TAJ MAHAL – THE ETERNAL LOVE STORY
India/2007 [Original release 2004]/Urdu and Hindi dialogue with English subtitles/Colour/35mm/approx. 120 mins
Kabir Bedi presents the world premiere of the revised version of Akbar Khan’s magnum opus. This eagerly anticipated film first appeared in 2004, winning two National Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costumes. Like many a hyped Bollywood epic, however, it disappointed at the box-office. Its determined team have made a 2007 International Cut to hit screens with renewed strength. This is the poignant love story of Emperor Shahjahan (Kabir Bedi plays the older Emperor, Zulfikar Syed the younger) and his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (Sonya, the granddaughter of the legendary singer Noorjehan), presented as a tale of royal intrigue, internecine battles, bitter reprisals, death-defying envy of the throne and deep personal tragedy. Made with characteristic sweep, pomp and high drama, it is among the most expensive ($25m) of all Bollywood movies, befitting Mughal grandeur.
Kabir Bedi writes: “This new version, with 40 minutes edited out, presents a dramatically different narrative than seen when the film was first released. It shows one of my best performances and I also feel that this is best premiered at Dubai, as it is one of the grandest Muslim historical epics recently produced by Bollywood.”
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Starring : Kabir Bedi, Zulfikar Syed, Sonya Jehan, Manisha Koirala, Pooja Batra, Kim Sharma
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Director(s) :
Akbar Khan
AKBAR KHAN was born in 1949 in Bangalore, India. He took up films in 1978 and apart from acting in several Indian movies has also directed a full-length feature film, Haadsaa, and produced and directed epic historical television serials such as The Sword of Tipu Sultan and Akbar the Great. He is the Managing Director of Mashreq Communications Ltd., a Mumbai-based tele-serial and motion picture production company.
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Crew : Fatima Meer(Scriptwriter), Sanjay Varma(Editor), Naushad Naushad(Composer)
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Format : Colour/35mm
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Running Time : approx. 120 mins
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Country : India
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Programme : a celebration of indian cinema
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Venue : Mall of the Emirates - CineStar 2, Mall of the Emirates - CineStar 2
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Buy DIFF Tickets : https://www.difftickets.com
