Jodhaa Akbar

Ashutosh Gowariker's "Jodhaa Akbar" is the most ambitious film to emerge from Bollywood's stables in quite a while. Based on the historical alliance between India's greatest Mughal emperor and a Rajput Hindu princess, Gowariker models his film on the Shakespearean mould of palace intrigue with its collection of warring power brokers, plotting princes, distant queen mothers, bitchy but loyal eunuchs, and concubines galore. It's also something of a gamble: Gowariker has never treaded the historical epic in his earlier features, especially one about India's first attempt at religious pluralism. The results are mixed but laudable, largely because the script adheres to the golden rule about bringing historical episodes to film: know the history, but print the legend.

Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Pocahontas were all real people whose life stories have been told and retold in popular Hollywood films, each retelling adding and embellishing elements of the story which have helped the stories attain the status of pseudoreligious myth. India certainly has a rich history of quasi-historical legends: Anarkali, Heer-Ranjha, Umrao Jaan, Devdas, and now Jodhaa-Akbar.

Let there be no doubt: this is not a documentary nor do the filmmakers make any overt attempt at a documentary characterization of Akbar. History tells us that he was a unique and even megalomaniacal emperor: he had many wives and untold numbers of concubines in a harem which (depending on which account you believe) included a few male lovers, invented his own religion in which he was divine, and held court with atheists, Jews, and Jesuits, a practice which would become decidedly less common with future emperors.

Hrithik Roshan puts up what is probably his best performance as Akbar, though he is hindered by the sheer volume of activity making up the plot: an absent queen mother, sinister foster mother, devious brothers, and, above all, a reluctant wife, all demand his attention. Roshan is at his best when Akbar is wooing a banished Jodhaa and when he ventures off into his kingdom; in many ways, Akbar remains a symbol of tolerance and benign authoritarianism throughout—despite the fact that he is the one who sets much of the narrative's action into play, surprisingly few scenes give us insight into his inner workings; the opposite is true for Jodhaa.

In the last decade since Aishwariya Rai was introduced to movie-going audiences, she has grown tremendously as an actress. "Jodhaa Akbar" is not her best work, but it offers ample evidence of her growth along the spectrum of Paro-type roles she has enacted since Bhansalli's "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" : Nandini of "HDDCS," Paro of "Devdas," the eponymous Umrao Jaan, and now Jodhaa are essentially different interpretations of the same feminine archetype: a Lady Beloved of the Legends, who, having been robbed of all agency because of her gender, comes to embody beauty, suffering, fidelity, and, of course, love.

Nandini was a flighty romantic, Umrao Jaan a forlorn romantic, and Paro a languishing fool who settled for survival when love literally slashed her away. Jodhaa is decidedly not romantic, being that she is an emblem of her family's honor. She is given away as a peace offering to an emperor who demands alliance and submission only to find that he wants to become her ally in love.

Rai plays Jodhaa as a torn victim, but she is not without her own inner steel: she sets her own conditions for marriage, challenges palace customs, and steps on more than few royal toes along the way, notably those of the unforgiving Maham Anga. She's not as wishy-washy as Paro or as flirty as Nandini, but she is undoubtedly cut from the same cloth. And speaking of cutting, she's first rate in the five-minute sword fight between Jodhaa and Akbar, a scene which goes from swordplay to foreplay.

Rai is slated to play Anarkali opposite Ben Kingsley's Shah Jahan in an upcoming film and has yet another role as the pining courtesan in Bhansalli's next, "Bajirao Mastani." Normally, I would accuse her of self-typecasting, but it seems that filmmakers themselves are unwilling or unable to see her differently. Jag Mundhara did with "Provoked," extracting an emotionally naked performance from her which is without question her finest work to date. Will others be as daring to cast her in similar light? Probably not.

The film works best when the narrative focuses on the interaction between its two leads who are more similar than they perhaps ought to be: both are icons of physical beauty, sexuality, and glamour, but thankfully this has been tampered down by Gowariker's interpretation of the characters. True, Akbar probably didn't have Roshan's sinewy physique, and Jodhaa (whose existence continues to be challenged in certain historical readings) probably couldn't write in Arabic and likely never set foot in a kitchen. But such considerations are immaterial when you're telling a love story.

The other striking thing about the film is that for non-native Hindi and Urdu speakers, the dialogue is virtually incomprehensible without the subtitles. The old fashioned Urdu recitations are especially difficult to ascertain, though sometimes the subtitles only further your confusion. One line in "In Lamhon Ke Daman Mein" which is literally translated as "Beauty is imbibed in cherished blandishments." What???

