Mughal-e-Azam Captivates America

While the Mughals seems to be receding from text books and memory, the stage presentation of Mughal-e-Azam is spreading its message of love in North America, discovers Abhijit J Masih.

The timeless epic that has enamoured generations, retold through the musical play directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, refreshed the memories of the audience with the opening night at The Lyric Performing Arts Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

The American tour, which has had shows earlier in Atlanta and New York City, made a three-day stop in Baltimore before continuing on its 13-city North American tour.

The mostly traditionally dressed desi crowd showed up in surprising numbers at the opening night of the show in Maryland.

The many props and backdrops placed in the foyer of the auditorium saw lines of people and families taking photographs donning Anarkali caps, (some even wore Anarkali suits) that were passed from one group to the next.

The excitement was evident in the auditorium and as we took our seats, I was struck by the dreaded thought -- my wife doesn't understand Hindi and has no clue about the Mughals or Mughal-e-Azam.

As the lights went out, I resigned myself to the fate that I would be whispering translations and story progression to the spouse.

The announcement that the show had two screens on the side with English subtitles was more musical than what was to follow.

The show began with a message from the late Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, recalling her experience recording the songs for K Asif film under the baton of the legendary composer Naushad.

'Even though Lata is Hindu she did full justice to the song Beqas Pe Karam Kijiye,' Lataji recalled Naushad as saying.

The show was a continuous volley of brilliance. It was a fantastic display of excellence in choreography, dance, music and outstanding performances.

Besides, the massive undertaking of touring with a huge cast, the logistics involved to transport gigantic stage props (including a massive two-part movable stage placed atop the actual stage) must have been a nightmare to arrange.

The three hour-long show retained most of the everlasting songs and dialogues from the original film.

The awestruck audience, including my wife, applauded their appreciation at the end of each song.

The longest applause predictably was at the end of Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya, which had the performers dressed in the same colors as the film -- red and white.

The Sheesh Mahal represented by a dazzling projection on the screen behind, reminding the audience of the first song shot in color.

The performances that punctuated the musical renditions were good enough for you not to compare with the original cast.

The stand out amongst them being Sonal Jha and Nissar Khan who played the roles of Jodha and Akbar. The scene stealing scene of the show was the poignant moment between a helpless Jodha and an adamant Salim.

The lead pair played by Dhanveer Singh (who had a striking resemblance to a young Dilip Kumar) and Priyanka Barve as Anarkali were exceptional as well.

Many, including myself, were waiting for the qawaali duel between Bahar and Anarkali in Teri Mehfil Mein Kismat Azmakar, which was excellent.

What made it even more outstanding was that both actors sang each of their parts live -- a fact that was announced and proved to the audience at the curtain call with Priyanka Barve singing a few lines as encore.

Like Lata, again a Hindu did full justice to a song heavy with Urdu poetry.

Anticipating the response and the applause, the curtain call was announced immediately after the show ended.

The standing ovation lasted 5 minutes at the end of which Director Feroz Abbas Khan came on stage and thanked the audience for their support.

Like Madhubala's famous dialogue from the film 'kaaton ko murjhane ka khauf nahi hota (thorns don't have the fear of wilting)', Mughal-e-Azam has remained fresh in the minds of Indian audiences around the world and the musical play has given it another welcome lease of life.

While the Mughals seems to be receding from text books and memory, the stage presentation of Mughal-e-Azam is currently spreading its message of love in North America.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com