Reliving Mughal-e-Azam

       From Cinema to Theatre – Reliving Mughal-e-Azam 

Anarkali, the courtesan, is in defiance of the angry Emperor; she wants him to accept the unacceptable - come to terms with her love for his son Prince Salim, the future Shahenshah, even as she sings the eternal lyric ‘Pyaar kiya to darna kya’. The dancers twirl around, almost like dervishes, singing while in rhythmic kathak steps under the reflected, twinkling lights of a resplendent aaina mahal! 

For a while, the enchanted audience is magically transported back in memory to the legendary K. Asif’s historical magnum opus ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ of 1960 in all its glory.

Except, that that January evening, we were glued to our seats, watching the musical play, circa 2017, at the Jamshedjee Bhabha Auditorium of the NCPA, Mumbai. Amazed at the transformation of the melody in the film, to one on stage, the audience broke into a feverish applause as the song concluded with a climax akin to a musical explosion!

The background score continues even as the aaina mahal slowly dissolves into darkness; the sculptor of Anarkali reminisces to the audience as a sutradhar; the walls of a Mughal Fort slide in from the wings. Exquisitely carved pillars come down from the top. Steps to the high throne move in somewhere in the back – all set to continue to the next act, next scene!

And therein lays the magic of the two-hour musical play, the hard work that they have all put in to be in sync with the film. The near-perfect dancing and singing live – simultaneously - was a treat to watch! 

The sound track, inspired by the Indian classical music, comprises many of the original 12 songs, with freshly composed music and background score in Dolby stereo. The old-timers would remember the ‘100-piece orchestra’ meaning violins en-mass for any song those days; alas, they are no more in vogue now! This musical surprisingly, uses violins, making one feel all the more nostalgic.

The beautiful sets match scene for scene each time - the drama around the royal confrontation, the simmering mystique of unrequited love, and the insidiousness of treachery within the palace.

Interspersed with beautiful dance numbers, the songs, sung live (with the background track) by ‘Anarkali’ and ‘Bahar’ are absolute sizzlers! Thinking of few, mohe panaghat pe nand lal ched gayo re, mohabbat ki juthi kahani pe roye, jab raat hai aisi matwali fir subaha ka alam kya hoga, be kashke karam kijiye, and zindabad zindabad are enchantingly sung and choreographed in Kathak style. The most entertaining of them all is the quawwali number - teri mehfil me kismat aazma kar hum bhi dekhenge; the two competing lovers vie for the attention of Salim, who is reclining up front on stage with his back to the audience – imaginative stage adaptation and technique, really!

The challenges and constraints of adapting a timeless epic, and one that had a huge, multi-dimensional canvass, to a fixed, limited square of a revolving stage, without compromising the story, dialogues (in chaste Urdu), the original musical score and lyrics, has been a monumental effort, no doubt about that. Director Feroz Abbas Khan must be complimented for the sheer ingenuity in laboriously converting a famous epic into a stage production. The event is a milestone for the show business industry in India. Technology and stage craft have been superbly amalgamated.. 

To be sure, most of the 60+ star cast including actors playing Anarkali, Bahar, Akbar, Salim, Jodhabai, and Mansingh were not even born in 1960, and therefore not exposed continuously to the crazy popularity of dialogues and musical classics of the film that the old-timers swoon over even today. To achieve the atmospherics and pathos of the original, tragic, immortal love saga of the Mughal era by the modern-day actors and technicians must have been a herculean task. 

The credits include, among others, the art direction team, video projection team, choreography team, music team and stage management team.

For all of us on the wrong side of 65, Mughal-e-Azam, the Musical Play gave us a rare moment to cherish, one that should not be missed next time!

Looking back, there have been many comparable once-in-life-time and rare entertainment events, all in Mumbai, and over a period of past 50+years. To remember a few:

- Watching live at Tata Theatre, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta - in India to perform for the first time ….

- Then, we were in a special audience (with Dilip Kumar, Gopi Krishna) of just 50 people invited to a baithak with Ghazal Maestro Ghulam Ali in Mumbai, again performing for the first time in India!

- Evita’, the musical play led by gutsy Sharon Prabhakar under the Direction of none other than inimitable Alyque Padamsee ….. at the Sophia College Hall, a blast of  entertainment…

- ‘Jashma Oden’ a play in Gujarati directed by Shanta Gandhi with Naseerudin Shah and Ratna Pathak in lead roles..

- In 2016, witnessed the unfolding 3-hr, 3-D dance and music spectacle,  ‘Treasures of Archipelago’ at Nusa Dua Theatre, Bali…

Can life be any better??