Jodhaa Akbar 14 Feb, 2008 07:19 pm ISTlGaurav Malani/INDIATIMES MOVIES Print Save EMail Write your Review
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Rating: downshowrating=1Let the cynics not disillusion you citing reasons ofcredibility, long runtime, Troy treatment references or the ancient jinxassociated with historicals. Jodhaa Akbar is a brilliant work of cinematicexcellence. Period! No there’s more to the review. Just keep an adjectivecount hereon. Ashutosh Gowariker goes two more centuries back from his Lagaan era to deliver another magnificent masterpiece by weaving a gripping narrative around the Mughal Emperor Akbar and Rajput Princess Jodhaa. The beautifully recreated 15th Century period doesn’t give any scope at pointing fingers and perfectionist too might feel it pointless to debate on historical facts, especially when the final output is conveniently convincing and equally entertaining. The film expectedly starts with the mandatory prologue in Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover on India being intruded since the advent of 11th Century and the Mughals arriving in five hundred years later. Clearly the Mughal invaders are shown in a positive light since they settled in India. And thereon emerges the third generation Mughal Prince Jallaluddin Mohammad (Hrithik Roshan) who grows up as a ruthless warrior and brave ruler but simultaneously possessing a heart of gold and a clean conscience. Right from the outset his character is established in heroic conduct which doesn’t seek any transformation of sorts. So the story gets ample scope to focus on his love with Jodhaa. The Mughals strategize war with neighbouring Rajput kingdoms whereby Rajput King Bharmal (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) plans a peace treaty with Mughal by a marriage proposition of Jallaludin with his daughter Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai). The alliance initiates love between the two but war with the remainder Rajputs. Both at the audience’s advantage! That’s the simplest you could summarize the three-hour plus script. Ashutosh has a skillful sense of vision and connects with the viewer with equivalent ease. The well-etched screenplay (co-written by Gowariker and Hyder Ali) maintains a perfect poise between historical relevance and contemporary entertainment. The film at no point becomes a lesson from history textbooks and at the same time doesn’t take prose liberty either. Special mention should be given to the meticulous effort put in by K P Saxena in penning dialogues in chaste Hindi and unblemished Urdu dialect that re-erect the bygone era and in unison is also easily assimilative to the current generation. Right from the opening war sequence the film sets the ball rolling for an engrossing series of events to follow. Despite its long runtime, the film doesn’t drag at any instance and uses the blitzkrieg technique of nonstop bombardments of episodes in its narration. Hrithik’s taming of the elephant, swordfight with Aishwarya, dagger-combat in the climax and the magnanimously mounted battlefield sequences are some of the spectacularly executed scenes of this glorious effort. The minute detailing in Kiran Deohans’ cinematography, Nitin Desai’s production design, Neeta Lulla’s costumes, Ravi Dewan’s action and A R Rehman’s background score is superlative, to say the least. On the flipside, the first 20 minutes of the second half tends to get a little slack with Akbar’s attempts at gelling with his junta. The love duet in the latter reels acts as a dampner. Sonu Sood’s death sequence turns out to be conveniently clichéd and the final fight is fashionably filmi. With the entire movie revolving around Akbar, Hrithik has allin his favour and does complete justice to what he gets. One cannot think of abetter Akbar as Hrithik effortlessly gets into his character, which the audiencecan easily identify with. Aishwarya appears as the ethereal beauty and doeswell. Sonu Sood has a conventional character but plays persuasively. NikitenDheer promises good potential. Ila Arun is impressive as the viciousfoster-mother. But why does Poonam Sinha bear an accent? Other members of thecast are pretty convincing. Aishwarya and Hrithik bring to life the splendid chemistry between Jodhaa and Akbar as it is delicatelysimmered amidst a political backdrop. While the romance doesn’t get mushy,the action doesn’t get too heavy. The film very smoothly switches genresfrom a war drama to a love story with no palpable jolts. While the romance between Jodhaa and Akbar doesn’t get mushy, the action doesn’t get too heavy. The film very smoothly switches genres from a war drama to a love story with no palpable jolts. Everything is not justfair in ‘love and war’. It’s fabulous! http://movies.indiatimes.com/moviereview/2783121.cms
