This was the first time I was experiencing some kind of anxiety after I went to see Agneepath in the theatre. First time I saw audience so quiet trying to soak up every work spoken & every set that is displayed in the movie. First time I saw almost everyone getting furious & looking at the source of the noise every time a cell phone rang! It was as good a movie going experience as the movie itself.
K. Asif spent crores (most expensive then & today if you count inflation) & almost 15 years to finally achieve his dream. The original cast was supposed to be Sapru & Nargis instead of Dilip & Madhubala..strange! K. Asif was among those directors who kept stalwart like Dilip Kumar in control.
The massive big sets, the costumes, the 'Sheeshmahal' (Palace of Mirrors), even the jail-scenes, the war scenes, the Mohabbat Jindabad song & related death-penalty scene, Akbar--Salim confrontations, Jodhabai--Salim interaction, Salim-Anarkali romantic scenes every thing about this movie is larger than life. At the same time the message of the movie i.e. Love before kingdom is not lost at all.
_________The MUSIC_________
Wow..! A topic of a full review. Naushad'd karamat with Shakeel Badayuni's lyrics/shayari. The first one is Mohe panghat pe which is filmed well on heavenly Madhubala just after the statue scene.
The comparo kawwali is hugely famous & every Indian knows it Teri Mehphil Main Kismat Aajmakar hum bhi dekhenge Amazing stuff from Shakeel. Muhabbat karanewalo ka bas itana hain afsana, tadapana, aah bharana, ghunt ke mar jana..kisi din ye tamsha muskurakar hum bh idekhenge After this song Dilip Kumar gives a Gulab (Rose) to Bahar but 'Kaante' to Anarkali..Anaraklai says ''Kaanton ko murzhane ka khaouf nahi hota!'' & the whoel theatre goes 'Waaah'.
Pyar kiya to darana kya has become an 'afasana' itself. Who hasn't used these words in their lifetime while talking on something..or about someone? Highly unlikely..! It is used in almost every movie except say war movies! :) Filmed in Sheshmahal & in color that time itself the song is rooted deep inside everybody's heart. Madhubala looks & acts like Anarkali & gives the best performance of her life. Some of the lines are just too good !!!!!!! 'Chhup Na sakega ishq hamara chaaro taraf hain unaka najaraa' or 'Mautt Wahi jo duniya dekhe ghut ghut kar yun manara kya'. Similarly 'Parda Nahi Jab Koi Khudase..Bando se parda karana kya' receives an applause from the audience.
Bade Gulaam Ali Khan Sahab I think I should not talk about this person..just want to say that it as quite an experience to hear those songs/performance that are not in the audio cassettes (on purpose?): (1) Shubh Din Aayo and (2) Prem jogan ke Sundari.
Other great songs are Jab raat hain aisi matwali to subah ka aalam kya hoga which has a hidden meaning that though the night is romantic the morning is going to come with death for Anarkali!!
The next one when Anarkali leaves fainted Salim is Khuda Nigehebaan ho tumhara dhadkate dil ka payaam lelo.. Class-Act the filming & the https://lyrics. Lata Mangeshkar..need we say anything about her?
Somehow my favorite Bekas pe karam kijiye Sarkar-E-Madina, Gardish main hain taqdir bhanwar main doesn't make to this resurrected version. I missed this classic. I think this one is when Madhubala is in prison.
Also, Muhabbat ki zhooti kahani pe roye doesn't make it to the new version.
Rafi-SAHAB's 'JINDABAD Jindabad ay Mohabbat Jindabad' Rafi has poured life in this song. Specially check the stanzas where Rafi goes to ultra-high notes.
_________The ACTING_________
I was most impressed with Madhubala, I think among all she gives the best performance. After this performance she comes across a little underrated as an actress. What new I can write about her looks & the adab, dignity, purity she brings to Anarkali's role? It has been described by thousands of times.
My favorite 'master' Dilip Kumar looks a little out of place in this movie. Seems he didn't enjoy working in this movie that much. Also during this movie he had to brake away from Madhubala (due to his/her father) & didn't even go to the premier & didn't watch the movie for many years to come. The STUPID AAJ-TAK / NDTV guys were asking him how it felt in the first premier & how it will feel now!!! Are NADAN-BALAKO..Do at least a little bit of homework before you speak to a legend..Is Dilip in front of Sayara going to say why he didn't go to the first premier?? You useless pigs??
Even then Dilip Kumar gives a very sincere performance. His style of raising a hand & looking sideways at the end when he is about to faint has been used by Amitabh effectively several times. (Shakti last scene when he says Usane ne meri maan ko').
Ajit gives a very energetic/jindadil performance. He makes Dilip performe better like in Naya Daur.
Prithviraj Kapoor goes a little overboard with his melodramatic dialogs & acting but Akbar couldn't have been played better. Even after all these years we can' timagine someone else doing the emperor Akbar's role.
Jodha-bai after Anarkali is the second best performance in the movie. Durga Khote has given a great performance. Anarkali's sister, her mother, the sculptor (also in the 'Jindabad' song) have given their best.
Jony Walker, Jala Aga (jr Salim) & Tabassum & of course Murad (Mansingh) give quality performances. Actually Ustad Zakir Husain was asked ofr Jr Salim role which was done by Jalal Aga.
_________Significant SCENES_________
Here are few great ones that appealed to me very much yesterday. Of course the scene where Salim after Bahar's (Nigar Sultana) cunning request inaugurates the famed/hyped ''statue'' with an arrow..! The statue appears when Akbar is all praise of it, the statue starts moving! It is Madhubala painted in white & presented as a statue..!! Just too good.
Anarkali's sister's interaction with Salim & her taunt to Ajit (Durjansingh) that her name is not 'Kabakht ladaki', Anarkali-Salim romantic scene with Bade Gulam Ali khan Sahab's performance. (Asif spent 1 year convincing him to sing for a movie---he was not at all ready to use his pure cheez for a movie!);
Anarkali running to Salim in the fear of Akbar & then fainting at the feet of Salim. Dilip Kumar's some of the dialogs (forgot them). The mukabala song (Hum bhi dekhenge), the sheeshmahal song (Pyar kiya to daraka kya);
Anarkali saying 'Jill-e-Elahi Anarkali tumhe apana khoon maaf karati hain'. The last one where Akbar realises his promise due to the ring he gave Madhubala's mother.
_________CONCLUSION_________
With the complete colored effort the new Mughal-E-Azam is a 'Do not miss' kind of a movie. Experience it in a multiplex with a great sound system. It is an all time great classic that every Indian should be proud of. The handling is sort of melodramatic but OK for a historic movie.
The story also not supported by the history & is sort of a legend. The end is unnecessary. (Akbar lets go Anarkali, her mother & sister in order to show that the emperor wasn't a merciless person).
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