Anupama Chopra, Consulting Editor, Films
The first word that came to my mind as I
watched Jodhaa Akbar was epic.
Everythingabout this film is big – the scale on which it has been mounted,
thepassion which director and co-producer Ashutosh Gowariker has pouredinto
every frame, the startling beauty of its leads Hrithik Roshan andAishwarya Rai
Bachchan and its daunting length of three hours and 20minutes.
Ashutosh isn't a timid director. He finds no satisfaction in creating the
generic, instantly disposable Bollywood film.
Ashutoshdreams big and goes where other filmmakers fear to tread. Who else
butAshutosh could create a sublime, superbly erotic love story about analready
married couple, who live in the 16th century. Jodhaa and Akbarmarry to keep the
peace between Rajputs and Mughals.
The night before the wedding, her mother gives her a vial of poison, a way out
in case she cannot bear the humiliation.
Itturns out that she doesn’t need it. Akbar, an uneducated butenlightened
monarch, refuses to force himself on his wary wife. Hepromises that he will
come to her bed only when her heart gives herpermission to be one with him.
What follows is a hesitant,yearning romance in which husband and wife overcome
their religious andcultural differences and some serious harem intrigues and
learn to loveeach other.Is any of this true? Nobody knows and frankly I
don’tthink you’ll care because Ashutosh and his writer Haider Ali createthis
romance so convincingly.
Hrithik and Aishwarya haveenough electricity to light up a few of the vast
palaces art directorNitin Desai has so painstakingly created in the film. In an
interview,Ashutosh said that Hrithik and Aishwarya were his dream cast. I
thinkthey were his only cast. It's impossible to imagine any other
actorsplaying these roles.
Hrithik embodies the great emperor withoutever becoming theatrical. He is
regal, imposing, sometimes haughty butalways human.
Aishwarya carries the lighter load, nicely. Shelooks more beautiful than she
has in any of her recent films. Her eyesflash fire, especially in a sword
fighting sequence, in which shenearly decapitates her husband.
This is, as far as I know, theonly sword fighting as sexual foreplay sequence
in Hindi cinema.Whatweighs the film down are the peripherals surrounding this
romance. Thepolitical intrigues and anti-Akbar plots are predictable and limp.
Soare the actors enacting them. Many of the supporting characters arepure
cardboard and scenes just seem to go dead when Akbar and Jodhaaexit the frame.
This would have been less problematic if the film was shorter but at three
hours plus, it becomes frustratingly dull.
Thefirst half of the film is exhilarating but in the second you are likelyto
get impatient and restless. The last 15 minutes feel like the endof a
marathon.
Despite this, I strongly recommend Jodhaa Akbar. Ashutosh, Hrithik and
Aishwarya want half a day of your life.
It's a big demand but this is a worthy film. Jodhaa Akbar is a grand and
gorgeous labour of love.
Watch it!
http://www.ndtvmovies.com/reviews.asp?lang=hindi&id=294&moviename=Jodhaa+Akbar
