MUGHAL-E-AZAM READY FOR UK RE-RELEASE

Indian cinema’s biggest epic blockbuster, Mughal-e-Azam, has made world cinematic history, with its re-release in colour to become the world’s first colourised film to be theatrically re-released. Along with colouring and restoring the film, the music and the background score of the film, which were first recorded in the 1950s, have been re-recorded by the original composer using original Hindustani Classical instruments and have re-created for a true Dolby/ Dts 6.1 experience, another first for world cinema.

Mughal-e-Azam, recognised as a world cinematic classic, will be launched nationwide in the UK in March 2005, and like its original release more than 40 years ago and its re-release in India late last year, the film is anticipated to supersede all existing box office records set by any Bollywood film, globally. Glamour and glitter marked the star-studded Indian premiere for Mughal-e-Azam, which was attended by a galaxy of stars including thespian and the male lead in the movie film Dilip Kumar, his wife Saira Bano, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee, Rekha, Sridevi, Tabu, Akshay Khanna, Anil Kapoor, and Govinda to name a few.

From the sets – sweeping, regal palaces, sandscapes, dungeons and escape routes – to the costumes - to the innumerable extras – and exquisite jewellery, Mughal-e-Azam, which took an incredible nine years to make (1951 – 1960), is undeniably a cinematic classic, standing a monumental testament to director K. Asif's vision and commitment. The lavish song picturisations, the poignant performance of one of India’s most acclaimed legendary actors Dilip Kumar, the breathtaking and eternal beauty of the late celebrated Indian actress Madhubala, never before seen in a colour film, and the ornate jewel and gold encrusted jewellery and costumes renders itself remarkably to a colour scheme that takes the epic beyond the black and white shades of the original.

The colour version of this magnum opus has renewed the life of this cinematic great, and cineastes from the UK, both old and young alike, will experience the enthralling and enchanting splendour of this grand epic. Mughal-e-Azam’s re-release in colour, has granted the ensuing generations, immediate access into this all-time classic, which will continue to remain undimmed by the tides of time.

The return of Mughal-e-Azam brings a revived version of a timeless soundtrack created 44 years ago. The scintillating music, which was originally composed by Naushad, has been re-recorded under his stewardship by Uttam Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Naushad's son Raju, with meticulous care to preserve the pristine and sublime quality of each song. Music lovers will once again be enchanted by the soul of Mughal-e-Azam, Indian nightingale Lata Mangeshkar’s young melodious voice, as she sings the haunting song Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, a song that never fails to charm. It would also be the first time that film goers will listen to the great voices of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Mohammedd Rafi, Prithviraj Kapur and Shamshad Begum in a Dolby Digital framework, which have been anthropomorphised through the coloured screen.

The original production company, Sterling Investment Corporation Pvt Ltd, has produced the new version of Mughal-e-Azam, and around 150 technical personnel worked at six different studios to complete the whole work.

Synopsis:

Set in 16th century AD, Mughal-e-Azam tells the story of doomed lovers, court dancer Anarkali (Madhubala), and Prince Salim (Dalip Kumar). Their relationship makes us ponder if we have ever seen a pair so sheathed in ardour, passion and despair as every caress, touch and breath they take exudes the power of true love. When Prince Salim’s father Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) learns of their love, he is furious and does his best to thwart the romance saying a commoner could never be the empress of India. Though the love story is the backbone of the film, it is Akbar's dilemma that is placed centre stage as he is torn between love for his only son and the demands of the Mughal Empire. Salim however is adamant and rebelliously leads an army against his father. He is defeated in battle and brought before Akbar who sentences him to death. Anarkali agrees to sacrifice her life for Salim to be spared and after spending the night with him is taken to be entombed alive in a brick wall.

But is Anarkali ever rescued and reunited with her lover? Does Emperor Akbar ever accept the relationship and defy the rules of his kingdom? Mughal-e-Azam evocatively, passionately and endearingly reveals the answers to the above, whilst captivating a mesmerised audience …

Mughal-e-Azam Fact Sheet:

Mughal-e-Azam will be on general release nationwide in the UK in March 2005.

