Dilip Kumar and K. Asif launched a nationwide (wo)manhunt, placing ads in the paper and in leading film magazines like Film India and Screen, urging young women to apply. They interviewed girls across cities like Bhopal, Hyderabad, Delhi and Lucknow.
Around March 1952, an ad appeared on the pages of the popular film magazine Film India. It went: “Here’s your last chance to be selected for the vital role of Anarkali, the beauty that shook the Mughal Empire in Mughal E Azam…Dilip Kumar and K. Asif are in search for the girl who will play the role of Anarkali. That girl might be you! Below this was an address of Sterling Corporation to send your photo and details to Dilip Kumar & K. Asif”. 15 March 1952 was the last date for sending details.
It’s part of movie lore how Mughal E Azam was announced in the 40s with a very different cast than it turned out to be. K. Asif’s debut film Phool was one of the top grossers of 1945, and featured a whole gallery of stars, including Prithviraj Kapoor, Veena, Suraiya, Yakub, Durga Khote and Agha. Having proven his mettle with the very first film, Asif turned to his producer Shiraz Ali Hakim to pitch the film that he really wanted to make. The original play was written by Imtiaz Ali Taj, who had, in his mind, conceived a grand fictional love fable which was based in a historical setting. From this source material, K. Asif conjured a magnum opus, something that Indian audiences had never witnessed on screen before. Shiraz lapped up the idea, and on 12 October 1945, a grand premiere was held at Bombay Talkies studios. It was to be backed by the newly set up Famous studios.
In the original cast was included the great villain of the 40s Chandra Mohan as Akbar, the then-emerging hero Sapru (father of 90s villain Tej Sapru) as Salim, Durga Khote as Jodha Bai and Nargis as Anarkali. For the mid-40s, this was a fantastic casting. The shooting began, but amid the tumultuous political environment, progress happened in stutters. Finally, in 1947, in the aftermath of Independence came the Partition, and riots. Making any progress seemed impossible. As the dust settled and Asif prepared to resume shooting, new problems cropped up. The producer Shiraz had chosen to leave for Pakistan, and with no financer, the prospects of making such a humongous film dwindled. As if that wasn’t enough, Chandra Mohan, who was playing the central character of Akbar, passed away.
Asif was unperturbed. He was consumed with the idea of making Mughal E Azam, and making it as per his vision. In the intervening years, Sapru had been relegated to character roles. His ability to pull off a romantic lead seemed suspect. Asif started looking for someone who could pull off the role of prince Salim. The name of Dilip Kumar came up. Dilip had earlier been considered during the earlier round of casting, but during ’44-’45, he was an unproven actor with his debut JwarBhata(1944) flopping miserably. He was rejected, though Asif had seen potential in this talented young man and believed he would go a long way. But by the time Asif was in the market for a replacement, Dilip Kumar had arrived. He was already quite sought after, riding on the success of Jugnu (1947), Shaheed (1948), Andaz (1949) and Babul (1950). When K. Asif offered him prince Salim, he told said he didn’t quite “see” himself in that role.
But when they met, Asif and Dilip got along like a house on fire. They had similar tastes in literature and poetry, and soon became fast friends. Dilip began called him “Jaani”. After a lot of debates and elaborate arguments placed by Asif in the manner only he could, Dilip Kumar relented. He not only agreed to act in the film, but found Asif’s passion for the film so infectious that he decided to come on board as a partner. As reported by a 1952 issue of Filmfare, Dilip Kumar had invested much of the earnings that he had amassed by then, into the film. Aasif found a new financier in Shapoorji, who he had enticed by narrating the plot of the film repeatedly in his inimitable way. If the earlier producer Shiraz had secured Bombay Talkies and Famous studios to shoot his film, Shapoorji got him Mohan studios, which was a huge brand in the 50s. While pitching his project to Shapoorji, Asif had instinctively mentioned Prithviraj Kapoor for the role of emperor Akbar, which Chandra Mohan had abandoned by his passing. Durga Khote was to play Jodhabai. The only major role left to cast was the centre of the all the conflict in the film, the sublime Anarkali.
