QUESTION: Mughal e Azam
Chander Vishal
but...
Is the movie supposed to be in color or black and white?
The copy I rented switched back and forth.
Personally I like it better in black and white.
Vishal
Sivakumar Ravada
BHAVIN DOSHI <bh...@Lehigh.EDU> wrote:
>as far as I can remember, that print too was partly black-and-white
>and partly colour! I think it starts off as black-and-white and then
>switches to colour after some time; not sure whether it switches back.
>
>Bhavin.
Mughal-E-Azam is a BW film. Only one song (and a few shots afterwards?)
'Jab pyaar kiyaa to Daranaa kyaa' is color. Eastman color was
apparently the latest experiment in Indian filmdom.
So, you both are right, there was nothing wrong. It did switch BW to
color to BW.
-- ShashiKant Joshi
roopa
was originally black and white, "pyaar kiya to darna kya" was later "converted"
to colour. That reminded me of another song in the film that was also
"coloured" later: the last qavvali picturized on Nigar Sultana, and sung by
Lata--
"ye dil ki lagi kam kya hogi, ye ishq bhala kam kya hoga
jab raat hai aisi matvaali phir subah ka aalam kya hoga..."
An absolutely STUNNING song. If I remember correctly, three stanzas, all set
to different tunes, something only a genius like Naushad was capable of doing,
and did often. (In fact, Naushad was so prolific in his creativity, that he
would compose at least two different stanza tunes in a three-stanza song quite
routinely, far more often than any other music director.) And this song from
Mughal-e-Azam must be one of the greatest examples of sheer complexity. It has
an almost bewildering variety of melodies, and almost no repetition, except of
course, in the penultimate lines of stanzas. Even the female chorus
(the "aur saathi," as Vividh Bharati would announce, or the "sakhis" as I
prefer to call them) repeats lines in varied ways. And the pace of the song is
so taut and crisp, that it does wonders for the dramatic intensity of the
scene, the Madhubala-about-to-die-and-Dilip-about-to-be-drugged crisis.
Naushad certainly outdid himself here, if that's at all possible.
Roopa
COLLinda
hour, anyway. The credits said it starred Prithviraj. Is this Prithviraj
Kapoor, the father of Raj, Shashi and Shammi? And who played the Prince?
BHAVIN DOSHI
Nirav Shah
: Well I watched Mughal e Azam and it was pretty good except foor the end,
: but...
: Is the movie supposed to be in color or black and white?
: The copy I rented switched back and forth.
: Personally I like it better in black and white.
I believe it was originally made in b/w and then later colored.
--
Nirav Shah Software Engineer Wellfleet Communications
Internet: ns...@wellfleet.com
*********** Opinions are mine only - Not Wellfleet's ***********
Parimal R. Zaveri
>
> Well I watched Mughal e Azam and it was pretty good except foor the end,
> but...
>
> Is the movie supposed to be in color or black and white?
> The copy I rented switched back and forth.
> Personally I like it better in black and white.
>
The movie is in B&W, except for the song sequence "Jan Pyaar kiyaa to
darnaa kyaa" which is in color.
- Parimal
Prince Kohli
In article <3ls7dk$3...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, coll...@aol.com (COLLinda) writes:
|> I think Mughal-e-Azam was on TV here in Chicago last night -- the first
|> hour, anyway. The credits said it starred Prithviraj. Is this Prithviraj
Yes, it was Prithviraj Kapoor, who acts as the king in the movie,
|> Kapoor, the father of Raj, Shashi and Shammi? And who played the Prince?
I reserve the right to answer that :-) The Prince (Salim) was played by
(the thespian) Dilip Kumar.
-Prince
Chander Vishal
> - Parimal
Besides that song, the end of the entire moovie was done in color as well.
Truthfully, I thought the video place I got it from just gave me a bad copy.
I was also trying to figure out whether the color had some allegorical
meeting, like in the Wizard of Oz. But I don't think it did.
Vishal
Zaki U. Khan
> : Well I watched Mughal e Azam and it was pretty good except foor the end,
> : but...
>
> : Is the movie supposed to be in color or black and white?
> : The copy I rented switched back and forth.
> : Personally I like it better in black and white.
** When "Mughal-e-Azam" came out, color cinematography was still really
expensive and wasn't pervasive in India. The entire movie was shot in
black and white. After completeion of the film, the song "Jab Pyaar Kiya
To Darna Kya" was re-picturized in color only.
