The true story of Madhubala is as tragic as its iconic character, Anarkali of Mughal-E-Azam

There are two types of moviegoers watching Mughal-E. -Zam, arguably the greatest Bollywood film ever made. Of course, watch for the pure and artistic love of Mughal-E-Azam and the other only for Madhubala. The images of Madhubala in Mughal-E-Azam are so intrinsic that we often forget that films on the same subject (based on a 1922 play titled Anarkali by Imtiaz Ali Taj) had already been shot three times before. The silent star of the era Sulochana played twice at Anarkali (in 1928 and 1935), while in a 1953 version, Bina Rai was the haunting courtesan of the blind love of which Prince Salim, future King of Hindustan, had raised the flag of revolt. His father, Emperor Akbar, is on the other side of the spectrum.

The records suggest that all versions of Anarkali were hit hits. In fact, Bina Rai's Anarkali with Pradeep Kumar was this year's most profitable Hindi film. Yet this is the fourth version, Mughal-E-Azam, dating back to 1960, with a cast of unbeatable stars of Madhubala, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Durga Khote and Ajit which has become a cultural touchstone. It is useless to repeat the almost mythical stories related to the making of the film. Hindi filmgoers have known for a long time that Mughal-E-Azam has been in preparation for more than 12 years and has experienced several changes of hands. It is thought that the film was first conceived in the mid-1940s by K. Asif, the number of Sanjay Leela Bhansali of that time multiplied by ten. The original actors were Sapru, Chandramohan and Nargis, but when his jinnah-prone producer left for Pakistan after the score, the film remained stuck until he was saved by Shapoorji Pallonji, a millionaire Parsi of Bombay. At that time, it was the 1950s. Times had changed.

Nargis, who was going to immortalize Mother India's enduring but strong mother character, gave way to Madhubala, who was already working with all the big stars in the world. day including Dilip Kumar (Tarana, Amar and Sangdil), Ashok Kumar (Mahal and Howrah Bridge), Guru Dutt (Mr. and Mrs. 55), Kishore Kumar (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi) and Dev Anand (Kala Pani, Nirala, Armaan) . That helped Dilip Kumar be in love with her. The setting of Mughal-E-Azam shivers with their pbadionate chemistry. And yet, look at their professionalism! The most erotically charged scene of the film – the sequence of feathers – was shot when the couple separated and did not even see each other in the eyes. As Kumar revealed in his autobiography, The Substance and The Shadow, "The result was that, halfway through the production of Mughal-e-Azam, we did not even talk to each other. The clbadic scene with the feather between our lips, which fired millions of fantasies, was turned when we had completely stopped, even greeting us. "

Her story behind the scenes is just as fascinating Madhubala's father was a threat on the plateaux How to convince her to shoot such an erotic scene in the presence of her father? Asif would have handed a bundle of notes to his man Friday with the specific instruction to keep Madhubala's father, Ataullah Khan, away from the game and distractingly "Take this money," reported Asif. "Play cards with him, lose!"

In his autobiography, Kumar also confirms what many fans already knew: the reason why Madhubala's marriage to Dilip Kumar had failed, admitting that Madhubala "owns and the attributes that I hoped to find in a woman at that age and at that time, "the reason they could no longer be together was the so-called greedy attempt of her miserly father to start a business venture from their marriage. He may have been afraid of losing Madhubala / Baby Mumtaz, who had been the sole breadwinner of the great family of his day as a child artist, a theme common in Hindi cinema of that time. (Meena Kumari is a shining example and victim of an oppressive father.)

Incidentally, at the heart of Mughal-E-Azam is a powerful paternal figure. The film begins with a map of India, with the powerful Hindustan of the Himalayas and Ganga as narrator. Although K. Asif presents it as a historical epic, the fact is that there is no historical basis for the enchanted figure of Anarkali. A tomb in Lahore claimed to be that of Anarkali. The film, like the play on which it is based, is pure fiction. The characters speak Urdu. The poet and writer Javed Akhtar emphasizes in Talking Films: Conversations with Javed Akhtar by Nasreen Munni Kabir: "In Akbar's time, Urdu was not developed at all and the lingua franca was in Persian. Akbar did not know Persian. He was born in Sindh and grew up in the north of India. So, he probably spoke Haryanvi and Bhojpuri. "Thinking of Mughal-E-Azam in Bhojpuri or a language other than Urdu would make it a fun, unintentional riot. True, no film in the history of Hindi cinema would lose as much of its value if it was shot in another language. It is therefore not surprising that four of the best writers of the Urdu language were used to break through the memorable lines. All actors in the film speak the chaste urdu, including Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.

In the opening scene, we see Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) walking barefoot, like a commoner, under the burning desert sun, in search of sacred blessings for an heir of the kingdom Mughal. Soon, he will have the chance to have a son, Prince Salim. The entrance to Anarkali lasted half an hour. Anarkali is deceptively dressed in marble sculpture when an adult Salim meets her for the first time. This in itself is the first key that indicates the ominous omen of the culminating point where Anarkali would be condemned to be buried alive. The song "Teri Mehfil Mein" contains clues about Anarkali's uncertain future which, it seems, provides for her glorious destiny and her imminent glory granted to a tragic love when she will sing: "Mohabbat humna maana zindagi barbaad karti hai / Yeh kya kam hai ke mar jaane pe duniya yaad karti hai / Kisi ke ishq mein duniya lutakar hum bhi dekhenge. "

From that moment, Mughal-E-Azam is all about this common courtesan who is challenging the imposing tribunals of the Mughal Sultanate. She openly rebels against Akbar in 'Jab Pyaar Kiya Toh', one of the film's most popular titles. Madhubala dominates the soundtrack just as no other heroine in the film has ever done. If a Mughal-E-Azam heart is in its dramatic scenes, the other heart lies in its song and its music. In a film about kingship and courtesy, it is the nautical girl Anarkali who suggests royalty and clbad with her uncompromising values ​​and her power of love. The film could very well have been called Anarkali, instead of Mughal-E-Azam and no one would oppose it.

The powerful and conflicting scenes of Madhubala with Kapoor (the young viewers can find them melodramatic but in defense of the film, let's just say that the Indians cinema, at that time, was still under the influence of the theater parsi and the ornate style was de rigueur) and romantic and tender moments with Kumar tie Moghal-E-Azam. Here you will find the most perfect expression of Indian plurality. Note the links in the chain – designed by Muslim thinkers and writers, adopted by Hindu and Muslim worshipers, and music generics shared by Naushad, Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum and obtained through a stock exchange, thanks to the millionaire Parsi. 19659016] In 1960, Madhubala dominated the box office charts with Mughal-E-Azam, with Barsaat Ki Raat, the second most profitable film of the year. Nine years later, barely 36 years old, she died tragically young. We will never know what she would have looked like. I imagine that she would have followed the same path as Waheeda Rehman – graceful and elegant. Perhaps she would have taken the road Suchitra Sen pbading in the public eye. We know that Hindi cinema has never produced a beauty as mesmerizing as it is. We recorded Shammi Kapoor as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He even proposed his marriage.

Instead, Madhubala married Kishore Kumar. It was a wedding done in hell. She died of heart disease, leaving only memories, a magical dust and a mystery – as well as many bruised and broken hearts, including those of Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Premnath, for n & # 39; to name a few.

(Shaikh Ayaz is a writer and journalist based in Mumbai)