Nargis had flat out refused to reprise the role the new film. During the making of an earlier film, she and her Jaddan Bai didn’t like Asif and Dilip Kumar’s demenaour towards her. Now, both Nargis and her mother were big names in the industry by now. If she said no, she wouldn’t budge an inch. This presented a problem, and not a small one. Asif had a particular kind of a face in mind. He had the sublime beauty of Anarkali in his imagination, and the conventional 50s heroines didn’t fit the bill. When Nargis turned him down, he zeroed in on Nutan. Initially, she accepted the role, until she didn’t. There are newspaper reports from back in the day that announced Nutan’s casting as Anarkali. The film and its production had generated a lot of buzz, and was regularly reported in the papers. One of the reports headlined, “Nutan will play role of Anarkali”. It said, “Nutan, rising young star of the Hindi screen, has been named for the coveted role in Sterling Investment Corporation’s Mughal E Azam, to be made in Hindi, Tamil and English. The picture is now on the sets at Mohan Studios.” And yet, Nutan changed her mind about doing the role.
Following this, Dilip Kumar and K. Asif launched a nationwide (wo)manhunt, placing ads in the paper and in leading film magazines like Film India and Screen, urging young women to apply. They interviewed girls across cities like Bhopal, Hyderabad, Delhi and Lucknow. Finally eight of them made it to the final round and were called to Bombay for shortlisting, but none of them could make the cut. At one point, Dilip Kumar made a strange suggestion. He was a big fan of Rita Hayworth, the Hollywood star. By the 50s, Rita was a force to reckon with, having appeared in Gilda (1946) and The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Somehow Asif thought it was a great idea, and wrote to her, inviting her to play the role. Now, how Rita Hayworth could even be considered to play the role of a Mughal courtesan is anyone’s guess. One explanation could be that Mughal E Azam was being conceived as a trilingual, with scripts being written in Tamil and English as well. There are no records of whether Rita received K. Asif’s invitation and whether she lost any sleep over it, but no reply ever came. Incidentally, the Tamil dubbed version was released in 1961 as Akbar, but its failure at the box office ensured that the English dub never saw the light of the day.
Frustrated, Asif turned to Nutan once again, urging to reconsider. Once again, she politely turned him down but this time, she suggested an alternative. She thought Madhubala would be an ideal cast for the role of Anarkali. She didn’t say this just to him, but to the media as well. It’s not that the name of Madhubala didn’t cross his mind. More than her name, that ethereal face. Truth be told, she was the closest to the image he had formed in his mind. If he had his way, he could cast her and be done with it. But there was someone that stood in his way of approaching her for the role. He father Ataullah Khan. Reportedly, K. Asif had earlier approached her for a different film, but her father put forward so many stringent restrictions and rules that it was nigh impossible for him to include her in the cast. He had felt dejected, almost offended. And what complicated matter further was the alleged relationship between Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. At this point in time, they were not on talking terms with each other. But finally, it was the actress herself who ended Asif’s agony.
There was an actor by the name of Nazir who frequented Madhubala’s house and knew her family. He brought a message from Madhubala that she wanted to meet Asif. On the given date and time, Asif reached the studio to find Nazir sitting there, waiting for her. Madhubala arrived in her car and Asif was ushered inside the vehicle. She was eager to play Anarkali in Mughal E Azam, she said. Consequently, Asif should agree to all her father’s demands, she insisted. He just had to say yes, and once she was in, they could play it by the ear. At the end of the day, it was she who would play the role and not her father. All Asif needed to do was agree to his rules, and forget them when the shoot began. Asif was greatly relieved at this. Finally, a great load was taken off his shoulders. He had found his Anarkali.
(The source of many of these anecdotes is Dastan-E-Mughal-E-Azam, an engaging account of the making of the classic, written by Rajkumar Keswani).
Amborish is a National Film Award winning writer, biographer and film historian.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram