Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) and Anarkali, a court dancer.

The development of Mughal-e-Azam began in 1944, when Asif read a 1922 play called Anarkali, by the playwright Imtiaz Ali Taj, which is set in the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556–1605).

Mughal-e-Azam cost more to produce than any previous Indian motion picture; the budget for a single song sequence exceeded that typical for an entire film of the period.

Fourteen years later, Salim returns as a distinguished soldier and falls in love with court dancer Nadira, daughter of the maid who brought the emperor news of his son's birth.

[11] It is not known how the writers collaborated or shared out their work, but in 2010 The Times of India said that their "mastery over Urdu's poetic idiom and expression is present in every line, giving the film, with its rich plots and intricate characters, the overtones of a Shakespearean drama.

The song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" was filmed in Mohan Studios on a set built as a replica of the Sheesh Mahal in the Lahore Fort.

[35] The footwear was ordered from Agra, the jewellery was made by goldsmiths in Hyderabad, the crowns were designed in Kolhapur, and blacksmiths from Rajasthan manufactured the armoury (which included shields, swords, spears, daggers, and armour).

[41] Additional crew members included cinematographer R. D. Mathur, choreographer Lachhu Maharaj,[42] production manager Aslam Noori, cameraman M. D. Ayub, editor Dharamavir, makeup artists P. G. Joshi and Abdul Hamid, and sound director Akram Shaikh.

Foreign consultants, including British director David Lean, told Asif to forget the idea since they felt that it was impossible to film the scene under the intense glare.

[55] Scholars Bhaskar and Allen described the film as a tableau vivant of "Islamicate culture", evidenced in its ornate sets, musical sequences such as the qawwali scene, and chaste Urdu dialogues.

[56] Author Ashis Nandy has commented on the poetic quality of the dialogue, saying that "the characters of Mughal-e-Azam do not just speak – they refine communication, they distil it, they crystallize it into many faceted glittering gems, they make poetry of ordinary language.

Historian Alex von Tunzelmann says that although the real Salim was a heavy consumer of alcohol and opium from the age of 18, he was not necessarily a mischievous boy, as depicted in the film.

The real Salim did lead a rebellion against his father, tried to replace him as emperor, and had Akbar's friend Abu al-Fazl murdered in 1602, but the film ascribes these actions to his desire to marry Anarkali, which is historically inaccurate.

[76] Asif needed to buy all available stocks of Winsor & Newton paint in India at a cost of ₹6 lakh to enable Kamble to produce quality art for his hoardings.

[83] The premiere was held amidst great fanfare, with large crowds and an extensive media presence, in addition to hosting much of the film industry,[14] although Dilip Kumar did not attend the event owing to his dispute with Asif.

The list was compiled using the relative price of gold in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box-office collections of past films, which as per the trade magazine was a more appropriate measure of comparison as compared to official ticket-price inflation rates.

[95][96] A review dated 26 August 1960[97] in Filmfare called it a "history-making film ... the work of a team of creative artists drawn from different spheres of the art world".

[100] Dinesh Raheja of Rediff called the film a must-see classic, saying "a work of art is the only phrase to describe this historical whose grand palaces-and-fountains look has an epic sweep and whose heart-wrenching core of romance has the tenderness of a feather's touch.

[24] Raja Sen of Rediff compared the film to Spartacus (1960) and said, "Mughal-e-Azam is awesomely, stunningly overwhelming, a magnificent spectacle entirely free of CGI and nonlinear gimmickry, a gargantuan feat of ... of ... well, of Mughal proportions!

[104] Nasreen Munni Kabir, author of The Immortal Dialogue of K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam, compared the film to the Koh-i-Noor diamond for its enduring worth to Indian cinema.

[110] The Sterling Investment Corporation, the negative rights owner[111] and an arm of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, undertook restoration and colourisation of Mughal-e-Azam and assigned Deepesh Salgia as Project Designer and Director.

[110] To convince the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, one of India's wealthiest companies,[48] of the commercial viability of the project, the IAAA colourised a four-minute clip and showed it to them.

The team also approached a number of experts for guidance and suggestions, including Dilip Kumar, production designer Nitin Chandrakant Desai, and a historian from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

[113] To undertake the colourisation, Siddiqui brought together a team of around 100 individuals, including computer engineers and software professionals, and organised a number of art departments.

[118] Film critic Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times remarked that while colourising was not a good idea for most black-and-white classics, it was perfect in this particular instance.

[126] Imtiaz Ali of The Times of India in 2010 called it the "most proto-typical, high involvement, expensive, passionate piece of work that Hindi cinema has ever produced", one that "set the standard for everything that will ever come after it".

[132] Filmmaker Subhash Ghai was quoted in 2010 as saying that a film like this could never be repeated: "Mughal-e-Azam is an all-time classic and has been the ultimate love story in Hindi cinema at all levels.

[135][136] No sequels have been made, but Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam (2008) paid tribute with its title and by including in its plot part of the original stage play; it received very poor ratings from critics.

[137] In October 2016, producer Feroz Abbas Khan premiered a stage play based on the film with a cast of over 70 actors and dancers at Mumbai's NCPA theatre.

[142] It was named the greatest Bollywood film of all time by a poll celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema by British Asian weekly newspaper Eastern Eye in July 2013.