Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Peter Young Mughul-E-Azam boasts of some of the highest production values employed in filmmaking in India up to that point, and the result is astounding, to say the least. The film is a true cinematic experience in terms of aesthetics, and be it the black-and-white or the colour version, it is an unforgettable visual treat. The sets, the costumes, are stunningly lavish, almost to the point of casting a gloom over the story itself. And then we have the story, an epic, poetic one, which involves a most subtle love story. The dialogue is stupendous, with many lines having a memorable, larger-than-life quality which enhances the narrative beyond imagination. The music is similarly fantastic, with spectacularly performed dance numbers. Needless to say, "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" is the high-point of the film and the story it tells. Prithviraj Kapoor is excellent in a wonderfully dramatic and appropriately theatrical performance as Emperor Akbar. Dilip Kumar seems to enjoy his own, mere presence, while underplaying his role to great effect. It is Madhubala, however, who walks away with the most fully-realised part of Anarkali, a slave girl whose dignity cannot be taken away at any cost. I found the film a greatly entertaining watch, and while I had a problem with its overlong running time, as well as some faulty sequences, such as the less convincing battle between the father and son, Mughul-E-Azam remains a meticulous piece of art, and a rightly-touted all-time classic of Indian cinema.

fahdistan This is not a movie but a peek into Indian culture which History Buffs would really cherish. From insisting on real pearls for a scene to getting the best classical dancer in India to choreograph his heroine & to getting the best vocalist (who never sang for any other movie) to provide the backdrop to the most iconic love scene in Indian film history the director K Asif created this masterpiece over a period of 12 years. Mughal E Azam is synonymous with scale - the grandness of its sets, the loftiness of its dialogue, the brilliance of its actors, the astuteness of its photography (check out the sequence in the palace of mirrors) as well as the timelessness of its music. If you have to watch one India Movie, this is it

Abby-9 Mughal-e-Azam may represent history both of India and of film but, as in any good tale, the tensions within and between the characters surprised me by being fresh and immediate. The sheer visual beauty was worth the full-price theatre ticket at a special showing in Richmond. I was a little skeptical beforehand about the colorization--but this is done lovingly as an art in itself and fully supportive of the cinematographic effects of the original filming. Completely enjoyed it! Also a source of pleasure: the traditional figures come to life, and the actors are committed to their characters with depth of sincerity that insures integrity of the story. Now--questions that came out of the theatre with me regarding justice: was it "might makes right"? Was there another justice than this tyrannic "scale" of the Emperor's? Does the Emperor reward the Sculptor to acknowledge a higher Cause, the "Emperor of Emperors"? Is his fatal role the reason the Sculptor (creator of true images) has no name? It was he who brought Amarkali into the court with a prophesy of what would come of it. While the Sculptor seems to be an arm of Fate, so the courtesan Bahar (deliciously played by Nigar Sultana) also administers Fate as she manipulates actions and outcomes. What will her reward be? Is there any other Justice than the Emperor's? Is her self-seeking malice considered so inevitable that Fate does not touch her, in turn? If my answers lie in further reading into these histories, so be it . . . In the meantime, the scenes of the movie play out in my mind as I wonder about fate, justice, and--of course--human love. After the movie, in the theatre lobby, a young woman spotted a mouse skittering from the auditorium across the lobby into a closet. I believe it was Sri Ganesha's vehicle.

Herag Halli K. Asif was the Indian "Cecille B. Demille" (who was known as CB, in the industry)conceived and executed his vision on a grand Scale. There will only be one "Ben-Hur", one "Lawrence of Arabia", one "Sound of Music", one "Sangam", one "Gadar-Ek Prem Katha" and only one "Mughal-E-Azam". The grand scale is evident in the lyrical poetry set into music by music maestro Naushad, which laid the rich tapestry for this Magnum Opus. Prithviraj Kapoor, was the doyen, who started Prithvi theaters and was the patriarc of the Kapoor Clan, which included The older Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Sashi Kapoor. The most talented was Raj kapoor, who was the "Barnum" of the Indian Cinema. He made countless movies and everyone of them a masterpiece, but the best was "Sangam" (1963). Baritone voiced Prithviraj Kapoor, was in the same genre as Charlston Heston,Laurence Olivier and Richard Burton, an actor's actor; a style that was unique and patented. After I watched the movie after three decades, few things stood out-the ornate settings for the Madhubala's (Born as Mumtaz Begum, was married to singer/actor Kishore Kumar, and died at age of 36, from a congenital heart problem), dance sequence, the rich music, the beauty of the yesteryear actresses and the devotion of the directors to make a statement-not just a movie. For current tastes and standards("Dabaang" "Three Idiots" "Housefull 2" produced by the Bollywood suvvar scum maggots,) the movie is a drag, but for the masses in the bygone years that starved for class and elegance, this was a treat. I was not too impressed with Dilip Kumar, as young Prince, most of the time he looked distant and lost. Suffice to say he matured to be good actor ("Ram aur Shyam") in the later years. The two that carried the mantle were Kapoor and Madhubala.