After making its recent entry into the Oscars, India’s evergreen film Mughal-E-Azam has now arrived in New York City’s Times Square for a three-month-long tour as India’s greatest-ever stage musical. Akbar Asif, the son of the late legendary filmmaker K Asif, has taken the film to the iconic square, continuing his father’s legacy by registering his name in world history. Many of the family members live in various Pakistani cities, with their roots in pre-partition Lahore.
Viral videos show Akbar Asif’s ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ musical cast singing and performing the evergreen hits “Jeb Payar Keeya Tau Derna Kaya” in colorful Bollywood costumes.
Akbar Asif’s office in London plans to exhibit the film around the world. The ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ stage musical premiered on May 26, 2023, and will tour in different cities until August 20. Its upcoming shows will cover cities like Atlanta, New York, Baltimore, Orlando, Chicago, New Jersey, Toronto, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Vancouver, San Jose, and Phoenix.
The play is inspired by the iconic 1960 Bollywood blockbuster of the same name and is the first-of-its-kind Broadway musical phenomenon from India.
Recently, Mughal-e-Azam became the first film from the golden age of Bollywood to have its screenplay admitted to the official Oscars library in Los Angeles. Known as the “Shehenshah of all films,” Mughal-e-Azam’s screening was allowed for the first time in Pakistan in 2007, paving the way for several Bollywood films at that time.
A spokesperson for the musical said, “It is needless to say how much Americans are going to enjoy this musical epic. The response has been overwhelming and emotional. The film continues to make history on the world stage. We hope future generations can learn and get inspired by the work of my late father and his incredible team of writers.”
