8. Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

Language: Urdu-Hindi

Director: K Asif

Running time: 173 mins

Starring: Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala

Company: Sterling Investment Corporation

The last of the grand historical epics to emerge from Bombay, this film is a version of the much-filmed romance between Prince Salim (later the emperor Jahangir) and courtesan Anarkali. Nine years in the making, the cult status of this film seems to have justified every extra hour spent in dreaming it up. The memorable dialogue between emperor Akbar and his wayward son marked the pinnacle of Urdu melodrama's profitable relationship with Indian cinema. The song Pyaar kiya to darna kya has become an anthem of rebellious youthful love and the feather-tickling scene between prince and courtesan was symptomatic of the changing mores of Bombay cinema's depiction of sexuality. In many ways a textbook for later Bombay filmmakers, the film may be seen as two phases of Bombay cinema symbolised by the lead stars Prithviraj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar casting an eye forward towards Salim-Javed's Amitabh.