Mughal-e-Azam is the first film in the world to be colourised for a big screen (35mm) release

The colourisation technology development and execution was completely done in India. It would be the first time that Indian cinema has achieved technological achievement ahead of Hollywood in image processing.

Hollywood firms have been able to colourise films only for TV or DVD output. Never before has colourisation technology been developed to transform the black and white dyes of a feature film’s print, to reveal a spectrum of true colours. The technique has been pioneered in India, where a new restoration and colourisation software was created and customised in such a manner that it accepts only those dyes that match the grey shades of the original input and incorporates features for a 35mm release. The Research and Devlopment on colourisation and restoration process took almost one and half years to develop and over 12 months of execution time. It comprises digitizing the 300,000 frames of the film at 2k resolution. In order to revive the masterpiece, gamma contrast and fungus correction, scratch and pinhole removal, digital stitching of torn frames and stabilization work has been carried out on the original negatives. This ensures that the colours selected are as close as possible to the original.

The whole exercise was extremely complex owing to exquisite clothing and the ornate jewellery and grand sets used in the movie.

In India, the new version of the film has completed 100 days in 14 cinema halls in India, a rare achievement for new releases and probably a World Record for any re-release in any part of the World.

The old version of Mughal-e-Azam was showcased in more than seven international film festivals across Europe and the US in 2003-04. The first screening of the new version was held at the Berlin Film Festival on 18th February, 2005 and showcased in the Retrospective &Homage segment, which has screened other classics such as Citizen Kane, Gone With The Wind and Wizard of Oz. Mughal-e-Azam was launched with 150 prints on November 12th 2004 and is now running successfully in 194 prints in India and the Gulf. The number of prints is set to increase to over 250 when launched overseas in the UK and US. Gone With The Wind was re-released in 1998 with 200 prints.

Mughal-e-Azam was made at a time when Techni-colour had just been introduced in India. In paying heed to this technological development, K. Asif’s desire was to re-film Mughal-e-Azam into colour, as this would best portray the magnitude of his film. He was only able to shoot four reels in colour, and as a result of impatient distributors (who had already waited for nine years), Mughal-e-Azam was released 85% in black and white and 15% colour. Nonetheless, the colourisation of his film signifies the fulfilment of K. Asif’s incomplete vision and not a tamper with art.

The film was re-released in India on the same scale and grandeur as was done in 1960, for instance, the print for Mughal-e-Azam was once again unloaded at the cinemahall from an elephant top (as in 1960), becoming one of the most talked about film premieres in the world.

When originally released in 1960 in Maratha Mandir, India, the film had 100% booking requests for seven weeks even before the first show of the film. The film had an uninterrupted run for three years in full shows, a record unbeaten for 44 years.

While creating a 21st century cinematic experience, the originality of the film was completely maintained – a rare combination of Medieval Art and Contemporary Technology.

In the shooting of the war scenes, 2000 camels, 4000 horses and 8000 army men from the Indian army took part. In the war scenes, real soldiers, horses, cavalry from the Indian army was used, arranged through a special permission from the Ministry of Defence, India.

The coloured version of the film has been so popular with everyone from 17 to 70 year olds that top leading brands such as McDonalds, Pepsi Foods and Tata Tetley have built their advertisement campaigns based on the theme of Mughal-e-Azam. Using Mughal-e-Azam in the ad campaign became a mantra for immediate attention.

While it's beautifully written article it makes me sad to see how enthused the journalists is about colorisation of this masterpiece! It further saddens me when he causually said "not a tamper with art" Bohemians! What do they know!

Now that is a scary thought. What Next - Digital product placement ?? . Well I can already see the corporate think-tanks working on showing the Prince sipping on his Pepsi, eating French fries while watching a dance routine in Jeans !

If Fred Astaire can sell vacuum cleaners...

It fits well that MEA is owned by a bank. They'll do whatever stupid thing they have to to make a buck. Colorize the film, crop the film, allow McD and Pepsi to use it for advertising, etc.

DUDE WOULD THEY SHOW SALEEM, AKBAR ANARKALI SIPPING PEPSI IN GHAII STYLE?

Here is another indication that MEA actually was shot in color not just for the "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" song, as stated in many news reports.
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I was wondering:
A few TV promotions that I saw had Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya song. These colors were awful BTW (too much Yellow). Did they re-color even the original color sequences again, to be consistant??
Original PKTDK song in DVDs has excellent colors.

