Rare Mughal-e-Azam poster acquired by NFAI

A rare six-sheet poster of the legendary film Hindi film Mughal-e-Azam is among 2,500 old posters of Indian film industry that were recently acquired by the National Film Archives of India (NFAI).

The Mughal-e-Azam poster is the crown in the collection of around 1,500 Hindi film posters of depicting the history of Indian cinema ranging from 1942 till recent years, and 1,000 more posters of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films, showcasing the evolution of film publicity covering various techniques of poster-art and poster-making.

The highlight is the 10 feet x 5 feet massive Mughal-e-Azam (1960) poster on six separate sheets, which is an offset print of a hand-painted poster, said NFAI Director Prakash Magdum.

Owing to its huge size, the poster conveys volumes about the iconic film, with long shot depiction of the famous war sequence to a colourful snapshot of the famed 'Sheesh Mahal' song sequence, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, done in beautiful brush strokes.

The poster shares two intimate portraits with Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) shedding a tear in an emotional moment with Salim (Dilip Kumar), his son and heir to the throne, as they prepare to go to war against each other.

Gorgeously detailed is the shadow of Akbar's war gear on his face and topping the beauty is the heartrending portrait of a distraught Anarkali (Madhubala) tied in chains occupying the entire right side of the poster, which is ranked as one of the most memorable images of Hindi cinema history.

Besides the name of the maker and the title of the film, K Asif's Mughal-e-Azam in English and Hindi, only the name of the top music director of that era, Naushad Ali, who composed the immortal songs for the film, figures on the poster.