Gowariker makes a valiant attempt at a film that is war epic, love story, and costume drama all in one, but never does "Jodhaa Akbar" approach the charm or finesse of "Lagaan." The main flaw with the film is that it is overly ambitious: Akbar may have been a polymath, but there's no way a single film could encompass all of his endeavors. Gowariker's script strays into too many quarters looking for the historical Akbar and ends up offering what is an unfortunately shallow characterization. Jodhaa, conversely, has less to occupy her and is more clearly defined.

And so in the end it turns out that "Akbar the Great" is, in celluloid terms at least, "Akbar the Pretty Good."

Period films, when well made are a visual treat. Right from the likes of Mughal-E-Azam till the recent Jodhaa Akbar, these flicks have the power to transport one back in time to relive those ages. What might disconcert many viewers of this genre is the excessive directorial license used by some movie makers to blur lines between fact and fiction. Nevertheless, I would still say that Jodha Akbar is a great effort and a well made film!

Based on the popular folklore, the story is about young Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammed (Hrithik) getting wedded to the princess of Amer Jodha (Aishwarya), a match arranged for political gain. But, little do both know that this marriage would spark off a fiery romance in the backdrop of young Jalal metamorphosing into an all powerful Emperor Akbar thwarting pressures from family,religious heads & administrative issues.

As such, the story neither has a beginning nor an end that any average moviegoer would look for. In fact, there is a little bit of everything. You can find romance, action including both human and animal duels, large scale wars, songs, great looking lead pair, and most importantly, the opulence and glorification of Akbar’s reign. But, it wouldn’t qualify as a documentary either, since the concept of Jodha in Akbar’s life is in itself fictitious.

The highlight however, is one man who stands out the most in the movie, Hrithik Roshan who has once again proved his star prowess. His talent and hard work is visible in every frame that he is in, be it romancing Jodha or on the battlefield. You would really believe him to be Shahenshah-E-Hindustan (Emperor of India). His shirtless scene with the sword and the sparring contest between the lead pair are extremely praiseworthy.

The Hrithik-Ash chemistry seen in Dhoom 2 has not just been continued here but has taken to a different level altogether. Aishwarya made a great choice to play a proud and defiant princess. The chemistry and the directorial genius can be seen in scenes where Akbar acknowledges his ignorance to read and write, his confusion when offered arati, the sparring and scenes when the couple have their private moments.

With a three and a half hour runtime and lots of sub-plots, Jodha Akbar at times, seems dragged. A tighter script chopping off at least half hour from the film could have helped. The songs, Jashn-E-Bahaara, Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah and the sufi Khwaja mere Khwaja stand out. If not a blockbuster, the movie will definitely go down in history as a well made movie. Recommended for a very patient audience only!

Swades was released in December 2004 and since then, this project was said to be considered by the director, Ashutosh Gowariker. The director of movies such as "Laagan" and "Swades," has once again left no stones unturned and proved that he is also capable of directing a movie related the colossal personality - Akbar the Great, also known as "Jalaludin Mohammed Akbar." A young Akbar, sets out to conquer Kingdoms and those who don't join him, are brutally executed but after a while he begins to pardon them and that's when many of his opponents begin to realise that they had and have, misunderstood him. One particular Rajput Raja Bharmal, instead of facing the Moghul's mighty army, decides that it would be better that his daughter, Raj Kumari Jodhaa Bai, who is be throned to another Rajput Prince, marries Akbar. The couple do unite in marriage but only after Akbar agrees to the two conditions which the Rajput Princess has put forward. At the same time, he has to win her heart as well as to look after the interest of his public.

Jodhaa Akbar, which stars Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Khulbhushan Kharbanda, Suhasini Mulay, Digvijay Purchit and Punam S. Sinha, is a romantic, biographical and historical movie, which is set in a era of revolt, conspiracies and war. It also deals with intercaste marriage, which at the time was not heard off due to the fact that when the Mughals invaded India, the Rajput Princesses and Queens became Sati when their husbands, the Kings were killed in battle so as not to be captured and, or, forced to live with the Invaders.

