K.Asif Se Bhi Aage..

You might be wondering who was this Jodhabai who is creating so much commotion four hundred years after her time. Is Jodhabai a real person who walked on this earth hundreds of years ago, or she is just a figment of imagination like Anarkali?

Two blocbusters were made on the romance of Anarkali and Prince Salim. One was Filmistan’s “Anarkali” and the other was K. Asif’s “Mughal-E-Azam” in early and late Fifties respectively.

K. Asif called his film “Mughal-E-Azam,” but it was the same story of the romance of Anarkali and Salim. In both these films, Jodhabai was shown as the Patrani of Akbar and the mother of his only son Salim.

“Anarkali” was a super hit and “Mughal-E-Azam” created its own history as a super duper hit. At that time nobody talked about the depiction of Akbar and Jodhabai as husband and wife as travesty of history.

I’m quite intrigued on hearing so much noise about Ashutosh Gowariker’s “Jodha Akbar” being a travesty of history and an insult to Rajput pride. I did my own research.

My finding is.

Akbar had several wives, some of them Rajputs. Akbar’s first Rajput wife was the eldest daughter of Raja Bharmal of Ajmer and her maiden name was Hira Kunwar. Among Akbar’s wives, three were classified as ‘chief queens.’

Akbar’s first queen was Ruqaiyya begum, second was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general and mentor Bairam Khan. Hira was Akbar’s third chief queen. Even then she was 22 days older than Akbar. Salima, the widow of Bairam must have been much older. Napolean’s first wife was older than him. Shakespeare’s wife was also older than him. Marrying older women appears to be an aspect of great men’s character.

Hira Kunwari was also called Harkha Bai. According to Rajasthani custom, she was called Maan Kunwari after her marriage. It is said, she was converted to Islam and was given the title of Mariam-uz-Zamani.

The mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum, inLahora, was in her honour. Hira Kunwari died in 1611. Her tomb is on Delhi-Agra National Highway, near Fatehpur Sikri. She was buried according to Islamic custom and was not cremated according to Hindu religion. But during her lifetime, her palace was decorated with pictures of Lord Krishna. She did puja and offered makhan and paneer to the Lord. The most remarkable thing was despite her Hindu origin, she was the most favorite and most powerful among the queens of Akbar.

She used to be actively involved in the affairs of the court. She was also a business woman involved in sea trade and owned a ship called Ramiti which carried pilgrims to Mecca.

The popular perception is, Akbar’s Rajput wife was called Jodhabai. But she was not called Jodhabai in her lifetime .How she got the name of Jodhabai is mystery and a matter of research for historians. Akbar’s wife was first referred as Jodha bai in 18th century by Lt. Col. James Todd in his books “Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. Todd was not a professional historian and he depended on folk literature of Rajputs.

Another Jodhabai who figures in Rajput history was the wife of Jahangir (the so called Anarkali’s lover Salim).She was the daughter of Uday Singh of Jodhpur. She was called Jodhabai as she belonged to the royal family of Jodhpur. Organizations protesting against Ashuotosh’s film claim that Jahangir’s wife was the only Jodhabai in Mohhul history and they completely deny the possibility that Akbar’s wife might also have been called Jodhabai.

Shakespeare said centuries years ago, “What’s there in name. A rose will smell like rose, call it by any name. “Ashutosh’s film is about the marriage and romance between Akbar and a Rajput princess. Call her by any name. What difference does it make if she is given the same name as her daughter-in-law.

Why proud Rajputs remained silent when Akbar’s wife was called Jodhabai in “Anarkali” and “Mughal-e-Azam”.

Are today’s Rajputs more conscious of their glory or they have acquired far better awareness of their history?  Or they are mischievously politically motivated and go on looking for excuses to create trouble? I leave the answer to your judgment.

 But it looks certain that this kind of agitation would discourage filmmakers from making history based films. It is a far more dangerous development than the loss to Ashutosh for the future of cinema.

Lastly, a word from my good grief producer-director Diwaliya Lal as he pays tribute to Ashutosh  in his own style saying, “Ashutosh Gowariker to K. Asif se bhi asge nikal gaya. Asif ne Salim ke romance par film banaai to Gowariker ne Salim ke baap ke romance par film banadi.”

  

- Virendra Verma