"JODHAA AKBAR" Movie Review
Ashutosh Gowarikar stuck to his word. The promos said 'A Mogul Prince A Rajput Princess’. And yes, the movie is all about them. It is an interesting love story even in writing, and on the silver screen it makes for an extremely difficult subject to tackle and a tricky job to decide what to fictionalize and what not to; what to keep in and what to avoid. Jalaluddin 'Akbar’, one of the most prominent and popular emperors ever, creates and keeps the interest levels up even to this day. Hrithik Roshan and Ashwarya as the protagonists of this magnum opus, the spectacle Gowarikar creates with the sets, the period setting and the atmosphere, the music-all make Jodha-Akbar a worthwhile one-time watch.The Mogul emperor’s arranged marriage to a Hindu princess and the conflict that the union leads to because of and in spite of it is Jodha Akbar. The movie captures the events that lead to the marriage with a little background added for good measure and the couple’s early wedded life. The princess bent on keeping her own identity and her faith intact, the Muslim clergy trying to influence a tolerant Akbar, the misunderstandings and the wars are all covered.
There are some beautiful moments in the movie that negate its tiring length. Akbar joins the Sufi singers in their mystic dance, Jodha’s prayer for Lord Krishna rings through the court just as the Mullahs discuss her religious beliefs and other such small but significant events. The characters of Akbar, Jodha, Sujamal and others are very well-defined yet volatile enough to pull the story forward. Gowarikar’s usual pace makes the viewer appreciate the sheer effort spent in making a movie like this, giving minor and major details importance. Subtle humor comes into play at times, and Akbar’s character is given new magnitudes with him refusing to cut off the defeated King’s head on one hand and ordering a traitor to be thrown twice from the terrace to ensure his death on the other.
The unconventional characters and fates of the main leads are difficult to pull off, especially in this screenplay. It could have been a highly watchable, even enjoyable movie if the story was a little different post-break. The action sequences in the first half are good, while those in the second half get very repetitive. Background score and re-recording is good.
The editing, however, could have cut the movie another 15 minutes short at the very least. Since the story revolves around the two central characters and their story, the focus is on them and the events that surround the early period in their marriage along with Akbar’s formative years. Some characters tend to have a very flat portraiture, like the evil scheming Mahan Anga (with whom Jodha’s animosity makes for some powerful and intense bits) and Akbar’s greedy brother-in-law.
Hrithik steals the show with his absolutely flawless performance, and possibly his best yet. In majority of the scenes, one sees Jalaluddin Mohamed Akbar and not Hrithik Roshan, as would have occurred with all the other big stars. Ashwarya makes the perfect princess even if she does ham a little in the emotional scenes, her body language and the way she pulled off Jodha Bai is commendable. The magic of the movie lies a lot in its casting and the chemistry of the lead pair, where we see the characters and less of the actors. Credit must be bestowed upon the director also for this particular gift he has of creating those characters. Ila Arun as Mahan Anga gives a credible performance while Punam Sinha as Akbar’s mother and Sonu Sood as Jodha’s brother do a good job. Another aspect that is notable is the make-up and the costumes, which are a visual treat. To add to the visual aspect, the photography is really good. Background score is a little too loud at times, but otherwise the music is overall a highlight for the movie. The action sequences, all but one, are conceived and executed well.The two songs have excellent choreography. Jodha Akbar is an engaging movie for anyone vaguely interested or enlightened about history. The dialogues in Urdu and Hindi are kept relatively simple, but for people unfamiliar with anything but present-day colloquial Hindi, it might be a tad bit difficult to follow. For the effort itself, Gowarikar is to be appreciated. The length is a definite minus but the pace is just right. For the action sequences, the music and Hrithik, the movie captures the attention of the viewer. Gowarikar’s Swades might not have become a commercial hit, but it nevertheless remains a good movie. Whatever the trade verdict is on Jodha Akbar, barring some wasteful minutes, it is a movie made with a lot of conviction and is to be looked at as a work of fiction based on historical events.
End Credits
Starring:Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Suhasini Mulay, Ila Arun, Digvijay Purohit, Shaji Chowdhary, Nikitin Dheer, Visswa Badola, Pradeep Sharma, Raza Murad, Yuri and Others.
Choreography: Chinni Prakash-Rekha Prakash-Raju Khan.
Cinematography: Kiiran Deohans.
Co-producer: Zarina Mehta-Deven Khote.
Costumes: Neeta Lulla.
Dialogues: KP Saxena.
Editing: Ballu Saluja.
Executive Producer: Sunita A. Gowariker.
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar.
Music: AR Rehman.
Production Design: Nitin Chandrakant Desai.
Screenplay: Haidar Ali-Ashutosh Gowariker.
Sound Design: Stephen Gomes.
Sound Re-recording: Hitendra Ghosh.
Story: Haidar Ali.
Stunt Co-ordinator: Ravi Dewan.
Direction: Ashutosh Gowariker.
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala-Ashutosh Gowariker.
Banner: UTV Motion Pictures-Ashutosh Gowariker Productions.
Release Date: 15th February, 2008.
Labels: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, AR Rehman, Ashutosh Gowariker, Hrithik Roshan, JODHAA AKBAR, Sonu Sood
Plot Vishwak Sena is named, educated and brought up by his village primary school teacher (Tanikella Bharani) as he is orphaned at an early age. Swetha comes to his village from Canada as her grandmother is sick, and goes to the school for a while there. Vishwak falls in love with her. They become friends but she soon goes back to Canada. After an MBA degree Vishwak joins a company. He meets Swetha again as she is his employer's daughter. But Vishwak is now a calculative person, who believes life runs on these very calculations. He plans to make Swetha fall in love with him, but fate seems to have other plans as Siddhartha comes into their lives.
Music and Dance Boring songs, picturization including. The background is good in places.