Hrithik Roshan, son of the director and producer, Rakesh Roshan and nephew of the music director Rajesh Roshan, was offered this role as the director, Ashutosh Gowariker, who had seen him in "Koi Mil Gaya." believed that he was capable of doing justice to this part and also because of his physique. His natural choice for the lead of "Jodhaa Bai" was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, not only just because of her beauty but talent as well. He has proved to be correct with the cast - brilliant as they have done justice to their respective parts.

This is a well written story by Haider Ali, and co written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker, which has gone into great details with research and choosing sites for filming. The cinematography, by Kiran Deohams, is excellent and some cases breath taking. The music, by A.R. Rehman, is pleasant and suits the genre movie and the songs, though a few, are good as well and especially the wedding night song. The costumes and jewellery, which I am sure that a lot of the members of the audience, will be looking out for, designed by the famous Neeta Lulla, is elegant. The stunts and the fight sequences, which are well timed, and though they look dangerous at times, are worthwhile watching. In one scene, where Akbar is seen fighting an elephant, actor Hrithik Roshan did get injured but continued with the filming. His injuries were related to those of when he was filming for "Krissh." But really pushes the fight and stunt sequences, is the special effects by Pankaj Khandpur, which are worth to watch.

Conclusion: This movie has all the ingredients to become a classic, epic movie in the future, even though it is three and a half hours in duration. It is worth it.

For those interested in a bit of gossip. Hrithik Roshan, who has been offered to work in some Hollywood movies, may not have to go over to in at least one of them. The reason being is that actress Penelope Cruz, may be working with him in a yet untitled Bollywood movie, which is said to be directed by his father, Rakesh Roshan. Could it be that this is just the beginning of a merger between Hollywood and Bollywood? I wonder! Elsewhere, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is soon to be working in a movie with the "Mahatama," Ben Kingsley, with whom she has worked with before, in an English version of "Taj Mahal." It seems like that she can't keep away from the family.

There are good movies. And then there are great movies.But very few are truly epics. I can very confidently say that Jodhaa Akbar is going to be an epic.

Do not be daunted by the 195 minutes runtime of the movie. At no point in the movie will you be aware of the time. The performances put in by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai,along with the ethereal music provided by A.R.Rahman and the stunning costumes by Neeta Lulla are going to blow your breath away.

No Indian cinema has ever evoked such a strong mixture of emotions in the audience as this one. Each and every frame of the movie is a treat to the eyes. There is richness and grandeur in every aspect of the film.

'Jashn-e-bahara' and 'Khwaja mere Khwaja' are superbly shot and executed songs. And then 'Azeem oh Shan Shahenshah' is one song that will remain etched in your memory long after you leave the theater.

The scenes where the Emperor Akbar tames the wild elephant and the sword fight between the royal couple are truly memorable. The battle sequences are captured very well.

The initial mistrust between Akbar and Jodha bai and the subsequent budding romance are handled brilliantly.

Hrithik is superb as the Emperor Akbar and I doubt if any actor of his generation could have handled this role as well. And Aishwarya Rai as usual looks stunningly beautiful.

All in all, a tremendous movie and I am going to strongly recommend this to all my friends.

Thank you Ashutosh for Jodhaa Akbar.

I watched Jodhaa Akbar today. Needless to say, I had a lot of expectations from the movie considering Ashutosh Gowarikar's earlier releases - Lagaan and Swades, both of which were tremendously appreciated.

The movie is good. I say good but not great! It probably could have been better. I'm no historian so I will not get into the dispute of whether the facts depicted in the film are true or false. The movie grabs the viewers attention throughout so that should be a good enough reason to go and watch it.

Coming to the performances, Hrithik as Akbar has done a wonderful job. He looks the part and his portrayal of a commanding but considerate and tolerant Moughal Emperor looks natural. It is a very controlled performance from his part. Aishwarya looks gorgeous in the movie and she truly does suit the character of a Rajput Princess. As far as her acting goes, she is just about average. The on-screen chemistry between the lead pair is sizzling. It is one of the highlights of the movie. Both of them look great together.The supporting actors are good especially Sonu Sood as Jodhaa's cousin, Sujamal and Ila Arun as Akbar's wicked foster mother.

The songs are few and not much can be said about them apart from the fact that they are well picturised. The costumes and jewelery are quite spectacular. The cinematography is good too. The war sequences & the scenes in the lavish palace have been well shot. These aspects along with the good looking lead pair make the movie a visual treat.

Don't try to compare the movie with its predecessors or try to question the historical significance and I think you will like the movie. Its definitely worth a watch.