TNNThe iconic film with its thundering monologues and unforgettable songs will return to the stage in a grand production.
A wild prince, a ravishingly Haseen Kaneez, a powerful emperor and a sobbing mother. And a love that is buried behind a wall by the power of an empire.
Pakistani dramatist Imtiaz Ali Taj's play, 'Anarkali', written in Lahore in 1922, couldn't have packed any more melodrama into his plot about the defiant, doomed love between a prince and a courtesan. It had a small drop of history and large dollops of imagination. Most historians, in fact, believe that Anarkali was Akbar's Persian concubine who may or may not have been eyed by Salim Jahangir. But the play made for great theatre. It also went on to become four epic films, one made in Pakistan, three in India. And now the best known of them, the stunningly opulent 'Mughal-e-Azam' directed by K Asif and released in 1960, is returning to the stage.
The play, to be premiered at NCPA on October 21 before travelling around India and abroad, will be a majestic musical, promises veteran theatre director Feroz Abbas Khan. So expect the crackling one-liners and thundering monologues about 'mohabbat', 'sultanat' and 'hukumat', most of the 12 unforgettable Naushad tracks sung live, classic kathak- 'Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya' and the utterly sensuous 'Mohe Panghat' and costumes designed by Manish Malhotra.
Khan says taking on an iconic film whose dialogues are part of the cultural memories of many generations -remember 'Kaaton ko murjhane ka khauf nahin hota' (thorns are not afraid of drying up) -was a daunting task. “The play will be rendered with power. But it will not be over the top theatricality . It will have freshness to it,“ he says.
In this age of naturalism in both cinema and theatre, will that bombast -'Taqdeerein badal jaati hai, zamana badal jaata hai, mulkon ki tarikh badal jaati hai' (luck changes, times change, nations change) -and mawkish romanticism -'Main tumhari aankhon mein apni mohabbat ka ikraar dekhna chahta hoon' (I want to see my love's acceptance in your eyes) -work? “Naturalism came much later. At one time, dramatists looked for applause. The theatricality and poeticism of 'Mughal-e-Azam' will be a means to revisit the nearly dead classicism in theatre,“ says Deepa Gahlot, head of theatre and film programming at NCPA.
The NCPA is co-producing the play with construction giant Shapoorji Pallonji which also holds the rights to 'Mughal-e-Azam'. How the Pallonjis came to be associated with the film is a fascinating story where corporate and movie history came together in the late 1940s. It is narrated by film historian Anil Zankar in his book on the film, 'Mughal-eAzam', and confirmed by the firm's corporate strategist Deepesh Salgia. One of the big film producers of pre-partition India, Shiraz Ali Hakim was setting up Famous Studios at Mahalaxmi in Mumbai. It was being constructed by Pallonji.Ali, who was also at that time producing 'Mughal-e-Azam', ran out of money to pay the construction firm. He repaid Pallonji by handing over the film's rights to the firm's investment arm, Sterling, and moved to Pakistan.
The Pallonjis left 'Mughal-e-Azam', a record blockbuster, untouched till they got the film coloured for 2004 re-release. “So when they decided to back the play, it was decided that it had to be mounted on a spectacular scale so that it would pull in even those who don't normally watch theatre," says Salgia.
He refuses to talk about the investment in the play . “I can tell investment in the play . “I can tell you that every single costume will cost more than an average play,“ he quips.
The toughest task was to get the casting right. The names are being kept under wraps for now but the two lead characters in the play, Anarkali and Bahar, the conniving `other woman', needed to be dancers, singers, and as Khan says, “lookers“. More importantly, they had to know kathak and Hindustani classical music.
It took months to audition and zero in on a cast with multiple skills from across India.The most daunting job of taking on kathak legend Lachhu Maharaj's role as choreographer went to Bangalore's Mayuri Upadhya.
“There is the weight of tremendous expectations, especially with 'Pyar Kiya Toh'. We are retaining the essence of the original but going in for creative kathak,“ says Upadhya.
A wild prince, a ravishingly Haseen Kaneez, a powerful emperor and a sobbing mother. And a love that is buried behind a wall by the power of an empire.
