JODHA AKBAR
Quite a Mogul e Sultan of Bollywood.
by Vishal Verma
Rating: 
What is it?
Jab Confidence Aur Courage Hai Toh Darna Kya. Ashutosh Gowarikar deserves all the praise for giving Bollywood cinema a spectacular epic like ‘Jodha Akbar’ setting high standards of film making in Bollywood. The love story of two diverse individuals, who are different in many aspects, call it caste, creed and attitude and brings forward the least known side of Hindustan’s greatest statesman, is indeed remarkable. You need balls to even think of making a film on such subject. Hats off to Ashutosh for doing this. Now who can better that!
Right from the start during the battle of Panipat, you get to know the scale, the opulence, the grandeur, & the beauty of the film, that smells the essence of spirit & passion to make a magnum opus like Jodha Akbar’.
Ashutosh Gowarikar should share the whiskey with Ronnie Screwvala for being a partner in this 40 cr spectacularly magnificent cinematic experience.
But there are some flaws, which cannot be ignored. First of all, it’s a love story of the greatest statesmen of Hindustan and the fiery Rajput princess of Rajasthan but surprisingly, Samrat Tansen is missing from the durbar and the romantic moments between Jodha and Akbar.
Some classical notes from Samrat Tansen during the romantic moments of Akbar and Jodha could have created wonders. The pace during the first half is somewhat slow.
Hrithik Roshan at a couple of place struggles with his Urdu.
But that doesn’t stops ‘Jodha Akbar’ to be a cinema ticket worth every penny of its money.
What is it all about?
Set in the sixteenth century, Jodhaa Akbar is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Little did Akbar (Hrithik Roshan- his best till date) know that when he married Jodhaa [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan- marvelous], he would be embarking upon a new journey -- the journey of true love.
The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer ( Kulbhushan Kharbanda- very good) , Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar's biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of this defiant princess.
What to look out for?
This 12 reel 3hrs and 20 minutes movie has 12 real gems of cinematic moments which make the film work like.
- Jodha writes the name of Akbar in Urdu and asks the emperor who is illiterate to read.
- First meeting of Jodha and Akbar where the Rajput princess puts some conditions for marriage and the emperor agrees.
- The sword Fight between Jodha & Akbar
- Battle of Panipat
- Akbar dancing to the sufi number ‘'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' – excellently executed.
- A R Rahman’s outstanding background score & the numbers ‘'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' & ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja'
- Nitin Desai’s spectacular art direction
- Neeta Lulla’s fantastic dress designing.
- Rekha Chinni Prakash excellent choreography in ‘'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah’
- Ravi Dewan’s superb action.
- Excellent camerawork by Kiran Deohans
- Last but not the least, the movie successfully tells the love story of Emperor Akbar who is hailed as the greatest statesmen and shows the side which is not known to many- a true lover.
Talk about performance, well to start with Hrithik Roshan delivers his career best till date. Aishwarya Rai looks stunning and gives a marvelous performance. Sonu Sood as Rajkumar Sujamal is noteworthy. Kulbhushan Kharbanda.as Raja Bharmal is very good as usual. Suhasini Mulay as Rani Padmawati is fine. Raza Murad as Shamsuddin Atka Khan is competent. Punam Sinha.as Mallika Hamida Banu is excellent. Pramod Moutho.as Todar Mal is OK . And finally Ila Arun as Maham Anga gives a power packed performance.
What not?
Surprisingly in Akbar’s zest of love, the great Samrat Tansen is missing. The pace during the first half is a bit slow. Hrithik’s Urdu at some places is a bit shaky.
Conclusion: A must for any bollywood moviegoer, highly recommended.