For all of you who think K Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam was the biggest film Bollywood ever made, here’s some good news: Acclaimed director Feroz Abbas Khan is all set to direct the cult classic, which featured Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala in lead roles, into a Broadway-style musical playsome good news for fans of K. Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam, that featured Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala in lead roles. Khan says the adaptation is his tribute to the original film.
Watch all the songs of Mughal E Azam
Khan, best known for his award-winning film Gandhi, My Father and successful plays like Tumhari Amrita, Salesman Ramlal and Mahatma VS Gandhi, will stage the play at the NCPA (National Centre For Performing Arts) in Mumbai, from October 21 till first week of November for a limited engagement of two weeks. The play will then travel to Delhi in December and will be staged in the capital’s Siri Fort Auditorium.
Muughal E Azam was the most expensive film made at the time (in 1960) and the musical play, too , is being made on a grand scale. Interestingly, it will also feature eight songs from the film to be performed as part of the narrative. Looks like it will be one grand musical live theatrical production witnessed in India.
Acclaimed director Feroz Abbas Khan is all set to direct Mughal-E-Azam - a Broadway-style musical play - which will be a tribute to the original film.
Speaking about the adaptation, Feroz Abbas Khan said in a statement, “Mughal-E-Azam is apt because even the film was inspired by a play, Anarkali, which K Asif saw and borrowed passages of dialogue from. It’s a dramatic father-son story with the nation at stake. In its writing skills and mounting, it was close to perfection with great dialogues and emotional story-telling, complemented by eye-catching visuals and a terrific score.”
The upcoming musical has another connection with the original cult classic-- the musical will be co-produced by none other than Shapoorji Palanji, the 150-year old business conglomerate that had funded K. Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam with a budget of fifteen million rupees in 1960, making it the most expensive film made at the time.
Other than Feroz Abbas Khan, other names attached to this ambitious project are costume designer Manish Malhotra, award-winning lighting designer David Lander, Emmy award nominee projection designer John Narun, production designer Neil Patel and choreographer Mayuri Upadhya.