Discover how Dilip Kumar’s iconic film ‘Aan’ made history as the very first Technicolor film in Indian cinema. Two decades later film monarch Mehboob Khan after the huge success of Andaaz (1949) starring Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Nargis decided to make India’s most expensive film. The film was Aan (1952) starring Dilip Kumar and Nadira. To add glitter and glitz he decided to make the film in Technicolor –The color technology used in Hollywood films. Since Ardeshir Irani‘s first color film Kisan Kanya had poor color technology, hence Mehboob Khan and cinematographer Faredoon A. Irani, went to Hollywood to study color technology.
Aan The First Technicolor Film
The filmmakers shot the film on Kodachrome 16mm stock. Then, they blew it up to 35 mm. However for superior print color and production Mehboob Khan cleverly processed the film in Technique Color prints in London!! The result was fabulous! The film had top stars like Dilip Kumar, Nimmi, Premnath and new sensational discovery Nadira. The film had music by Music maestro Naushad. For the first time the film had recorded 100 piece orchestra in London and it was played on BBC Radio!!
Aan’s Budget
They made it on a huge budget of Rs. 3.5 crore ( a huge amount in the 50s – equivalent to 28 crore in 2018). The film became a huge hit! It won international applause and they showed it all around the world. The success of Aan boosted Mehboob Khan‘s confidence and he made India’s greatest masterpiece in color Mother India (1957). The film won huge success not only in India but also became India’s first film to win the top 5 positions at Oscar Awards!
Other films that successfully used Technique colors were V. Shantaram‘s Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955) and Navrang (1959). Sohrab Modi‘s lavishly produced ‘Color by Technicolor’ Jhansi Ki Rani (1956) failed at the box-office.
To cut expense, filmmakers used color for a song or two. For example, Guru Dutt shot the title song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1961). K. Asif was also enchanted by the color, filming the hit song ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ in his magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Dilip Kumar‘s Gunga Junma was another milestone, shot in Technicolor.. Later in the ’70s, Ramesh Sippy‘s Sholay is also shot in Technique color!
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