This happens to be one of her most brilliant roles and she does complete justice to the role. Some of her confrontation scenes with Dilip (her son) and Prithviraj (her husband) are sheer magic. Look for the scene in which she has two back-to-back confrontations with the father and the son; never was the pain of the mother more beautifully carved!

Kumar as the sculptor is extra-ordinary and plays the role of a revolutionary of the middle ages to perfection. His robes maybe that of a Nestorian monk but his style is anything but that of a monk. When he speaks, he cuts to the argument and his statements are indeed the more revolutionary ones.

Nigar Sultana as Bahaar is the perfect vamp; the one who would do anything to destroy the love of Salim and Anarkali. In her characteristic style of underplay, she performs her role of the jealous courtesan with utmost aplomb. Look at the way she betrays the lovers to the winds and then is cunning enough to recede in the shadows while watching the drama unfold…… I am sure villainy was never better enacted – I remember Shakespeare stating “Heaven Hath no fury like a woman Scorned”

The confrontation scene between the two in the beginning gives a glimpse of the great confrontations between all the lead actors that keep appearing in the movie at a brilliant regularity and each confrontation is a beauty in itself.

Murad as Raja Mansingh, Jiloo as Anarkali’s mother Jiloo Bai, Sheela Delaya as Suraiya also do justice to their roles, especially Jiloo who plays a commoner and a doomed mother to perfection. I would have loved to see a scene between Murad and Prithviraj post the death of Ajit (Murad as Raja Man Singh plays his father in the movie) but then such is the film that everything falls in place and you do not regret any.

But the film belongs to Madhubala. The Venus of Hindi Cinema shows why she will never be forgotten. So strong is her presence that had Madhubala been introduced with this movie to the Indian industry and promptly decided never to act again, the legacy would have lived on. Never has an actress before or after her captured the essence of deep loss and hopeless love with a quiver the way Madhubala does it in Mughal-E-Azam. If you wish to see performance, look at those eyes welled up with tears; they signify the pain of loss, the anguish of separation, the depth of love and the simmering desire – had she successfully shown only one of these, she would have become a legend but then geniuses are not satisfied with a token performance but with an all-round exhibition of their talents and capabilities; so it was with Madhubala. Each and every scene speaks each and every emotion; the understanding of her fate, the truth of her love, the depth of her silence, the fearlessness of true love and the resignation to fate. All in one sweep of the eye. One can only look in deep wonder when she tells Akbar “Ye Kaneez Shahenshah Akbar Ko Apna Khoon Maaf Karti Hai”

Simply mindblowing. One has to see her emotions when she is spending her last night with her lover while fully aware that tomorrow morning will see her dead – can any beat the emotion of her face in that one scene!

To summarize, Madhubala is Anarkali and Anarkali is Madhubala. She performs with earnestness and a passion, which is unequalled and unsurpassed by many and even today she is the definitive Anarkali.

Naushad’s baton and Shakeel Badayuni’s lyrics are a combination to die for. The music of Mughal-E-Azam is sheer delight. If Baiju Bawra was Naushad’s contribution to the Mohammed Rafi phenomenon, Mughal-E-Azam is Naushad’s ode to the songstress of India – Lata Mangeshkar.

Each and every song in the movie is a soft caress of love and emotions and who could do it better than Lata Mangeshkar. Whether it’s the deep romanticism of ‘Mohe Panghat Pe”, the anguish of “Mohabbat Ki Jhooti Kahani Pe Roye”, the pathos of “Bekas Pe Karam Kijiye”, the tearful farewell of “Khuda Nigahebaan Ho Tumhaara” or the philosophy of “Jab Raat Hai Aisi Matwaali”, each and every mood is captured.

And then who can forget the anthem of love, “Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya”; still considered one of the best expressions of youth rebellion in Hindi cinema. In every mood Lata comes up trumps.

As if this was not enough, Naushad composes one of the greatest quawwali ever sung and uses the unrivalled and unchallengeable voices of Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar to bring that one quawwali to cult status. “Teri Mehfil Mein Kismat Aazmaakar Hum Bhi Dekhenge” is a celebration of the best female duet ever with love and lust competing with each other in a style that’s imitable and unbelievable.

Can Mohammed Rafi then be behind. In the only song he gets in the movie, Naushad makes his respect for the maestro obvious. Rafi leads a 100 man orchestra and 100 man chorus to perfection as he puts in clear contrast that immortality and invincibility of Love. “Zindabad, Zindabad” is not only an assertion of love, it is the celebration of love; the celebration of the greatest emotion ever.

A discussion on the songs would by itself take more than a thousand pages.

But the man who deserves the greatest of our applause is K Asif- the man whose ambition and ruthless perseverance led to one of the finest hours of Indian Cinema. Everything about the movie is splendour personified and it required a talent of his calibre to carry it with a dignity unequalled by any other movie. The attention to detail, the setting up of brilliant sets, the most sensual scene ever picturised in India (without a slight hint of physical or sexual involvement), the greatest battle scene ever picturised and the perfect blend of script, direction and performance such that none of these overshadow the other but complement each other is a silent salute to the genius of a man who made it possible. But more than all this, what will be remembered when the dust has settled and all have gone to roost is the dream that a man saw, the vision of a director that allowed him to continue unflinched in face of so much tragedy, amid so many role changes ,so many deaths and still create a masterpiece that remains as a silent reminder of the power of a dream

Truly this is no ordinary movie – this is a dream and more than that this is a Movie.

All in all, a movie to live by… … A movie to die for… A Classic… A Legend. … A Movie.