'Mughal-e-Azam' clocks in 61 years: Read trivia about the Dilip Kumar-Madhubala starrer

K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam is often hailed as one of the path-breaking movies in Indian cinema and left an imprint on the audiences in terms of its grand sets, the majestic dialogues, and the breathtaking cast of Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Prithviraj Kapoor. The movie has clocked 61 years since its release in 1960. But what the fans witnessed as an epitome of romance on the silver screen was totally the opposite of what the actors experienced in real life. Not only yesteryear audience remember Dilip Kumar's epic portrayal of Salim, but also the late Madhubala's Anarkali was lauded for her poised and elegant screen presence. 

However, as rosy as things appear in reel life, they were not as serene offscreen for the star couple of Mughal-e-Azam. The heartwarming romance that we saw on screen was drastically opposite of what was transpiring between the duo in real life. 

K Asif's perfect pairing wasn't what it seemed 

When the duo was cast in K Asif's epic historical drama, stories of their raging romance were spreading like wildfire and Yusuf Sahab himself wrote about the same in his biography, Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. "Stories of their raging romance were all over the place and Yusuf Sahab himself wrote about the same in his biography, Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow.", he wrote. 

He admitted that they were attracted to each other while filming the 1951Tarana, so when this movie was offered to them, they were more than delighted to put their off-screen romance on the silver screen. He wrote, “She filled a void that was crying out to be filled – not by an intellectually sharp woman but a spirited woman whose liveliness and charm was the ideal panacea for the wound that was taking its own time to heal.”

But as the events overturned after few years and things changed between the lead pair by the time they shot the famed feather scene of the movie, Dilip and Madhubala had completely stopped interacting with each other. The duo was completely ignorant of each other while filling the most romantic scenes in Hindi cinema’s history. Giving credits to professionals behind the camera to smoothly finish off the scenes with perfection, he added " It should, in all fairness, go down in the annals of film history as a tribute to the artistry of two professionally committed actors who kept aside personal differences and fulfilled the director’s vision of a sensitive, arresting and sensuous screen moment to perfection,”. 

What really blew off the couple's relationship? 

In his biography, the late Dilip Kuma shared that Madhubala's father wanted to turn the combination of their love affair into a business venture which did not land well with Dilip Kumar. Her father had a production house and wanted to bring together the two stars under his roof but Dilip was not in favour of this idea.

Video: YouTube

“I explained to both of them that I had my own way of functioning and selecting projects and I would not show any laxity even if it were my own production house. It must have tilted the apple cart for him and he successfully convinced Madhu that I was being rude and presumptuous,” he wrote. Despite repeated requests by Madhubala to sort things out post-marriage, Dilip admitted that he was not to be 'dictated' by someone else's strategies. 

(Source: Dilip Kumar's biography)

(Image: Instagram- madhu.balaforever)