 Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) finds out, and is furious and does his best to thwart the romance, says in one of its most famous lines “a commoner could never be the empress of India”. The lovers however are adamant and Salim rebelliously declares war on his own father. The battle scene is a landmark one in Indian cinema because of its authenticity. It involved thousands extras and 100s horses. Salim is defeated in the battle and brought before Akbar who sentences him to death. Anarkali intervenes and offers to sacrifice her life for Salim. Her last request is to spend a night with him after which she is taken to be entombed alive in a brick wall.
Premiered simultaneously in about 150 theatres all over the country the film was huge money grosser in those times. In a rave review, Filmfare wrote "Mughal-e-Azam is a tribute to the imagination, hard work and lavishness of its maker…For its grandeur, its beauty and the performances of the artistes it should be a landmark in Indian films." The films success was fuelled by the rumours of the doomed romance between the lead pair, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. It is said that the moment they got together on screen the audience in the hall would erupt into whistles and catcalls. No wonder that the most famous scene from, Mughal-e-Azam is the most sensitively portrayed love scene where Dilip Kumar tickles the impassioned face of Madhubala with a white feather shot mainly in extreme close-ups of the two.
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Grandness in its very best…K.Asif’s ode to love couldn’t possibly be any more opulent. With exquisite sets and an ensemble cast Mughal –E-Azam most definitely redefined the parameters of Indian Cinema. Its incredible cinematography and huge canvas made it a benchmark in the history of Indian cinema.Mughal-e-Azam is a story of two star-crossed lovers. Anarkali, a commoner, (Madhubala) and Prince Salim (Dilip Kumar) the heir apparent fall in love much to the chagrin of everyone involved.
