New Delhi- A resplendent prince Salim, portrayed by Dilip Kumar, leaning over a demure, apparently sleeping Anarkali, played by Madhubala. The freeze frame from cult classic “Mughal-e-Azam” 63 years ago is today template for memes aplenty, echoing everyday news, concerns and even societal trends.
On Wednesday, the latest meme to make it to the annals of Twitter and other social media platforms was the image with Salim pleading: “Utho Anarkali, hum out of syllabus ho gaye hain.”
It was the latest instance of the frame — portraying an intimate scene between the star-crossed lovers before their tragic separation in K Asif’s epic film — becoming a template for social media jokes, known commonly as memes.
The reference was to recent reports of the National Council for Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) new Class 12 textbooks dropping some content, including portions on Mughal history.
The meme was circulated widely on social media, many posting their comments, tongue firmly in cheek.
A Twitter user, @notmadhulika, said, “Since NCERT is going to remove Mughal history, can we still use ‘utho anarkali’ template?”
Last week, the government extended the deadline to link the Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar card by three months to June 30, 2023, giving Twitter users the opportunity to invoke Salim-Anarkali yet again.
“Utho anarkali Adhar PAN link karna hai,” the meme by @WeMindBlowers said on March 30.
Earlier in January this year, ahead of the budget presentation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, people prepared themselves for “seasonal economists” on the social media website.
“Utho Anarkali budget aane waala hai – It’s time to be economists,” @shainagbedi wrote with the image of Salim-Anarkali duo frozen in time.
The joke with a slight twist goes as far back as the first time when the lockdown was extended in India in April 2020.
Instead of asking Anarkali to wake up, one user asked her to keep sleeping as the lockdown had been extended till May 3, 2020.
User @mediocregandhi wrote, “Mat utho Anarkali lockdown 3rd May tak extend ho chuka hai.”
In the early days of the lockdown, as more and more offices went into the ‘work from home’ mode, it became common to attend a number of online calls or webinars between colleagues.
Billionaire businessman Anand Mahindra, who is known for his quirky tweets, also took to the social media platform with none other than the “Utho Anarkali” meme.
“Numerous friends shared this meme with me after reading about my frustration with ‘webinars.’ Seems like a new medical condition called a Webinarcoma,” wrote Mahindra.
The meme, which Mahindra shared, showed Salim asking Anarkali to wake up as “the webinar has ended”.
The still has also been turned into a “meme material” during the fasting days of Ramzan with several Twitter users sharing it in the context of the early morning meal, ‘sehri’, or even about the morning prayer, ‘Fajr’.
“Utho anarkali sehri ka vakt ho gya (Wake up Anarkali, it is time for sehri),” a Twitter user wrote.
Another meme asked Anarkali to “wake up, cook sehri and sleep after reading fajr”.
Netizens have also found clever usage for the meme, portraying the famous Green Day song “Wake me up when September ends”.
One user, @jokebazz, even posted it in time for Anarkali to wake up on October 1, 2021.
People living the modern lifestyle have time and again found the meme able to echo their corporate woes.
“Utho Anarkali, another life me tmhare sath laundry and taxes bhi to krna hai (Wake up Anarkali, in another life we have to do laundry and taxes together),” @notmadhulika wrote.
@dhruviiiparmar wrote, “Utho anarkali abhi to sirf mid-week hua hai. corporate slaving is waiting” (Wake up Anarkali, it is just mid-week. Corporate slaving is waiting).
In the film, the scene plays out with Anarkali lying down on a bed of flowers and Salim gently lifting the veil from her face as court musician Tansen sings. On screen is actor Surendra as Tansen and the voice is legendary classical vocalist Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
The classic, based on the historic legend of Mughal prince Salim (who went on to become Jehangir) and courtesan Anarkali, has remained timeless through its unforgettable music, the matchless acting, the grandeur of the sets — inspiring filmmakers over the decades and now ‘memesters’.
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