This Article is From Feb 25, 2011

Classics Like Mughal-e-Azam Cannot Be Remade, Says SRK

Classics Like Mughal-e-Azam Cannot Be Remade, Says SRK

Highlights

  • Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan who has worked in remake of Devdas and Don in the recent years, says Mughal-e-Azam is the mother of all films and such iconic classics cannot be remade.
  • "Mughal-e-Azam is the mother of all films. 'Ma ka remake nahi hota' (Mothers cannot be remade)," Shah Rukh told reporters here last night after unveiling a documentary produced by his Red Chillies Entertainment company on Mughal-e-Azam.
Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan who has worked in remake of Devdas and Don in the recent years, says Mughal-e-Azam is the mother of all films and such iconic classics cannot be remade.

"Mughal-e-Azam is the mother of all films. 'Ma ka remake nahi hota' (Mothers cannot be remade)," Shah Rukh told reporters here last night after unveiling a documentary produced by his Red Chillies Entertainment company on Mughal-e-Azam.

According to him, even though many movies with similar theme as in with K Asif's magnum opus have been created with good amount of success, Mughal-e-Azam still remains an epitome in Indian cinema.

"Some movies cannot be touched and this is one of them. The orginality, passion of the filmmaker is so much evident in Mughal-e-Azam, that it cannot be recreated during a remake,"

SRK who flew down from Malaysia where he is shooting for Don2 for the release function, said.

He said the documentary was not a piece of art but done to inspire people in showbiz about the need to preserve classics which are part of history.

"Remaking classics is not an answer to preserve them," he felt.

SRK said the documentary contains interviews with the family  of K Asif who are based in London and their efforts to keep the film alive among the younger generation by colouring the movie, preserving the prints and asking painter M F Hussain to make the film his muse and bring it on canvass.

The 45-year-old actor, who dons the role of 'Sutradhar' in the documentary, maintained that it was not meant for business but to showcase the hard work done by those associated with Mughal-e-Azam to keep the memory of the film alive.

He said his father worked in the film for a day and hence he had emotional attachment to it.

"My father was selected for a Pathan's role and heperformed so badly that Asifsaab threw him out of the film. Myfather would say to me when I was small --Asifsaab told him togo back home and give birth to an actor--," he said.

To a question on which of his own film could bedocumented in the way Mughal-e-Azam had been done, he said itcould be Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge after 15-20 years.

When asked which role he would like to play ifMughal-e-Azam is remade, SRK said, "You should ask this to thefilmmaker who would dare to take this risk of remaking thefilm."

Shah Rukh said, Mughal-e-Azam was very inspiring to himas a producer. "When I am confronted with several hurdles as aproducer, I think of Mughal-e-Azam which experienced severalhurdles but without compromise on the passion of filmmaking."

He said Emperor Akbar's dialogue in the film "Salim tumhemarne nahi dega aur Anarkali hum tumhe jeene nahi denge" washis favourite.

When asked about his new look of long hair, SRK said itwas for Don 2.

I admire women for carrying off long hair so gracefully.For me this is really painful. I am waiting for the shootingto end, he said.

The documentary carries interviews of Aamir Khan,Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, HrithikRoshan, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapur, Amitabh Bachchan abouttheir memories of the film. They spoke of the grandeur andpurity of the film which showcases the power of cinema.

SRK said the attraction, beauty of Mughal-e-Azam hasremained intact even after five decades. "we still watch themovie in awe and admiration," he added.

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