Apparently, the financiers were willing to dole out any amount of money
for this film due to its immense popularity. People were coming for
various countries *JUST* to watch this film, and what a great film it
truly is. Perhaps people who like bundle films like HAHK ought to watch
Mughal-e-Azam to develop some taste.
S93...@mailserv.cuhk.hk
> Is the movie supposed to be in color or black and white?
>The copy I rented switched back and forth.
The movie's main selling point was its costumes and mirror hall dances
These wouldn't have looked good in B&W, I guess you were duped.
Kant
Meade Roberts
Yeah, the copy I got switched to color half-way through, then back to
B/W at the end. I thought it had been "colorized" for those dances
and costumes around the center of the movie when Salim was back and
all the festivities were under full swing. By the time things turned
sour it had reverted to B/W.
Meade
--
.........................................................................
. Meade Roberts (503) 223-1007 .
. me...@netcom.com OR me...@ds.plaza.adp.com .
.........................................................................
Guri
writes:
>
>Answer of the day: the movie is b/w, only the one part is colorized, by
>computer, much later, as far as I can tell!
>
===>When it first came out...a big deal was made of the fact that this
was: i)the first movie to have been shot partly on eastman color
film.
ii)the first movie to be given a certificate for 'Urdu' language
(apparantly the certificates for Urdu movies before that were still
mentioning their language as 'Hindi')
iii)the first movie to have cost over Rs. 1 crore to make.
guri
Geert K. Marien
: iii)the first movie to have cost over Rs. 1 crore to make.
And worth it, IMO.
** ------------------------------------------------------------------ **
** Geert K. Marien : ge...@PANIX.COM **
** ListOwner: AIRLINE, NODEINFO, RAILROAD, STAMPS, The INDIA List **
** (All contents are my own opinions - unless otherwise stated) **
** ------------------------------------------------------------------ **
Geert K. Marien
computer, much later, as far as I can tell!
** ------------------------------------------------------------------ **
Faez Nasrudin Kaiser
I seem to recall that Mughal-E-Azam was made over many years, because K.Asif
had problems raising the necessary finance. The advent of colour occurred
while the film was being made, so it was decided to film only two of the songs
in colour and also the climax of the film. The expense of colour was another
factor in keeping most sections black and white.
The set for "Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya" was open to the public for many years
after the film was made, and it is hard to imagine the song being filmed in
anything but glorious technicolor. Black and white suited the rest of the film
because the sheer intensity of the film was magnified. There is one magnificent
scene among many, where the incomparable Dilip passes a feather over Madhubala's
face, that I can never forget.
Finally, I thought that Mehboob Khan's "AAN" was the first Indian film in colour.
It was released in 1952, whereas M-E-Azam was released in 1960. Incidentally,
Mehboob almost went bankrupt making it.
Regards
- Faez
--
Faez Kaiser nasr...@glue.umd.edu
UMCP http://www.glue.umd.edu/~nasrudin
Geert K. Marien
: I seem to recall that Mughal-E-Azam was made over many years, because K.Asif
: had problems raising the necessary finance. The advent of colour occurred
: while the film was being made, so it was decided to film only two of the songs
: in colour and also the climax of the film. The expense of colour was another
: factor in keeping most sections black and white.
This is the correct answer, my earlier answer being incorrect. These
parts were shot in color. However, there is an all b/w version that I
have seen in which the b/w sequences that match the color ones are NOT
just a b/w image of each other. They are slightly different. This
version is not the public one, though several copies exist. I asked the
one person who would know (a friend of mine who actually worked in the
background on the film) and he said he thought the b/w version was made
to help raise funds for the film (color was 10x more expensive then,
especially outside the US/Western Europe).
He is now in India, and when he returns, he has promised to tell me more
goodies, which I will pass on when I get the chance!
So, please modify the answer of the day ... my apologies to all!
Vivek 'vic' Mehta
This was one of the first colour sequencies ever filmed by the indian film
industry. "Jab pyar kiya to daarna kya" was the only sequence filmed in
colour in this movie.
umesh garg
>In article <meadeD6...@netcom.com>, me...@netcom.com (Meade Roberts) says:
>>
>>S93...@mailserv.cuhk.hk wrote:
>>: In article <3lntp6$j...@hermes.unt.edu> vis...@jove.acs.unt.edu (Chander Vishal) writes:
>>
>>: > Is the movie supposed to be in color or black and white?
