“Mathura to Manhattan, everyone loved Mughal-e-Azam”

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“Mathura to Manhattan, everyone loved Mughal-e-Azam” - Deepesh Salgia

By IndiaFM News Bureau, December 15, 2004 - 02:50 IST

Deepesh Salgia in the second-part of the interview earmarks the promotions mapped to market a classic like Mughal-e-Azam, interesting reactions audience reactions and the one lesson that this colossal creative effort taught him…

When you look back, is there anything that you would have done differently in terms of creative or otherwise?
When you try something new, there are times the road ahead is not clear; you try a new path, you find a failure, you come back to the junction then try another path. So obviously, the next time someone tries out, he does not have to commit his resources to the experimental paths.

You must be feeling quite elated that you have done what Asif saab set out to do…
What I am happy about is that the film looks like K Asif' MUGHAL-E-AZAM in color. The effort has been 100% honest. There has been zero attempt at giving the film the short shrift. The colors give a feel and look of his era. Throughout, we looked for the answer to the question “How the film would have looked like, if K Asif had shot in colour?” This has ensured maintaining the aesthetics of the film. His whole family is happy that Asif Sahib's dream has come true.

How does it feel to have beat even Hollywood in the colorization technique?
Indians always feel that anything that is done by Indians is either being done out of India or is just something that has already been successfully tried in the western world and is just being copied or repeated in India. I now feel elated because Indians have recognized the work. On the personal front, I always wanted to do something revolutionary in the Media and Technology space. I am very happy that God has given me this wonderful opportunity to fulfill my wish. If the Indian IT industry and Bollywood join hands, we can give Hollywood a run for their money.

How does it feel that a classic like Mughal-e-Azam has done a successful handshake with modern marketing?
Right from young to old and from rural to the international viewer, everyone was our potential customer. To communicate the same message to such a varied audience was indeed a big challenge. Keeping this in mind, the theme for the publicity and promotion design was “to have a classical look and a contemporary appeal”. The result is that from Muzaffarnagar to Manhattan, everyone has appreciated the promotion

The mobile and Internet promotions got you the entire youth bracket. Comment.
The youth today is exposed to a large number and a large variety of media channels. To ask the youth to spend Rs 150/- and watch a 44-year-old film means they should find a huge value because their basic perception could be very low. For this, they need to have a very close association with the product and should have easy access on detailed information to the product. In these areas, Internet and mobile was very effective.

Any interesting audience reaction that you did like to share with us?
“My husband's dream has been fulfilled” was the reaction of a moved Late.Mr. K.Asif's wife, Mrs. Akhtar Asif.

“Making a colossal like MUGHAL-E-AZAM in 1950…only Shapoorji Pallonji [SP] had the money and passion to do it. Spending a huge amount on coloring it…only SP has the vision to do it. Releasing against a Yash Chopra biggie and making it a success…. only SP has the guts to do it” said an industry watcher.

One lesson that this colossal creative effort taught you?
What God does is always good for you. What you feel has adverse repercussions in the short terms may actually be very fruitful in the long term. He is always with you, you just need to have faith and trust in him.

When will the film open for the overseas market?
The film of this scale needs the necessary build-up. We are planning for a January release.

Be it Devdas or Mughal-E-Azam, what is it about old classics that keeps bringing people to theatres?
The passion and the dedication of the filmmakers and artists of those days.

If given a chance, which other classic would you like to colourize?
None. Any such exercise should be undertaken by the original maker or the people very closely attached to the product. Such projects should not be just taken as commercial projects; the soul would otherwise go away. One should look at it as a “Work of Art” and dedicate himself towards it. The money would flow in if the workmanship were good.