Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Good movie but grossly overrated

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The acting in this movie is really good.

This was the first Indian movie I ever watched, on the recommendation of a friend and if this is how Indians make movies, I really want to watch many more. This movie is a made on a phenomenally grand scale (think BenHur or Gone with the Wind). Each frame seems like a work of art and while the subtitles may have stolen some of the richness of original dialog, the screenplay and expressions of the actors was enough to convey the depth of the storyline. I was absolutely floored by the exquisitely beautiful and talented actress in the lead role- MADHUBALA ! She shines with such a natural and wholesome radiance and commands every scene in which she is present. In the first song where she is introduced, I dare say that she is a close match to the greatest Hollywood beauties of her time (think of a classic Ava Gardner combined with a teasing Marilyn Monroe). She looks authentically scared, scarred and tortured in scenes in where she is imprisoned or tied up in chains and in her interactions with the powerful King, her acting is perfection.

When one thinks of great movies they remember the classics such as gone with the wind, Ben hur etc... but let us not forget one of the greatest cinematic triumphs of Hindi Cinema Mughal-e-Azam a film set in the times of the great Moughul Empire. Having seen both the part B/W and Colour and the remastered full colour version I can truly say that the colourised version truly brings out the true glory of this amazing classic putting it in a league way beyond the Classics of today. The dialogue is simply superb and the acting truly amazing modern filmmakers could learn thing or two about acting. The cinematography is simply stunning for a movie of its time. the grandeur and opulence of the sets really comes out in full colour. The story though not very relevant for modern times shows the views and attitudes of India's past. a truly great film to watch...

Mughal-e-Azam is indeed a colossal of a movie and its spell binding appeal and courtly grandeur has been further enhanced by the recently released color version.Dilip Kumar, the icon of Indian Cinema and its first super star as well, has rendered complete resonance to the hedonistic persona of prince Saleem. The love travails of the myth of Anarkali have been splendidly captured on the tinsel screen through the superb portrayal by both, Madhu Bala and legendary Dilip Kumar. Besides, Pirthvi RajKapoor has also projected the required prestige and magnitude to the role of Emperor Akbar. It is worth watching, another time in color scope.

Mughal-e-Azam is the culmination of a dream, of a man possessed to make this movie - K Asif. (He made only one other completed movie) He spared no costs to produce this period drama. For instance, the grandeur of a set for the "Sheesh Mahal" (i.e. the palace of mirrors) appears for only a few seconds in the final print, meant a lots of peculiar challenges for the cameras and lighting, it cost a fortune, but K Asif still used it.R D Mathur's cinematography is brilliant. He used 8 cameras simultaneously, for filming the battle scenes, which are surprisingly realistic for a 1950s Bollywood movie. The close-ups of the romantic scenes are also done very well. Dilip Kumar and Madhubala's performances and their on-screen chemistry are great. Especially if you consider the fact that they had a break-up in real life, and Dilip Kumar appeared as a witness against Madhubala in a court case!Performances by Prithviraj Kapoor and Durga Khote might appear a bit too dramatic and overdone. The dialogues of this movie are very poetic and crisp. (I am not sure if translations and sub-titles could do proper justice to them)Western audiences would find this film a bit long, and then it has that compulsory ingredient of any bollywood movie - the songs. (Which are good if you understand the language and the poetry) This is not to say that film doesn't have its flaws - to show Akbar as a compassionate king and to have a "happy ending" Asif changed the popular legend by letting Anarkali escape through the false bottom of the wall that opens out into a tunnel unknown to Salim. This defies the internal logic of the tragic love story.But then even Ben Hur had that car in the chariot race!