Fans slept on pavements outside Maratha Mandir in hope of buying first show tickets for Mughal e Azam

Saira Banu talks of aura and splendor of premiere of K Asif's magnum opus Mughal e Azam


By Rajesh Ahuja

Having been a part of the huge legion of fans who were witness to the grand spectacle that accompanied the release of K Asif's classic saga Mughal e Azam,  Bollywood actress Saira Banu recalls how hundreds of fans slept on the pavements outside the Grand Maratha Mandir the night before the release of the film in the hope of getting hands at the tickets to the first show of the magnum opus.

In a post on Instagram,  Saira Banu,  for whom attending the premiere of the film was an opportunity to meet her heartthrob and the darling of millions Dilip Kumar and propose to him, said ,'when we talk about Mughal-e-Azam,  there is the vision of this great historical epic which took years for Mr K Asif' to put together into enthralling epic full of romance and spectacle such as never witnessed on the Indian screen.

I remember we had just come home to Mumbai from abroad and there was this 'SHAAHI FARMAAN' which we had received. There was cacophony all around terrific excitement within the film industry and the avidly eager masses to eventually have the gift of witnessing the thrilling and spectacular romance between Prince Salim, the emperor's son who falls in love with the most beautiful courtesan Anarkali even through the liaison is strongly vetoed by Shahenshah Akbar who decides to break them apart. ''



Saira Banu talks about the aura and grandeur surrounding the premiere of MUGHAL E AZAM 

   






Revising the aura and grandeur surrounding the premiere, the actress said, ''This was the aura and splendor of the 'moments ' of the premiere of MUGHAL E AZAM,  that craze of loving fans who in the expectancy to access the tickets to the first show literally slept with 'Boriya Bistar' on the pavements outside the theatre 'MARATHA MANDIR'.

For the film industry people a silver encased 'SHAHI FARMAAN ' was forwarded which contained the ornate invitation. The Spectacular print to be screened in the theatres was ceremoniously placed on bejeweled elephants that royally brought the reels to the theatres.

Additionally, for Saira Banu, attending the premiere of the film was an opportunity to meet her heartthrob and the darling of millions Dilip Kumar and propose to him.

'Young and smitten by Saheb's aura, little Ms Saira Banu,  daughter of Ms  Naseem Banu ji, was building her own dreamy castles in the sand. I thought this was the opportunity for me to see Saheb and of course he would look at  e and like me immediately and my dream of being his love would fructify, 'Saira Banu recalled.

Produced and directed by K Asif,  Mughal-e-Azam, released in 1960, is one of India's greatest historical epics.

Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) and Anarkali, a court dancer. Salim's father, Emperor Akbar, disapproves of the relationship, which leads to a war between father and son.

The premiere of Mughal-e-Azam was held at the then-new 1,100-capacity Maratha Mandir cinema in Mumbai.

The day before bookings for the film opened, a reported crowd of 100,000 gathered outside the Maratha Mandir to buy tickets.



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