Pakistani dramatist Imtiaz Ali Taj's play, 'Anarkali', written in Lahore in 1922, couldn't have packed any more melodrama into his plot about the defiant, doomed love between a prince and a courtesan. It had a small drop of history and large dollops of imagination. Most historians, in fact, believe that Anarkali was Akbar's Persian concubine who may or may not have been eyed by Salim Jahangir. But the play made for great theatre. It also went on to become four epic films, one made in Pakistan, three in India. And now the best known of them, the stunningly opulent 'Mughal-e-Azam' directed by K Asif and released in 1960, is returning to the stage.
#56YearsOfMughalEAzam #DidYouKnow #MughalEAzam #Trivia @NCPAMumbai pic.twitter.com/hCTZhEHXmH
— Mughal E Azam (@mughaleazamplay) September 24, 2016
The play, to be premiered at NCPA on October 21 before travelling around India and abroad, will be a majestic musical, promises veteran theatre director Feroz Abbas Khan. So expect the crackling one-liners and thundering monologues about 'mohabbat', 'sultanat' and 'hukumat', most of the 12 unforgettable Naushad tracks sung live, classic kathak- 'Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya' and the utterly sensuous 'Mohe Panghat' and costumes designed by Manish Malhotra.
Khan says taking on an iconic film whose dialogues are part of the cultural memories of many generations -remember 'Kaaton ko murjhane ka khauf nahin hota' (thorns are not afraid of drying up) -was a daunting task. “The play will be rendered with power. But it will not be over the top theatricality . It will have freshness to it,“ he says.
Get ready to be enchanted and enthralled! #MughalEAzam play premieres on 21st October @NCPAMumbai @Deepesh_Salgia pic.twitter.com/WCNAx7HXqb
— Mughal E Azam (@mughaleazamplay) September 23, 2016
In this age of naturalism in both cinema and theatre, will that bombast -'Taqdeerein badal jaati hai, zamana badal jaata hai, mulkon ki tarikh badal jaati hai' (luck changes, times change, nations change) -and mawkish romanticism -'Main tumhari aankhon mein apni mohabbat ka ikraar dekhna chahta hoon' (I want to see my love's acceptance in your eyes) -work? “Naturalism came much later. At one time, dramatists looked for applause. The theatricality and poeticism of 'Mughal-e-Azam' will be a means to revisit the nearly dead classicism in theatre,“ says Deepa Gahlot, head of theatre and film programming at NCPA.
The NCPA is co-producing the play with construction giant Shapoorji Pallonji which also holds the rights to 'Mughal-e-Azam'. How the Pallonjis came to be associated with the film is a fascinating story where corporate and movie history came together in the late 1940s. It is narrated by film historian Anil Zankar in his book on the film, 'Mughal-eAzam', and confirmed by the firm's corporate strategist Deepesh Salgia. One of the big film producers of pre-partition India, Shiraz Ali Hakim was setting up Famous Studios at Mahalaxmi in Mumbai. It was being constructed by Pallonji.Ali, who was also at that time producing 'Mughal-e-Azam', ran out of money to pay the construction firm. He repaid Pallonji by handing over the film's rights to the firm's investment arm, Sterling, and moved to Pakistan.
The Pallonjis left 'Mughal-e-Azam', a record blockbuster, untouched till they got the film coloured for 2004 re-release. “So when they decided to back the play, it was decided that it had to be mounted on a spectacular scale so that it would pull in even those who don't normally watch theatre," says Salgia.
He refuses to talk about the investment in the play . “I can tell investment in the play . “I can tell you that every single costume will cost more than an average play,“ he quips.
The toughest task was to get the casting right. The names are being kept under wraps for now but the two lead characters in the play, Anarkali and Bahar, the conniving `other woman', needed to be dancers, singers, and as Khan says, “lookers“. More importantly, they had to know kathak and Hindustani classical music.
It took months to audition and zero in on a cast with multiple skills from across India.The most daunting job of taking on kathak legend Lachhu Maharaj's role as choreographer went to Bangalore's Mayuri Upadhya.
“There is the weight of tremendous expectations, especially with 'Pyar Kiya Toh'. We are retaining the essence of the original but going in for creative kathak,“ says Upadhya.
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