Chemistry, not history Font Size - -A +A
Posted online: Sunday , February 17, 2008 at 11:10:10
Updated: Saturday , February 16, 2008 at 11:28:53 Print Email To
Editor Post Comments
Movie Name:Jodhaa Akbar
Directed by: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Cast: Hritik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai bachchan
In a standout scene, Jodhaa Bai andJalal-ud-din-Akbar are sitting across each
other. She's writtensomething she wants her husband to read. After waffling for
a couple ofminutes, he returns the beautifully-inscribed parchment to
her,confessing he can neither write nor read: he was raised to be awarrior, not
a litterateur. She lowers her eyelashes and says, "Ekpatni apne pati ka naam
kaise le sakti hai." He gazes at her,love-struck, as she blushes becomingly:
the thing between them iselectric.
It's confirmed. Dhoom 2 was no fluke. Hrithik Roshan andAishwarya Rai are the
hottest pair of lovers Bollywood has. You forgetthat these two are trying to be
Shahenshah Akbar and hisMallika-e-Hindustan: this is a man and woman in the
eternal act offinding love. And only in this moment, and others like this one,
doesAshutosh Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar spark to life, because this isterritory
the director can traverse sure-footedly. He takes us intotheir boudoir, where
they lie next to each other, a gossamer netkeeping them less than an inch
apart: you can sense their yearning. Asword duel between them turns into a
stylised mating dance, wherebreaths mingle yet lips don't meet.
For the rest, where historycomes crowding in, Gowarikar keeps his distance. The
altercationsbetween hungry-for-power siblings and an emperor struggling to rule
afractious bunch of satraps, the discussions between Akbar and his wisemen, the
taking stock of his praja by a wise and compassionate ruler,the epic scale
computer-generated battle scenes-are all observed atarm's length. Clearly, even
if he has done the smart thing and calledhis movie more imagination than
history, the director wants to makedoubly sure that he won't get more slammed
than he already has, in theauthenticity department.
But even if you discount all the argumentsbeing trotted out by angry historians
and Rajputs-some claiming Jodhawas theirs, some saying that she didn't
exist-you can't get over thefact that Jodhaa Akbar, at nearly three-and-a-half
hours, is much toolong. The editing is bland, and the pace so slack in so many
placesthat you drift off. Till the next time Ash and Hrithik come near
eachother, resplendent in their industrial strength jewellery andglittering
costumes.
Neither Roshan nor Rai, despite the bestefforts of the stylists, look like they
belonged back then: he is pureeye candy, stripped down to his bronzed skin; she
sports a stunningmakeup-less appearance which doubtless takes longer than
pancake to putin place.
Except for Raza Murad, whose Urdu diction is pitchperfect, everyone else
struggles: muaaff kar dijiye, they go, and it'shard to keep from laughing. Of
the ensemble, Ila Arun, with her raccooneyes (she plays the evil dai-ma who
tries to come between the lovers),and Sonu Sood (he is Jodhaa's bhai-saa, who
teaches her the fine art ofduelling with swords), fill out their roles.
Watch Jodhaa Akbar for its beguiling moments of amour. The rest is window
dressing.
