| Mughal-E-Azam Posted: MUGHAL-e-AZAM (1960) is one of the three major classics of the Popular Indian Cinema, along with "Mother India" and "Sholay". The position it occupies in Indian cinema is perhaps comparable to "Gone With The Wind" in America, in that both are lengthy colorful epic costume dramas set in an idealized past, and featuring major stars of the time. The time in question here is that of the great Moghul Emperor AKBAR THE GREAT (on throne 1556 - 1605) who was not only a great conqueror but also an enlightend despot, who promoted the arts and was tolerant of Hinduism, altho he was himself a Moslem.
Akbar is played by the venerable old-time actor Prithviraj Kapoor (father of Raj Kapoor) in his last major role, and the role of his uppity son Salim is essayed by Dilip Kumar, considered by some to be the all time greatest Indian actor, often called "the king of tragedy". This is actually quite an offbeat role for Dilip as he didn't do many constume dramas, which is in itself a point of interest. Dilip/Salim falls in love with the low caste dancing girl ANARKALI and is so determined to marry her against the wishes of his father, Akbar, that he actually stages a military revolt against the throne to make his point. Thus we have a classic clash of wills between a powerful father and an intransigent son over a marvelously beautiful young woman Anarkali, played by the actress MADHUBALa -- often called the most beautiful Indian actress of all time --in one of her best roles.
This is like a Verdi Opera on the grandest of scales, staged by an Indian Cecil B. DeMille, with hordes of real elephants and a cast of thousands, with no expense spared to stage the spectacle. The tale of ANARKALI who will eventually be buried alive behind a brick wall (much Like AIDA in the opera of that name) is part of modern day Indian folklore with the debate as to whether all this is historical fact or fancy, still unresolved. In any case, Anarkali, the legendary Punjabi slave girl, is one of the most beloved of Indian heroines and her reincarnation in this film by the ethereally beautiful Madhubala is one of the great female Indian screen portrayals of all time. The movie took almost twenty years to complete and was originally shot in Black and white but the current colorization is so good that I didn't even realize this was a colorized copy when I saw it. Like GWTW this is the kind of film you can keep coming back to and build an entire evening around. It has it all and is a must-have for any collector of the creme-de-la-creme of Indian cinema.
ALEXFARBA, LOS ANGELES |
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