Reimagining romance

How a theatre adaptation of Mughal-e-Azam recreates the magic of the classic film

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

It is a late Monday evening, and a largely empty auditorium at Bandra in Mumbai is about to witness an epic battle. Emperor Akbar and Prince Salim—of the 1960s’ classic Mughale-Azam—are confronting each other. Akbar is dressed in body-hugging blue T-shirt and denims. Salim, his son, is in a black tracksuit. Both of them are wielding swords, and are being carried by extras standing in for horses.

A number of soldiers—in kurtas and denims, and holding flags and props denoting the infantry and cavalry—soon charge across the stage. Another group runs hither and thither to simulate chaos. The stage is lit up in dark grey and shining silver, and in its backdrop is a palatial fortress. What is happening is a rehearsal—the effort is to recreate the elaborate battle scene in the film.

Watching a big-screen magnum opus play out as a Broadway-style musical can be surreal. But the settings are magnificent enough. The epic Sheesh Mahal dance number in the film—‘Pyar kiya to darna kya’, aced by the ever-charming Madhubala— comes out alive in all its resplendence.

Indeed, there are limitations of space and technology to precisely recreate Anarkali’s reflections in the hundreds of tiny mirrors, as shown in the film. But the stage version overcomes them, thanks to dozens of glass panels dangling from the ceiling. The experience is elevated as Anarkali (played by Priyanka Barve and Neha Sargam) actually sings on stage to a pre-recorded orchestral and choral score, boosted by the reverberating sound of ghunghroos (anklets) worn by the dancing crew.