Continued from part one… +
Thanx for your courteous responses, truly appreciated. JVK.
The search for ‘Anarkali’ in Mughal-e-Azam…
Dear Well Wishers,
In 1944, Asif planned to make a film called ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ based on Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great’s court dancer ‘Anarkali’. Actor Chandramohan in the male lead and the then upcoming actress Nargis in the female lead. However, Chandramohan, died before the production. At that time, K. Asif temporarily shelved the film until further notice…
K. Asif was Dilip Kumar’s brother-in-law. They both launched a nationwide (wo)manhunt, placing ads in the paper and in leading film magazines like Film India and Screen, urging young women to apply. They interviewed girls across cities like Bhopal, Hyderabad, Delhi and Lucknow…
Around March 1952, an ad appeared on the pages of the popular film magazine Film India. It went: “Here’s your last chance to be selected for the vital role of Anarkali, the beauty that shook the Mughal Empire in Mughal E Azam. Dilip Kumar and K. Asif are in search for the girl who will play the role of Anarkali. That girl might be you..! Below this was an address of Sterling Corporation to send your photo and details to Dilip Kumar & K. Asif”. 15 March 1952 was the last date for sending details…
Emperor Akbar and Dilip Kelkar as Prince Salim… 2) Dilip Kumar and Madhubala… 3) Durga Khote
as Jodhabai…
Anway, when actress Nargis (singer-actress Suraiya as well) refused to play the role, later Asif asked actress Nutan to play the role. Nutan flatly turned down the role. Frustrated, Asif turned to Nutan once again, urging to reconsider. Once again, she politely turned him down but this time, she suggested an alternative. She thought Madhubala would be an ideal cast for the role of Anarkali. She didn’t say this just to him, but to the media as well. It’s not that the name of Madhubala didn’t cross his mind…
More than her name, that ethereal face. Truth be told, she was the closest to the image he had formed in his mind. If he had his way, he could cast her and be done with it. But there was someone that stood in his way of approaching her for the role. He father Ataullah Khan. Reportedly, K. Asif had earlier approached her for a different film, but her father put forward so many stringent restrictions and rules that it was nigh impossible for him to include her in the cast. He had felt dejected, almost offended. And what complicated matter further was the alleged relationship between Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. At this point in time, they were not on talking terms with each other. But finally, it was the actress herself who ended Asif’s agony…
An unforgettable fact about the film “Mughal-e-Azam” is that it took nearly 500 days to shoot, making it one of the longest filming processes in Indian cinema history, and this was due to its incredibly elaborate sets, costumes, and large-scale battle scenes which required extensive preparation and multiple takes; the film also featured a life-sized statue of Lord Krishna made entirely of real gold…
The 1960 film Mughal-e-Azam was lavish and expensive to make. It was the most expensive Indian film at thetime. Great thread on Mughal-E-Azam. Another little know fact: this movie was financed by grandfather of Cyrus Mistry Shapoorji Mistry and the Mistry family company Sterling Investment Corp…
Mughal-e-Azam was originally filmed in black and white, but director K. Asif wanted to reshoot it in color. However, his financiers refused, so he settled for adding some scenes in color. The colorized version of Mughal-e-Azam was released in theaters on November 12, 2004…
Please listen below to unreleased song from Mughal-e-Azam
Stay tune with regards,
Jayant & Veena Kulkarni.
Sharing is Caring…
To be continued…