>>: >The copy I rented switched back and forth.
.
.
.
.
.
>This was one of the first colour sequencies ever filmed by the indian film
>industry. "Jab pyar kiya to daarna kya" was the only sequence filmed in
>colour in this movie.
Actually, colored sequences (and, in fact, full color movies) had been around
in Indian cinema for quite a while before Mughal-e-Azam came around (MOTHER
INDIA and NAVRANG, for example!). Mughal-e-Azam was made on such a grand
scale that the producers decided they could not afford to shoot it fully in
color (there were no color film processing facilities in India at that time
and the prints had to be sent to London for processing). An example of the
"scale" of the movie is the sequence when Queen Jodhabai grabs the pearl-string
"curtain" and distributes the pearls among her maids when prince Salim arrives
to meet her--the "motiyon kee ladiyon ka pardaa" was reported to have cost
Rs 1 lakh (in the fifties!).
There is also a very interesting aside to the filming of the song "Pyaar kiya
to Darnaa kyaa". They constructed this very elaborate "Sheesh Mahal" set for
the song (at the cost of several lakhs of rupees) but it was not clear how
to set-up the lighting to film the sequence. It seems the producers consulted
some leading western directors, including Sir David Lean, who told them that
it was absolutely impossible to film the sequence as the director had in
mind. Predictably the prodicers/financiers were mad. The director, K. Asif,
the story goes, closeted himself with the photographic people on his unit
and came up with a way they thought might work. they went ahead and shot the
scene (both in color and in black and white). They could see the results on
the B&W version right away; they were OK but not very impressive. The color
film was dispatched to London and arrived a month later. A very private
screening was held with only the producer, director, director of photography,
the main financiers and the main distributors of the movie present. Every one
waited with nervousness and trepidation but once the scene unfurled, there
was joy all around. The main distributor is reported to have said something
to the effect that "hang the movie; just give me this song and I will collect
a crore of rupees just with it". And the rest, as they say, is history.
By the way, there was another color sequence in the movie too which depicted
the last evening that Anarkali spends with Salim (the song associated with
that sequence was "Jab raat hai aisee matwaalee, to subah ka aalam kyaa hoga.."
I hope the readers find this long narrative of interest. If not, my apologies
for wasting your time and the precious bandwidth.
-Umesh
ali.pa...@gmail.com
maild...@yahoo.com
Amritsar (was located opposite to the Railway Station)
I have failrly good recollection of events then and
following weeks, until the screening moved to 3rd -
tier theater, located at out-skirts of the city.
A: FIRST RELEASE
=============
Only 2 songs were in color - Pyar Kiya to darna kya
and Yeh Dil Ki Lagi Kam Kya Hogi (but not the
preceeding song: Khida Nighehban Ho Tumhara)
The climax was in B & W, with a different ending
(It was implied that Anarkali was put to death)
I have a hazy re-collection, that the Qawwali -
Teri Mehfil Mein was also in color, but can not
vouch it with 100% certainty
B: After about 10 or 15 weeks of Run, song:
'Khuda Nigehban Ho Tumara' was replaced with a
color version plus the climax was re-shot in
color. In this version, Akbar guides Anarkali
and her mother to a tunnels - 'Jo Onhen Mughal
Sultanat Ki Sarhadon Ke Paar Le Gayi' Anarkali
walks like a zombie.
C: Near the tail-end of films run, 2 songs were
added. They are:
- Ae Ishq Yeh Sab Duniya Wale and
- Hamen Kaash Tum Se Mohabbat Na Hoti
both in B&W
MY OBSERVATIONS (may or may not be accurate)
=============================================
Like most other films of that era, a large number
of prints were sent to middle-eastern counties for
local screening and un-official shipping
to Pakistan. They prints were probably of all 3
versions
When Home Video Cassette came up, most of the
releases in USA were made from prints which
were collected in distributors in middle-east
(The first video conversion and duplicating
facility was set-up by Esquire Co. of Hong Kong
in Santa Cruz Free Trade Zone - ie: Bombay Airport
area. The products were for export only)
Many years later, when DVD sales picked up, then
a complete version (around 22 reels) was released
on DVD, wherein 3 songs and and the Climax are in
color plus 2 add-on songs (para C:) were retained
Note on color film:
==================
Irrespective of where the film is being shot - ie:
studio or on-location, the negatives, i.e.: the
film which was shot, is processed right away, and
then played (ofcourse, without the sound). The
event is called: 'VIEW THE RUSHES' This is to
ensure that the 'shot / shots' came out o.k.
and there is no need to re-shoot them. The crew
can move to next location / shot. In addition,
one eliminates the risk of negative getting damaged by
exposure to light.
