Mughal-e-Azam

Mughal-E-Azam (English: The Greatest of the Mughals) is a 1960 Indian period epic film directed by K. Asif and produced by Shapoorji Pallonji under the banner of Sterling Investment Corporation. A retelling of a popular Indian tale, the film featured Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala and Durga Khote in pivotal roles. Mughal-e-Azam loosely followed an episode in the life of the Mughal Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir), specifically his love for a court dancer Anarkali, which is disapproved of by his father, emperor Akbar, and envied by a superior dancer who wishes to be a queen. Both Salim and Anarkali refuse to part with each other, leading to a war between father and son which the latter loses. Salim's life is spared in exchange for Anarkali's, who is saved due to a past incident.

The development of Mughal-e-Azam began in 1944 when Asif read a play which was set in the reign of Emperor Akbar. The film underwent a troubled production, facing a number of problems and halts due to communal tensions and financial uncertainty, almost to the point of bankruptcy. Prior to the film's principal photography, which began in either 1951 or 1953, the film lost a financier and underwent a complete change in the cast. Upon completion, Mughal-e-Azam became the most expensive Indian film, to the extent that the filming of a single sequence cost more than the entire budget of a typical film. The film was also dubbed in Tamil as Akbar, but its commercial failure resulted in the abandoning of a planned English dubbing. The music director for the film's soundtrack was Naushad, and the lyrics were penned by Shakeel Badayuni. The music was heavily inspired from Indian classical and folk music. The soundtrack contained 12 songs, voiced by both playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar, and classical music artists. It is often cited as one of the best soundtracks in Bollywood history.

Mughal-e-Azam witnessed the widest cinematic release for an Indian film at that time, and ticket sales often featured day-long queues and rioting in certain places. Upon release, the film created box office records in India, becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, a record it held for 15 years. Starting in 2003, Sterling Investment Corporation undertook a year-long initiative to restore the film in colour, a dream long harboured by Asif, and to digitize its soundtrack. The film's colour version was released in November 2004 and also became a commercial success despite facing competition from three other major films.

Mughal-E-Azam is widely considered a classic, and is often recognized as a milestone in Indian cinema. Contemporary critics unanimously praised the film, commenting on its cinematic quality, grandeur, cinematography and attention to detail. The film went on to win numerous accolades, notably one National Film Award and three Filmfare awards.