Overhyped spectacle Font Size - -A +A
Posted online: Saturday , February 16, 2008 at 01:28:41
Updated: Saturday , February 16, 2008 at 01:47:19 Print Email To
Editor Post Comments
Film: Jodha Akbar
Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Kulbhushan
Kharbenda
Rating: ******
Running at: Paradise, New Empire
History has been very kind to Emperor Akbar and directorAshutosh Gowarikar even
more. While history books no doubt are repletewith tales of Akbar’s glory and
wisdom, Gowarikar has decided to go astep further, turn the king into Saint
Akbar. That is what the filmJodha Akbar is about. There’s not a lot that
remains to be known aboutone of the most charismatic rulers of Indian history,
so when Gowarikarannounced his decision to make a film about the Mughal king
and hisRajput queen, there were a lot of expectations - what with theintriguing
subject matter and the director’s past projects. And thefilm lives up to the
hype at least visually. From the first scene tillthe last, the film is replete
with visual splendour, be it the richcostumes, the opulent jewellery, the
exquisite sets or the magnificentcinematography. The barren landscape against
the backdrop of which theepic battles play out only add to the beauty to the
film, especially soin the first
war scene between the 13-year-old emperor and the Afghanruler Hemu. From there
the story unfolds to how the young rulergradually becomes the
larger-than-life-figure while delving into theromance between the king and his
queen.
While we keep hoping thatthe story unfolds literally, we end up wondering what
the director wasreally trying to say. The film’s pivotal point was supposed to
be aboutthe great romance, but that is the very last thing the film has
-romance. The film instead comes across as a beautifully shot four-hourlong
glossy advertisement. In trying to create an epic, what Gowarikarhas forgotten
is the most important thing - the story that has palpablesocio-political and
emotional conflict. A nicely shot film cannotovercome the shortcomings of a
weak script. Not that the director doesnot try and there were plenty of areas
which could have been developedto make a tighter script, like the scene where
the Hindu princess firststeps into the Muslim household and is confronted by a
strange religionand customs. It would have been beautiful to see the clash of
culturesand religion and see the protagonists making an effort at
understandingthe other’s culture. But one is
left frustrated as the director skimpsthrough a variety of subject matters
often resulting in creatingsituations that appeared very contrived. And when
the king dresses upas a regular guy to mingle with his subjects, the portrayal
isamateurish and ends up looking absurd. If only politics would be thateasy!
Gowarikar’s efforts in making the epic are further marred bysome terrible
acting, especially from Aishwarya Rai. Apart from lookingbeautiful she really
does not do much. And the little attention shedemands on screen is thanks to
her designer, her make up man and ofcourse the jewellery. But her acting skills
leave much to be desired.She is stiff and apart from her set series of facial
expressions, thathave remained the same from her first film to the present one,
she doesnot contribute much to the film. Hrithik, on his part, however, makesan
effort to play the Mughal ruler and does a better job than hison-screen wife.
And that is the complete undoing of the film. By thetime you are half way into
the film; you will be left fidgeting in yourseat and longing for the interval
which comes a little too delayed. Ifyou believed the Hrithik-Aishwarya pair
sizzled in Dhoom, you’ll wonderwhat happened to that chemistry, there’s
certainly none here. There
areflashes of lust, but none of the haunting sensuousness that makes KAsif’s
Mughal-E-Azam, a classic even decades after it hit the screens.By the time the
king and the queen finally get to consummate theirmarriage, almost
three-an-hours after the film started, you’re back tolonging for some magical
romance spelt out by Dilip Kumar and Madhubalaarmed with a gamut of expressions
and just a feather. Such sheereroticism that makes us want to believe that they
are real, and notmerely actors performing on-screen. Even AR Rahman’s music
fails tolight up the film this time and except for the melodious Khwaja,
therest of the fare is but mediocre.
The problem with Gowarikar is notthat he does not try, rather he tries too
hard. Look at the westernepics Mr Gowarikar, something as recent as a Troy. We
all walked outbelieving in that magic but where is the magic in your film?
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Overhyped-spectacle/273649/
