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Ashutosh Gowariker's film is a magnum opus though the only flaw
being its 3 and half hours long! Jodhaa Akbar is a
sixteenth century epic romance story, the most ambitious hindi film with heavy doses of electrifying drama and
wide canvas battle sequences. It's a dream all
throughout whether it is large scale action sequences or
the romance, and the beautiful landscapes of Rajasthan
and even the torch and candle lit interiors of Agra
fort.
Set in
the sixteenth century, this epic romance begins as a
marriage of alliance between two cultures and religions,
for political gain, with King Bharmal of Amer giving his
daughter's hand to Emperor Akbar. When Akbar accepts the
marriage proposal, little does he know that in his
efforts to strengthen his relations with the Rajputs, he
would in turn be embarking on a new journey - the
journey of true love.
From the battlefield where the young Jalaluddin was
crowned, through the conquests that won him the title of
Akbar the Great, to winning the love of the beautiful
Jodhaa, this film traces the imnpressive graph of the
mighty emperor and his romance with the defiant
princess.
Aishwarya is impressive rather well when she is
aggressive and combative. This pretty princess who is
not given much dialogues, looks stunning in her
sentimental scenes as well as in tear-filled speeches.
Ash's mega asset - her eyes are used perfectly, taking
them from subdued pain to injured pride, all the way to
roaring warrior-girl killer eyes. She shines as the
princess who makes the greatest sacrifice for her
people, consenting to a marriage of alliance with the
Mughals as much as she shines in grand jewellery and
costume finery.
Every other actor puts in a splendid performance. To
mention a few of all supporting players is Ila Arun as
Maham Anga, Akbar's mother-like figure. She is a guide
and instrumental in bringing up the young Jalal who now
steers him in his governance. The newcomer Sonu Sood as
Jodhaa's brother is praiseworthy, Nikitin Dheer as the
scary Sharifuddin who is Akbar's treacherous
brother-in-law has put in a performance of a worthy
adversary to Akbar.
CAST:
Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar - Hrithik Roshan
Jodhaa Bai - Aishwarya Rai (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan)
Maham Anga - Ila Arun
Narrator - Amitabh Bachchan
Chetana - Chetana Das
Raja Bharmal - Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Padmavati - Suhasini Mulay
Bhagwan Das - Digvijay Purohit
Hamida Banu - Mrs. Punam S. Sinha
Sujamal - Sonu Sood
Young Jodhaa - Rucha Vaidya
Chughtai Khan - Rajesh Vivek
Bairam Khan - Yuri
Publicity Designer - Nabeel Abbas
Choreographer - Raju Khan
Set Production Assistant - Jay Oza
Production Co-ordinator - Pranati Oza
Choreographers - Chinni Prakash, Rekha Prakash
Design Visualizer - Mihir Shah
Set Production Asst - Srikanth
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Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ila
Arun, Sonu Sood, Chetana Das, Kulbhushan Kharbanda,
Suhasini Mulay
Produced by - Ronnie Screwvala, Ashutosh Gowariker
Directed by - Ashutosh Gowariker
One of the inventive scenes is where Jodhaa stands up to
Akbar and the Rajput princess in no way ready to yield
without a fight. Factually! What an idea of romance. We
have a conquering, defiant young king taking a bride for
strategic reasons and then falling helplessly in love with
her unbridled spirit…
Hritik and Aishwariya both undoubtly the most attractive
protagonists in Bollywood, do well to keep the heat alive
through their on-screen interaction. Jodhaa makes Akbar
wait a maddeningly long time, this gradual evolution of
their relationship works, their love builds and only
alongside their increasing respect for one another. So
charming…
Hrithik Roshan as Akbar the Great is outstanding, giving
an extraordinary performance, his dialogues, commanding
expressions, and working every facial muscle in delivering
his lines, makes one almost believe he is a Mughal.
Music by A.R. Rahman which has
magnificent background score throughout the movie, and
there are some memorable numbers like the Khwaja Mere
Khwaja which is divinely shot. The so-called couple's
wedding banns have just taken place, and a group of
singers sit cross-legged to offer the lord tribute. This
is a particularly outstanding song sequence that has to be
admired. We even have the grandly picturised Azeem-O-Shaan
Shahenshah and then Hritik's elephant taming sequence, a
sword duel with Jodhaa, battles, and a climactic combat
with the main villain. The choreographers' (Rekha and
Chinni Prakash) hard work is just a visual delight!
- Aniz Filmvala
CREDITS:
Writers - Haidar Ali, Ashutosh
Gowariker
Original Music - A.R. Rahman
Cinematography - Kiran Deohans
Film Editing - Ballu Saluja
Production Design - Nitin Chandrakant Desai
Costume Design - Neeta Lulla
Production Management
Production Managers - Abul Syed 'Hassan' Ehsan, S.A. Ehsan,
Ranjit Indori
Unit production manager - Datta Jamkhande
First Assistand Director - Gurmeet Singh
Second Assistand Directors - Ekta Pathak, Prateek Sapra
Third Assistant Director - Puneet Khanna
Assistand Art Directors - Hemant Bhatkar, Sanjay Karole,
Mithali Mahajan
Sound Department
Foley Artists - Sayed Aslam, Yadav Manoj
Sound Editors - Tarun Bhandari, Sreejesh
Sound re-recording Mixers - Debajit Changmai, Hitendra
Ghosh
Live Foley Mixer - Abhijit Deo
Supervising Sound Editor & Designer - Stephen Gomes
Dialogue Editor - Lochan Kanvinde
Special Effects - Pankaj Khandpur
Stunts co-ordinator - Ravi Dewan
Camera Grip - Mukund Gupta
Assistant cameraman - Lalit Sahoo
Supervising Editor - Ballu Saluja
Music Dept Composer - Kaz Boyle
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