Muz wrote:
The scene I mentioned was after the Khuda Neghaban song that is in colour. On my old VHS there is a black and white scene of the guards marching with Anarkali and then it cuts to the palace guards getting the roof of the wall ready (looping the chains through the stone roof, winching it up, flattening the ground where they will build the wall etc.) This is all in b/w and then it cuts back to colour and the scenes continue as they are in the DVD. I have never seen any of this in any other version. It doesn't add anything at all to the story - and to be honest drags out the whole last part of the movie ... but just an interesting part that is now missing. I wish I could find a copy of the old old pirate VHS again as this was on the very first release of Mughal-e-Azam that was available in the very early days of video.
It'll be nice to track that scene.
In the mean while, I too checked my MEA DVD and VHSs. As I mentioned earlier, Shemaroo DVDs from the pre-color MEA times, that I have are a little over 197 min. My VHS is 185 min or so. Although it does not have that scene you mentioned, it does have an extra 2-3 min of a sequence in the climax:
1) As Anarkali is standing, they start building the stone wall. Wall building scenes are a little more than what's in MEA DVDs. (10-30 sec extra in VHS)
2) As Akbar refuses to grant Anakali's Mom's promissed wish, she goes to Jodha. Jodha agrees with her and takes a sword to half conscious Salim and asks him to fight for Anarkali and save her in time. Salim goes on horseback, struggles and is determined to get there, eventually stumbles and does not quite reach the burial site. (2 min).
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In the VHS days and also in the theatrical release days, there were various cuts of the film that were presented in different films. I just checked the last 10 min of the film and found 2 min of extra segment than what's in 197 min version. And, Muz has seen another 20-30 sec in the same last 10 min segment. If someone searched the rest of it, one may find more rare segments ??
Anyway, just combining the Shemaroo 197+ min version and adding the 3 min segments that I and Muz mentioned, we get
200 min of Mughal-E-Azam. There could be more such lost segments.
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BTW,
1960 Film CC Film Length = ?? (Recall, "Ae Mohabbat Zindabaad" song was added later on.
1980 Film CC shows 5088 meters which is 185 min.
Nov 2004 Colored MEA Film CC shows 4836 metes which is 176 min.
Available video is at least 200 min, combining different sources.
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Johny Walker name is in the Credits as Guest Appearance.
Did anyone notice him ?? Where ??
Or, is this another scene gone missing, over the years ??