K. Asif's legendary magnum opus, Mughal-E-Azam, completes 62 golden years of its existence today. Aren't we lucky to have such an iconic cult film in our Bollywood history? With multiple delays, budget issues, and re-cast, it took K. Asif 16 years to make this film, and we can all agree that the film was worth it. Mughal-E-Azam brought together a phenomenal cast, with Dilip Kumar playing the role of Salim, Prithviraj Kapoor essaying the role of Akbar, and the gorgeous Madhubala as Anarkali.
When K. Asif began shooting for the Mughal-E-Azam in 1946, he cast Chandra Mohan, D. K. Sapru, and Nargis for the lead roles. Ustad Zakir Hussain was approached for the role of young Salim in the film, which eventually went to Jalal Agha. Suraiya was also offered the role of Anarkali in 1953, but Madhubala won the part later.
Mughal-E-Azam was made on a budget of approximately 1.50 crore, which was the highest amount spent on any Bollywood film at the time. K. Asif was in debt while making this film, and many people even doubt his sanity for that. But what happened later is noted in the books of Bollywood history. Asif made others lose their sanity and left them spellbound with his colossal cinematic vision. There was, is, and will be only one Mughal-E-Azam in Bollywood.
What today's filmmakers dream to make and can't achieve, be it Rajamouli, Shankar or any other Indian filmmaker, whoever makes cinematic grandeur, they just can't make another Mughal-E-Azam. K. V. Reddy's Mayabazar and K. Asif's Mughal-E-Azam, it's just another whole new level of filmmaking, and today's expensive stuff like Baahubali and 2 Point 0, are nothing but babies in front of them.
Have a look at some box office records of the legendary blockbuster and iconic film, Mughal-E-Azam:
• Economics :
Budget- 1.5cr
Box Office- India 5.5cr Nett 11cr Gross
Footfalls- 12cr+ approx
>Verdict- All Time Blockbuster
Biggest Grosser of The Decade
Biggest Hit Of The Decade
3rd Biggest Hit of All Time behind Sholay (1975) and Mother India (1957)• Initially the most massive, unprecedented opening in Bollywood history for any film.• Mughal-E-Azam sold the most expensive tickets at the time of its release. It also set a record for the highest distribution fee received by any Bollywood film at that time.
• A crowd of over 10,000 people was gathered at Maratha Mandir for advance booking of the film. The premiere of Mughal-e-Azam was held at the then-new 1100-capacity Maratha Mandir. Mirroring the nature of the film, the cinema's foyer had been decorated to resemble a Mughal palace, and a 40-foot (12 m) cut-out of Prithviraj Kapoor was erected outside it.
• The first Bollywood film to break both the opening and lifetime box office records. A record which is only matched by Aamir Khan's Ghajini (2008), 3 Idiots (2009) and Dhoom 3 (2013). Later, SS Rajamouli's Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) repeated the same feat.
• The Music of the film was Chartbuster. The great Naushad composed a memorable music album. It was inspired by Indian classical music and folk music, particularly raagas such as Darbari, Durga and Kedar.
• The film won Best Film awards at the National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards.