Subhash K Jha's little known nuggets about Mughal-e-Azam, which released 65 years ago, August 5, 1960.
K Asif's historical epic took 9 years to get made.
It was hugely anticipated, thanks to its opulence and scale, Naushad's score, the charm of the Salim-Anarkali love story and the star power of Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.
What helped Mughal-e-Azam reach its peak was Madhubala's magic as Anarkali and her love scenes with her then real life love, Dilip Kumar.
But the romance ended halfway through the film's making.
Madhubala's life was as tragic as her character's.
Dilip Kumar was in love with her and wanted to marry her.
The relationship fell through because Madhubala's father refused to part with the sole breadwinner of his family.
Lata Mangeshkar considered the Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya song a milestone in her career.
The original choice for Anarkali was Suraiya.
K Asif had begun shooting another version of Mughal-e-Azam with Nargis in the lead, but that was scrapped and a new version was begun in 1950.
At several points of the shoot, Asif thought of shelving the film.
At one point, Director Kamal Amrohi heard that the project had been abandoned and quickly announced his own Mughal-e-Azam, only to be reprimanded by Asif.
Dilip Kumar was reluctant to play Salim because 'the heavy costume, ornaments, wig and the shooting in the intense heat of Rajasthan was daunting'.
There were differences with Asif all through.
Dilipsaab didn't attend the premiere at Bombay's Maratha Mandir.
The younger version of Prince Salim was played by Jalal Agha who is often remembered for lip-syncing Mehbooba Mehbooba in Sholay.
Asif insisted on re-shooting portions, including the iconic song Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya, in colour.
He wanted the whole film in colour and got his wish in 2004 when the film was colourised and re-released.
This time, Dilip Kumar did attend the premiere but Asif had passed on.
K Asif lost the Filmfare Best Director award to Bimal Roy for Parakh; Madhubala lost to Bina Rai for Ghunghat; Prithviraj Kapoor lost to Motilal for Parakh.
Dilip Kumar was not even nominated for Mughal-e-Azam, but won the Filmfare award for Best Actor the same year, for Kohinoor.