A documentary on Mughal-E-Azam

By IndiaFM News Bureau, October 26th, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST



K.Asif's epic extravaganza Mughal-e-Azam will be resurrected this Diwali. But that's not the end in celebrating the glory of the magnanimous film. A documentary on Mughal-e-Azam will also be released very soon. Ace photographer Jayesh Seth has made a documentary on the Dilip Kumar-Madhubala-Prithviraj Kapoor-Ajit starrer. The documentary includes footages of several stalwarts of cine industry commenting on their take on the film.

A documentary, Chale Chalo, on the making of the Oscar nominated film Lagaan

Someone said, original full frame has been coloured and will be on DVD. Sad, that it's not for theatrical screening. I'd rather prefer B&W OAR, in theatre. Each and every frame was conceived for 4:3 AR. Chopping top and bottom, to make it widescreen, is bound to make it worst. BTW, in one of the color frames at Rediff slide show on Mughleazam, coloured Dilip Kumar looks worst than in B&W. Looks much older and different than intended.
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2004/oct/25slide4.htm

look here rana they describe process of restoration/color etc here..

http://www.mughaleazam.com/

http://www.mughaleazam.com/restoration.htm

"The technology is customized in such a manner that it accepts only those colors that could have been there during the shoot"

When you shoot in b/w the actors could be wearing green makeup, which shows up differently in b/w, and the sets, costumes, etc. may be weird colors to look better in b/w, so making everything the "original" color would not be the best idea.

Lot of impressive effort has gone in in coloring it.

I'm still unclear whether the film print is derived from the degitized print or it's just a restored 35mm print with color added on to it??

Why I ask this is because they talk of 3 Million pixels for each frame. This is just the resolution of 1080P HDTV. It'll look great on HDTV, but on giant screen, we'll see. I thought 35mm film resolution is better than 4 Million pixels.
Let's see how it shows on big screen. Restored material seems to be perfect for top class HDTV though. Moreover, DVD can have the OAR of 4:3 where top and bottom of the frames are not cut off, unlike the wide screen theatrical print.

It's 2K at 4:3 (e.g. 2048 * 1560) ~ 3 Mio. It's enough resolution for this old film shot
in India. HD is less resolution and 16:9. All prints are from the 2K via film out and printed
from negative.

From India FM ...

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Mughal-e-Azam will have two premieres

By IndiaFM News Bureau, October 27th, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST

The refurbished version of Mughal-e-Azam will see two premieres in Mumbai city. One will be held in the town-side while the other in a suburb multiplex. Even after 44 years, the film will release in as many as 65 cinema halls in Mumbai city itself.

The first premiere of Mughal-e-Azam happened on August 5th, 1960 at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai that was decorated magnanimously and resembled a Mughal arena. The prints for the premiere were brought on an elephant back. Unfortunately the premiere of the grand revived version (in colored prints and Dolby Digital sound) is not happening at the cinema-hall where it was first opened. Maratha Mandir is booked with Abbas-Mustan's Aitraaz for the Diwali week.

i grabbed a copy of the trailer.. check it here

Do any Torontonians at Zulm.net know if the new Mughal-E-Azam will get a theatrical release here?

Mughal-e-Azam ahead of its time

By IndiaFM News Bureau, November 01st, 2004 - 1230 hrs IST



Download Mughal-e-Azam wallpapers


K. Asif's Mughal-E-Azam released in 1960 was undoubtedly much ahead of its times. Do you ask why? Well there are more reasons than one for it.

In 1960 when an average Indian film would cost not more than USD 2,00,000 at the most, Mughal-E-Azam cost as much as USD 30,00,000. The Sheesh-mahal song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya itself cost Rs 1.5 million. This song is considered as one of the best picturized songs in the history of Indian cinema till date.

It is considered wasteful to use one-lakh feet of negative on an average film. But in the shooting of Mughal-eAzam over 10-lakh feet of negatives were spent.

Almost all historical epics (Ramayan, Mahabharat, Devdas, Taj Mahal) have had repeated remakes. But such has been the impact of Mughal-E-Azam that no producer has dared a remake of the Salim - Anarkali theme.

And after 44 years, the film refurbished to a new all colored format and retaining its original splendor will release in the Diwali week on November 12.

Sectional appeal for 'Mughal-E-Azam'
By Abid ©2004 Bollyvista.com

There is yet another movie releasing on November 12 - 'Mughal-E-Azam'. It has 130 prints (colorized version) and will be released in 100 theaters across India, with a maximum of 50 to 55 prints in Bombay. Interestingly, this is where Anil Kapoor's brother Boney is distributing the movie in partnership with a diamond merchant-cum-producer Dinesh Gandhi. Talking about the prospects of the movie, a leading trade expert says, "there is definitely a craze for the colorized version of K. Asif's movie marvel 'Mughal-E-Azam' among a section of the audience."

Mughal-E-Azam mural at 24 Karat

By IndiaFM News Bureau, November 02nd, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST



Download Mughal-e-Azam wallpapers


Even before its release, the colossal magnitude of Mughal-e-Azam is conspicuous at the 24 Karat multiplex at Jogeshwari in Mumbai. A huge mural of Mughal-e-Azam has been installed outside the multiplex giving the passerby a peek into what's in store for the audience this Diwali.