MEA is also getting its North American premiere in one of the film festivals in March-April. I saw this report a day or two ago, somewhere on the web. Can't find that report now.

http://autofeed.msn.co.in/pandorav3/out ... ae1d8.aspx

Maybe Asif shot 4 reels of raw footage in color.



No it doesn't. The rest of the shoot was b/w, so they surely adjusted accordingly. Adding color to something not shot in color is tampering.

My thoughts exactly, Asif wanted to "Re-Film" not colorize. Any cinematographer will tell you that there is no way to "replace" natural light (or light used at that moment in time and space) with digital light (the technology simply does not exist). What I don’t understand is the rationale behind colorizing; to me there is nothing wrong in showing a film in B&W (the way it was shot). Legendary Director Ingmar Bergman once said that B&W photography is the best way to show raw emotions. His long time collaborator and cinematographer Sven Nykvist considered color to be a source of superficial beauty and hence cause of unnecessary distractions. And just for the record the same people gave us a color filled horrific "Cries and Whispers". I am sure Asif would have done a wonderful job had he shot in color, but he did not and he could manage only 4 reels. So back-off and put your hands to better use. There are good reasons why attempts at trying to colorize Casablanca (Ted Turner – burn in hell) failed miserably. Similarly with Kurosawa's "Rashmon" - for anyone who has seen the film, you know the importance of shadows and sunlight in the film.

Bottom-line - I consider it a travesty to even see MEA (or any other Indian classic made in B&W) in color for the same reason why I cant see the above classics from other masters of cinema.

Interesting! Guess what, now it seems Mr Turner is employing reversal bastardization, turning color films to monochrome! Here in his own words ("We are going to bring the greats of popular culture to the highbrows who don't properly appreciate them by speaking their language. Star Wars, for example, was one of the greatest movies ever made. It should have swept the Academy Awards. E.T. was a masterpiece! Why didn't the academy get it? And Ishtar! Has there ever been a funnier comedy? Those old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Road To turkeys cannot hold a candle to it. I am currently negotiating with Lucasfilm to Monochromize the entire set of Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. Imagine the scene where Luke and Han get their medals in the artistic beauty of black and white. It won't seem corny anymore once that darn flashy color is gone! George Lucas' Star Wars will finally be hailed as one of the all time greats, right up there with Orson Wells' Citizen Kane, and Edward D. Wood Junior's masterpiece, Plan 9 From Outer Space. I can't wait! ") He cant' wait? and so is hell!

Reel with Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya song midway thru the film and last 3 reels of the film were in color. In those days, I guess, films were mostly shot in sequence??

For those that are interested in seeing this "graffiti" marred masterpiece you may find this article of some interest!

K Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam will be premiered in London on March 17. It will also cross over into the US with a first showing at the Writers Guild of America Theatre in Beverly Hills during the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles on March 17. Restored in colour in a wide-screen format with digital surround sound, the film completed 100 days in 14 cinemas across India.

Mughal-e-Azam mesmerizes Germans!

http://www.indiafm.com/scoop/05/mar/160 ... ndex.shtml
By Taran Adarsh, March 16th 2005 - 1030 hrs IST

The new restored version of Mughal-e-Azam was premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on Feb 18, 2005. The Germans could not believe their eyes when they saw the film. Enthralled by the colourful dances and the wonderful sets, there was a mad rush for the posters and merchandise of the film. Within few minutes all the posters and publicity material were lapped up by the Germans. So mesmerized were the Germans with Madhubala's poster that they asked the producers to make the posters available for sale in Berlin.

The show ended with a standing ovation from the crowd. This was followed by a presentation made by the Project Director, Deepesh Salgia on the technical aspects of the restoration process leaving Germans amazed by the technological advancement made by Bollywood.

A large number of distributors have evinced interest in dubbing the film in German. The US premiere of the film would be organised by Indian Film Festival of LA on 17th March which will be followed by the UK premiere. Thereafter the film shall release in US and UK and other overseas territories on 1st April.

MEA is showing in Ottawa Mayfair theatre on the April 16-17 weekend.