Mughal-e-Azam
What is Mughal-e-Azam known for in Bollywood history?
What themes does Mughal-e-Azam explore?
Who are the primary characters in Mughal-e-Azam?
What is the significance of the music in Mughal-e-Azam?
What challenges did the production of Mughal-e-Azam face?
Mughal-e-Azam, a Hindi-language Indian historical drama film, released in 1960. Directed by Karimuddin Asif, Mughal-e-Azam (“The Great Mughal”) was the biggest money-spinner in Bollywood history for 15 years until the release of Sholay in 1975. Filmed over the better part of a decade, Mughal-e-Azam is considered a timeless classic and one of the greatest Bollywood films ever made, celebrated for its operatic performances, dazzling set design, and enduring music.
At its core a retelling of a popular legend that plays fast and loose with elements of Mughal history, Mughal-e-Azam became the definitive big-screen interpretation of dramatist Imtiaz Ali Taj’s 1922 Urdu play Anarkali. Within its grand historical setting, the film explores underlying themes of forbidden love, father-son relationships, social class, and the conflict between duty and personal desire.
Characters and plot summary
Mughal-e-Azam is often viewed as exemplary of religious and cultural synthesis, in part reflecting the Mughal emperor Akbar’s liberal views on these matters. While the Muslim characters in the film, including Akbar, Saleem, and Anarkali, speak in heightened, Persian-influenced Urdu, the Hindu characters, such as Jodha Bai, Mann Singh, and Durjan Singh, speak in fluent Hindi. The film also includes both Islamic and Hindu symbolism, often in the form of religious rites and music. Most notably, Anarkali sings “Bekas Pe Karam Kijiye” (“Have Mercy on the Helpless”), seeking the aid of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as “Mohe Panghat Pe” (“At the River Bank, I...”), a Hindu devotional song, during a celebration of the Hindu religious festival Janmashtami.
The primary characters of the film include:
- Saleem (Dilip Kumar): son of Akbar and heir to the throne (based on the historical emperor Jahangir, who ascended the throne after Akbar)
- Anarkali (Madhubala): a courtesan and dancer at Akbar’s court
- Jodha Bai (Durga Khote): Akbar’s queen and Saleem’s mother
- Bahar (Nigar Sultana): Jodha Bai’s handmaiden, who dreams of becoming queen
- Durjan Singh (Ajit): a Rajput warrior, Saleem’s trusted friend
Mughal-e-Azam tells the story of the forbidden romance between Prince Saleem and the courtesan Anarkali and the fierce opposition they face from Emperor Akbar, who sees their relationship as an affront to the honor and traditions of the Mughal dynasty.
Akbar imprisons Anarkali and later releases her on the condition that she convince Saleem she never loved him. Momentarily swayed by Bahar, the jealous handmaiden of Jodha Bai, Saleem doubts Anarkali’s loyalty, but she proves her devotion to him by singing the defiant “Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” (“Why Be Afraid When We Are in Love”) in the emperor’s court. Anarkali is arrested once again, and Saleem goes into open rebellion against his father, which spirals into full-fledged war. Though his confidant Durjan Singh rescues Anarkali, Saleem’s forces are defeated. His father offers him clemency if he hands Anarkali over, but Saleem refuses. Saleem is set to be executed, but Anarkali gives herself up to save him. Before she is put to death, Anarkali asks the emperor for a final wish: to be Saleem’s queen for one evening. Akbar agrees but on the condition that she sedate Saleem using a rose dipped in sleep-inducing tincture so that he is unaware of her death. After her final evening with the prince, Anarkali is entombed alive in a wall. However, Akbar has a change of heart after Anarkali’s mother begs him to spare her daughter’s life; he secretly releases Anarkali, instructing mother and daughter to leave the city.
