Considered the first original, large-scale Broadway-style music written and produced in India, Mughal-e-Azam is in the midst of its first North American tour, making a stop in Houston for performances July 14 – 16 at the Wortham Center’s Brown Theater.
Based on the epic, blockbuster 1960 Bollywood movie of the same name, Maughal-e-Azam: The Musical premiered in 2016 in Mumbai and has been described in a press release as “a love letter to South Asian history and legend,” as well a “a love story as familiar to Indians and their Eastern neighbors as Romeo and Juliet is to the West.”
In the era of the Mughals, Emperor Akbar’s desire of a son is fulfilled when his wife, Jodhabai, gives birth to Salim, who grows up to be a spoiled brat filled with disrespect and self-indulgence. Consequently, he’s sent off to war in Akbar’s army and returns as a reformed person with perseverance and discipline fourteen years later. Salim, now a young man, falls in love with Anarkali, a lowly courtesan. Bahar, a dancer who covets the love of the Prince, is filled with jealousy upon discovering the secret affair and exposes it to Akbar. The emperor, full of royal pride, vehemently disapproves of the relationship and imprisons Anarkali, which leads Salim to declare an open rebellion against him. The war between father and son changes the lives of everyone in the empire threatening the foundations of the Mughal rule in India.
synopsis of “Mughal-e-Azam,” press release
Produced by Shapoorji Pallonji (who produced the original film) and directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, the musical stage adaptation was nominated for 14 Broadway World India Awards in 2017 and won seven for Best Play, Best Director, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography, Best Original Set Design, Best Original Lighting Design, and Best Ensemble Cast.
The production includes 350 cast and crew members, more than 550 costumes designed by Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra, and reimagined choreography from the 1960 film.
“Seven years back, when we green-lighted this project, we had not imagined that it would run for 19 seasons and travel to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Muscat, Doha, and now North America. There is a lot of technical and logistic expertise that goes into a massive show like this, but what really makes it universally loved is its emotional core and the love story of Salim and Anarkali,” said Deepesh Salgia, head of Creative and Strategic Vision for the musical, in an article by Hindustan Times.
Presented by Bollywood Entertainment, in partnership with Houston’s Indo-American Association, Mughal-e-Azam’s North American tour kicked off with a flash mob in New York City’s Time Square, and then began its official 13-city tour on May 26 in Atlanta. The production will travel to Dallas, following its Houston performances.
The show’s dialogue and lyrics are spoken and sung in Urdu and Hindi, with English subtitles.
Houston Arts Journal 