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“In the year 1960, when director K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam was released, it wonderfully wove together all genres of cinema — historicals, family dramas, social commentaries, and love stories ,” says Feroz Abbas Khan, director of ‘Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical’, which is based on the classic film. The play also showcases how India’s classical dance and music were seamlessly intertwined into the legendary love story. Currently travelling with a cast and crew of 150 people to 13 cities in North America including shows at New York’s renowned Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, Feroz says this is also India’s first Broadway-style show.&nbsp; The troupe that began its tour on May 28 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta, had performed an impromptu two-minute flash mob at Times Square in New York city as a promotion for their shows. It garnered immense love on social media. The flash mob distills the most seminal moments from the film and celebrates its iconic characters, central love story, class conflicts, music, poetry and unforgettable dialogues, says Feroz. “We felt so proud to see a golden moment from our cinematic history come alive on the Times Square Billboard and to see the impact the choreography had on the onlookers who paused to watch us.”&nbsp; The musical is in its 18 season and Feroz says that he has taken care not to tamper with the soul of the film. “Even the technological tools have been used to bring alive the essence of the story. The costumes by Manish Malhotra, the choreography by Mayuri Upadhya, the production values, and the live performances have contributed greatly to the musical’s success.” Feroz has no plans to work on another adaptation as not all films can be made into plays. “Their language and grammar can be unique to a cinematic form, and re-imagining them as a play can be almost impossible. Mughal-E-Azam’s roots were in theatre. It’s constructed like a grand musical in the tradition of Parsi theatre, and so it could be adapted to the stage. Also, to create a great theatre-musical, you need a musical score like that of Mughal-E-Azam. It should also have a stirring, timeless story.” Talking about Broadway and West End musicals, Feroz says, “We don’t have the infrastructure that London’s West End theatres or the theater district of Midtown Manhattan in New York offer to practitioners, but we have our own traditions of musicals in cinema and theatre.”&nbsp; Over time, the team has contemporarised the gender equations and sharpened the social commentary in their performances. “We have tried to condense the epic love story into just over 55 scenes, but obviously, we could not have recreated the spectacular war scenes or the palatial sets. We have, however, used technology and modified architectural elements to convey the Mughal grandeur. We also had to make sure that the costumes that the artists wore were well-suited to the dynamics of a live performance,” explains Feroz. Deepesh Salgia, who handles the creative and strategic vision, talks about the challenges in producing a show of this scale. “We have a huge cast and crew , our sets and equipment need six cube containers, and managing the show requires experts from multiple domains. Every new venue comes with its own dynamics. Over the years, after having performed in eight countries, we have learnt the art of managing this complexity.” Actors Priyanka Barve and Neha Sargham who play Anarkali in the musical were put through rigorous Kathak workshops. “Dancing before a live audience in elaborate costumes and stepping into the role of the iconic Madhubala felt overwhelming initially. But right at the beginning Feroz told us clearly to not try to imitate the actor. We tried to bring alive the character in our own way,” says Priyanka.&nbsp; Since a large-scale production such as this can only be staged in a well-equipped auditorium , says Feroz musicals from India will have to go through these tough challenges.&nbsp; The show wraps up on August 18 at Symphony Hall in Phoenix.&nbsp;

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How the musical Mughal-e-Azam has been keeping an epic love story alive

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