Based on popular folklore, Mughal-e-Azam takes several artistic liberties with historical facts. Although Prince Saleem did lead a revolt against Akbar, it was over succession rather than an illicit romance. Moreover, there is no evidence for the existence of a real-life Anarkali. According to legend, she was a dancer named Nadira Begum who was immured into a wall for having an affair with Saleem and later immortalized by a tomb he built in her memory. Her supposed tomb is located at the Punjab Civil Secretariat complex in Lahore (in modern-day Pakistan).
The music of Mughal-e-Azam
The film’s immortal songs, composed by musical maestro Naushad Ali and penned by Shakeel Badayuni, are as grand and evocative as the movie itself. Accentuating some of the most dramatic scenes, the songs were brought to life by legendary singers, including Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. The soundtrack comprises 12 songs, including enduring melodies such as “Mohe Panghat Pe” (“At the River Bank, I...”), “Ae Mohabbat Zindabad” (“Long Live Love”), and “Teri Mehfil Mein” (“In Your Gathering”). The musical number “Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya” was among the few sequences filmed in color in the original print of the movie.
Production history
False start
About the time his directorial debut, Phool (1945), was released, Asif began working on Mughal-e-Azam with studio owner Shiraz Ali Hakim, who had agreed to produce the film. Noted writer-director Kamal Amrohi and three other writers were hired to put a script together. Daya Kishan Sapru was initially cast as Saleem, Chandramohan as Akbar, and Nargis as Anarkali. Filming was well underway when the production was derailed by two setbacks: Hakim’s departure to Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947 and Chandramohan’s death in 1949. On Hakim’s recommendation, Asif approached businessman Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, who, despite possessing little experience in the movie business, agreed to finance the film, partly because of his fascination with the historical figure of Akbar. The production was revived in 1952 with a new principal cast.
The new cast
The resurrected project was headlined by some of the top Bollywood stars of the era. Veteran actor Prithviraj Kapoor, with his imposing frame and deep voice, was cast as Akbar. For the role of Saleem, Asif picked Dilip Kumar, known for his understated performances and the lovelorn tragic heroes he played throughout his career, most prominently Devdas (1955). The casting of Anarkali proved more difficult. Asif pursued several actresses for the role and placed ads in newspapers across the country, inviting applicants to audition, but was met with little success until sought-after actress Madhubala—in a romantic relationship with Kumar at the time—expressed interest in the role.
No expense spared
Known for his perfectionism, Asif spent heavily on period-accurate costumes and jewelry, extravagant sets, cameras, and retakes. This led to frequent clashes with Mistry over the ever-growing cost of the movie, which took about nine years to film and became the most expensive Indian production at the time. Some of the biggest expenses included the filming of the iconic “Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” in a replica of Lahore’s Sheesh Mahal (“palace of mirrors”), an outsized fee paid to famed Hindustani classical singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to represent the singing voice of legendary musician Tansen, and an elaborate battle sequence, which led to a lawsuit following two accidental on-set deaths.
Reception and legacy
“Mughal-e-Azam is the mother of all films, aur maa ka remake nahin hota (and mothers don’t have remakes).” —Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood superstar, at the launch of a documentary on the film
Upon its release in 1960, Mughal-e-Azam was an almost immediate commercial success across the country. It ran to packed houses at the Maratha Mandir theater in Bombay (now Mumbai) for three years. The film made 11 crore rupees ($120 million at the 2025 exchange rate) during its theatrical run and remained unchallenged in terms of revenue collection until it was dethroned by Sholay in 1975.
Some estimates suggest that Mughal-e-Azam is the biggest box-office hit in Bollywood history when adjusted for inflation. Mughal-e-Azam won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and bagged the Filmfare Awards for best film, best dialogue, and best cinematography.
Although Asif wanted to reshoot the entire film in color in 1960, the film’s distributors were against it. It was 33 years after his death that Mughal-e-Azam was released in full color, becoming the first Indian feature film to be digitally colorized for a theatrical release in 2004. A documentary hosted by Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan was released in 2011 to commemorate the film’s 50th anniversary and featured 52 paintings by artist M.F. Husain based on the film, commissioned by Asif’s son Akbar. The movie was adapted into a stage musical that premiered in 2016 and was produced by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.