From early 50's FilmCentre aka Film Centre had
set up a lab to process color negatives. 2-3
years later, they got the ability to print negatives
on color stock - initailly on Gevacolor and later
Eastman Color stock. From mid-50s few films
were released, wherein 1 or 2 songs were in color
eg: SHIRIN FARHAD - the Asha's song, which was
enacted by Ameeta
The final print of high - profile films were
made by Technicolor Lab in London (AAN, JHANAK
JHANAK, Mother India, NAVRANG, MUGHAL-E-AZAM,
GUNGA JUMNA and few others)
Sudhir
Aug 11, 2015
p.s.; got to run, E&O be forgiven
can be
Sudhir with Mr Bhaloo
by the termenology used by some to describe the color film (mostly related to
MUGHAL-E-AZAM) but applicable to few earler film.
1 The term: Colorization is referred to: Adding color with paint brush to a B&W positive
print. It is highly time consuming and expensive. Few Hollywood movies were
colorized this way (eg: Laurel & Hardy 2-3 films). When proposed for other films,
the directors (or their heirs) strongly objected and COLORIZATION became a
Dead Cat
By beginning of this decade, computer-aided colorization could be done at a
low cost and few films were converted (Naya Daur and this film) Luckily
this CAT is in sleeping mode
In short, Mughal-E-Azam scenes were NOT COLORIZED, but were Re-Shot
The negative were probably of Eastman color (Hum Hindustani 1960 release
was being shot and printed during that period, Color Centre had a well equipped
processing facility and had done good job on few COLOR films, which were shot
and printed in GEVACOLOR (eg: Filmistan's Durgesh Nandini, Champakali and
Wadia Bros's Hatim Tai + probably Mother India and Navrang was shot on
Gevacolor) Gevacolor prints faded over short period. So, like prior 2 mentioned
films, Mr. Asif got the Release prints made by TECHNICOLOR Lab of London
Initially only: Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya and Yeh Dil Ki Lagi Kum Kya Hogi were
released with Technicolor print in many markets (and may be the follow-up
of 2nd song: Khuda Nigehban Ho Tumhara in few markets)
The Climax was in BHOOT COLOR (aka: B&W). Many viewers did not like
the implied 'End of Life' penalty for Anarkali (NO NO ... It was NOT Anarkali,
but was bestowed on Madhubala. Certainly an un-acceptable ending). Asif Saheb
relented >>>> (a) Had the Climax Re-written >>> (b) Erect a Low cost set
of Akbar's fort and tunnel and >>> (C) Re-shot the climax in color and also
get the Release Prints made on EastmanColor stock (Color quality is bad
and certainly NO way near the one printed by Technicolor dream-wala bhaiya ji)
2 My 3-disk VCD set by Shemaroo got scratchy. I found the FULL Movie at YouTube
up-loaded by Classic Cinema in Sept 2020 (Not Listed now). It's Run-Time is
197:05 min (excluding Censor's Cert) Aspect 1.33x at 24 fps
But, the Censor's Certificate at CB site is only 5088.03 meter = 185:28 minutes
The 11:37 min difference may be due to addition of 2 songs and change in run-time of
climax.
SUDHIR Nov 14 2021
p.s.: I am still waiting for an answer to my question:
Q: Was the song: 'TERI MEHFIL MEIN; in color, when the film was released initially ?
NOTE: Song 'KHUDA NIGHEBAN HO TUMHARA' in B&W was in soe VHS tapes, which
were made in UAE and some cases have a running Ad, listing name of Tape mfrer
Sukesh Hoogan
Salman Khan Gurung
> I think Mughal-e-Azam was on TV here in Chicago last night -- the first
> hour, anyway. The credits said it starred Prithviraj. Is this Prithviraj