Spectacular show
Meenakshi Rao
Jodhaa Akbar
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Ila Arun
Showing at: PVR, others
Ratings: 6.5/10
Thisis not about history or the twisting of it for
cinematic licence. It isabout being spectacular -- and how. Jodhaa may or not
have been Akbar'swife but Ashutosh Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar is the first ever
period romance that has the bigness of it all to take on Mughal-e-Azam. It is
big, really big when it comes to the canvas. It is as meticulous as Aamir Khan
was for Taare Zameen Par where detail was concerned. And, it is romantic too.
Muchas the Bachchans would cringe, there is palpable
chemistry thatAishwarya Rai shares with Hrithik Roshan. As Jodhaa she has
flowerswithout glamour and make-up, lending a beauty a pristine kind ofpureness
that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was, till now had enjoyed themonopoly over.
Maybe it is the stunning jewellery and costume
designing that givesAishwarya and Hrithik pride of place in the movie. May be
it is themusic by AR Rehman. But everything is put together so engagingly
thatyou forgive Gowarikar for stretching the movie to three hours and 40minutes.
If Lagaan was big and Swadesh an indigenous marvel,
Jodhaa Akbarcomes with a heady blend - of bigness, of romance, of historicity
andof drama. Doesn't really matter if the real Akbar was a rollypolly guyor
that Jodhaa is a figment of historical conjecture. Together onscreen and in
Gowarikar's deft hands, this couple from the past is justthe dose that makes
Valentines Day that much relevant.
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