Mughal-E-Azam

When one thinks of great movies they remember the classics such as gone with the wind, Ben hur etc... but let us not forget one of the greatest cinematic triumphs of Hindi Cinema Mughal-e-Azam a film set in the times of the great Moughul Empire. Having seen both the part B/W and Colour and the remastered full colour version I can truly say that the colourised version truly brings out the true glory of this amazing classic putting it in a league way beyond the Classics of today. The dialogue is simply superb and the acting truly amazing modern filmmakers could learn thing or two about acting. The cinematography is simply stunning for a movie of its time. the grandeur and opulence of the sets really comes out in full colour. The story though not very relevant for modern times shows the views and attitudes of India's past. a truly great film to watch...

I haven't seen the black and white original of Mughal E Azam since the '80's, but I recently saw the restored revived colourised 2004 re-release for the first time and was astounded by the results. I'm not a believer in messing around with the originals, but bearing in mind director Asif always wanted to make the whole film in colour but didn't have enough money the "final" product is amazing to see - such is technology! It was incredibly expensive to make as it was, the restoration process must have cost a fabulous amount too.

Seminal Indian epic purporting to deal with events from about 400 years ago around Prince Saleem (Dilip Kumar) falling in love with a court dancer Anarkali (Madhubala) to his father Akbar's utter opposition and eventually causing a rift leading to all out war. The drama and war spectacle scenes are memorable enough, with thousands of humans and animals as extras, and the music is uniformly superb too. But it's Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (If I have loved someone>why should I be afraid?) sung by Anarkali (Lata) to the 2 of them in the Hall Of Mirrors that is absolutely stunning - I will have to get the original and compare, because the remaster seems to have turned this song into something even more magical and mesmerising than I remembered. It took Naushad and Shakeel Badayuni one night to compose music and lyrics so timeless - a colourful piece of poetry in motion, with the insistent kaleidoscopic climax added by Asif. Awesome! According to the legend it was supposed to have an unhappy ending - needless to say I'm glad it was altered here to a happy one after such a roller-coaster ride!

A tremendous work of Art, showing the very best of Indian cinema.

Mughal-e-Azam is indeed a colossal of a movie and its spell binding appeal and courtly grandeur has been further enhanced by the recently released color version.

Dilip Kumar, the icon of Indian Cinema and its first super star as well, has rendered complete resonance to the hedonistic persona of prince Saleem. The love travails of the myth of Anarkali have been splendidly captured on the tinsel screen through the superb portrayal by both, Madhu Bala and legendary Dilip Kumar. Besides, Pirthvi RajKapoor has also projected the required prestige and magnitude to the role of Emperor Akbar. It is worth watching, another time in color scope.

Some films are popular only in their own time and some films continue to fascinate successive generations that is the essential difference between a good film and a classic one Mughal-e-Azam

Haha -- when I see comments that put Kuch Kuch Hota Hain or any other formulaic hindi flick as "the best film ever" they obviously didn't see K. Asif's vision of Mughal-e-Azam. From Prithviraj Kapoor's magnificent rendering of the imposing Emperor Akbar to Dalip Kumar's obvious love for the spectacular Madhubhala. The exquisite Urdu dialogues is of course not for the neophyte. But for those that can appreciate the finer things in life -- not some cloying Hum Apke Hain Kaun or Shah Rukh Khan's obsession with bleeding and overacting in every single film -- Mughal-e-Azam fits the bill perfectly.