Explainer: Do you know which was the first expensive Bollywood film? If not, find out today

Bollywood First Expensive Movie: In today’s times, it has become common to talk about films with a budget of Rs 300, 500 or 700 crores. Yes, producers spend a lot of money on films adorned with big stars and spectacular visuals. If the film becomes a superhit at the box office, then this investment gives manifold profits, but if the film does not live up to the expectations, then the producers have to suffer huge losses.

However, the trend of expensive films in Hindi cinema is not current today. Even decades ago, a film was made which broke all the budget records of its time. At a time when films were made for lakhs of rupees, a producer-director risked crores of rupees and made a film which changed the history of Indian cinema.

The first most expensive film of Hindi cinema

We are talking about the historical film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ released in 1960, which is counted among the first most expensive films of Hindi cinema. This film not only created history due to its grand sets, brilliant cast and big production, but also achieved such success at the box office, the example of which is still cited today.

‘Mughal-e-Azam’ was the most expensive film of its time.

The film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ was produced and directed by K. Asif did it. This film was made after many years of hard work, massive research and major production. According to IMDb, the total budget of the film was approximately Rs 1.5 crore. This amount may seem normal today, but in the 1960s it was considered a huge amount. In that era, most of the films were made with a budget of a few lakh rupees. Spending Rs 1.5 crore at such a time was no less than a big risk.

When no producer invested money

According to reports, K. Asif had sought financial help from many producers and investors for the film. However, at that time no one wanted to take the risk of investing such a huge amount on a film. It is said that when no one supported him, then K. Asif himself invested his entire capital in the film. He had full confidence in his story and film. He believed that if the film is made with the same grandeur as he had imagined, then the audience will definitely like it. This belief kept him moving forward continuously. He not only produced the film, but also wrote its story and took up the responsibility of direction.

Lakhs of rupees were spent on a big set

The biggest feature of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ was its huge and magnificent sets. The palaces, courts and royal locations shown in the film were prepared very minutely so that the Mughal era could be brought on screen in reality. According to reports, Rs 15 to 25 lakh was spent on preparing the set alone. At that time this amount was a record in itself. Apart from this, the total cost of the film, including artistes’ fees, costumes, music, technical team, shooting and other expenses, reached approximately Rs 1.5 crore.

The pairing of Dilip Kumar and Madhubala became the life of the film.

The biggest strength of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ was its strong star cast. In the film, Dilip Kumar played the role of Prince Salim, while Madhubala created history with the role of Anarkali. Apart from this, Prithviraj Kapoor played a powerful role of Emperor Akbar. Artists like Nigar Sultana, Durga Khote and Ajit also made the film memorable with their brilliant performances. Even today, the dialogues, songs and performances of the actors of this film are counted among the best presentations of Indian cinema.

Records were broken at the box office

Due to such a big budget, many people had doubts about the success of the film before its release, but after its release, ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ proved all the guesses wrong. According to IMDb, the budget of the film was Rs 1.5 crore. According to Sacnilk data, the film made a worldwide box office collection of around Rs 10.80 crore, which was a huge success at that time. The box office verdict of the film was ‘All Time Blockbuster’. This success not only helped K. Asif’s dream was fulfilled, rather it proved that the audience always trusts a good story and good presentation.

Re-released several times

‘Mughal-e-Azam’, released on 5 August 1960, was actually a black and white film. Although some parts of the film were in colour. Later, with the help of modern technology, the entire film was made in colorized form and released again in theaters. The surprising thing is that even during every re-release, the film received great love from the audience. The new generation also liked this classic film as much as the old audience did.

You can watch the film on OTT even today

If you have not seen ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ yet or want to enjoy this historical film once again, then it is available on the OTT platform ZEE5.

Also read: Explainer: What’s new in ‘Awarapan 2’? How much the story has changed from the first film, know everything from star cast, budget to everything.