Incidentally when Mughal-e-Azam was first released 44 years ago on August 5, 1960 there was a huge 40 feet cutout of Prithiviraj Kapoor as Akbar outside the Maratha Mandir theatre at Mumbai Central.

The refurbished colored version of Mughal-e-Azam will see two premieres in the city. However this time it will not be premiered at Maratha Mandir where the movie saw an uninterrupted run for three years in full shows. Maratha Mandir is booked with Aitraaz for the Diwali week. However, the original owners of Maratha Mandir who now own the 24 Karat multiplex will premiere the film at their cinema.

Mughal-e-Azam

By Gaurav Malani, Nov 04th, 2004 - 1000 hrs IST



Mughal-e-Azam, the name itself spells magnificence, splendor and dignity. K.Asif's blockbuster extravaganza starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala was a visual treat. And not just visual, the film had a fervent musical charm too. Musician Naushad's tunes on Shakeel Badayuni's lyrics are immortal. On the eve of the re-release of the renovated version of the film after 44 years, lets take a trip down the memory lane revisiting the music of the film.

The album opens with the evergreen Lata Mangeshkar solo track Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya . In this extended LP version, the track opens on the backdrop of violin chords and is followed by rich classical alaap rendition (a rarity these days) by some unaccredited singers, creating a palatial aura. After around two minutes of this classical rendition, Lata's voice seeps in as a prologue to the track. Shakeel Badayuni's lucid and logical lyrics are still remembered and if the legend behind the song is to be believed, it goes that the song was written around 105 times before Naushad finally favored the writer Shakeel with an approval. Another interesting story behind this track is that music director Naushad asked Lata Mangeshkar to sing the song in a bathroom of the Rajkamal Studio. That is because in those days, during sound recoding and mixing, there was no electronic effect to provide for reverberation of sound. So the bathroom walls were used for natural echo-effect. And such was the grandeur of this song that it was specially shot in color format in the otherwise black-and-white film.

Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal that opens with mesmerizing string notes is another musical gem and has a bhajan shade to it. Shakeel's lyrics enunciate the naughty pranks of Lord Krishna as a child. Lata is just perfect in getting the pronunciation nuances of this song correct. One can also figure out a distinct difference in Lata's vocals as compared to her recent renditions in the sense that her yesteryear songs were considerably and pleasingly much lower on the sharp treble notes.

Three tracks with strong emotive flavor follow soon. The most popular of them all – Mohobbat Ki Jhooti Kahani has a touching tune while Humey Kaash Tumse Mohobbat Na Hoti is a slow-sad-short number that makes for a good solitude listening. Bekas Pe Karam Kijiye has the distinct violin overtones of the bygone era.

Next comes a lively qawalli Teri Mehfil Main Kismat Aazmakar , the first and only track of this album where Shamshad Begum lends her voice. Lata Mangeshkar too features in the track, which actually is a jugalbandi (one-upmanship) between the two lead singers. A crisp contrast in terms of both the vocals and the lyrics can be savored in this qawalli . Shamshad Begum's rustic rendition acts as a perfect counterpoint to Lata Mangeshkar's honey-soaked vocals. Also Shakeel Badayuni's lyrics that alternate from being in support of love to acting against it, do full justice to both players of the qawalli . And despite Naushad's standard qawalli musical arrangements, the song has a vivacious foot-tapping feel to it. This is probably one of the best-composed female qawalli's of Hindi cinema.

The joyful mood continues with Ye Dil Ki Lagi by Lata, a happy-go-lucky song about the pleasant experiences of love. Naushad creates a sparkling texture with the blend of wind and string instruments. Mohammad Rafi makes an appearance in Aye Mohobbat Zindabad that is about the triumph and glory of love. It was for the first (and possibly the last time) in the history of Indian cinema that one hundred chorus singers were used in a song. How they were arranged to sit along with musicians is in itself an interesting story.

The concluding tracks by Lata – Ae Ishq Yeh Duniyawale and Khuda Nigehban Ho are more situational numbers with good melody but to an extent are overshadowed by the intensity of the earlier numbers.

Mughal-e-Azam essentially has classical shades where you get to hear authentic original instruments. No synthesized music over here! The music may perhaps have a restricted appeal (confined till the yesteryear music lovers). Present generation music lovers, who haven't tasted such music before, may be apprehensive. But an open mind trail is strongly recommended.

The music of Mughal-e-Azam may not be contemporary, but undeniably, its appeal is eternal.

Any idea if it's going to release in north american theaters??

I remember reading somewhere in the early days of MEA re-release news that it's a limited release. Bombay ckt will see 50 prints, that's where it's primarily releasing. (Compare it with Veer Zara that's releasing with 150 prints for the same Bombay territory). Toronto's Albion Cinemas have no indication of MEA, but they do mention other forthcoming films like Veer Zara, Aitbaar etc.

On the other hand, the producers did mention MEA's fabulous reception in the overseas territoris whenever it was shown in the past. So, perhaps, MEA prints will make rounds in the Overseas market, but not all at once??