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*Jodhaa Akbar could make even more money than OSO*
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February 19, 2008 12:23 IST
Getting a royal welcome on both sides of the Atlantic, *Ashutosh
Gowariker's<http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14sli1.htm>
* *Jodhaa Akbar <http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14sli1.htm>*,
grabbed an estimated $1.3 million in North America and $750,000 in the
United Kingdom over the weekend.
Factoring in the Gulf countries, the Caribbean and Australia, the three day
haul could reach an awesome $3 million.
The film may not have crossover appeal to the mainstream audiences but
anyone who reads the opening of *The New York Times* review may be tempted
to see it. 'They may not make'em like they used to in Hollywood,' critic
Rachel Saltz wrote, 'but sometimes in India they still do. *Jodhaa Akbar*...
is filmmaking on the grand scale of Cecil B De Mille (*The Ten Commandments*),
with romance, stirring battles, and enough elephants and gold to sink
the *Titanic
[Images <http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=titanic>]*.'
- *Also Read: Showcasing Jodhaa
Akbar<http://www.rediff.com/movies/jodha08.html>
*
The US box-office was especially impressive given the awful weather
conditions in the Midwest.
"If the goodwill and enthusiasm for the film continues, and we at UTV feel
it will, *Jodhaa Akbar* could make even more money than *Om Shanti
Om<http://www.rediff.com/movies/omshanti07.html>
*," said Lokesh Dhar for distributor UTV. "We are not looking at the success
of this film in terms of another hit for UTV (*which has distributed hits
like Don*). It could become the all-time highest grossing Bollywood film in
North America."
Farah Khan's [Images <http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=farah
khan>] *OSO* starring Shah Rukh Khan
[Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=shah rukh
khan>
], who also produced it, grossed about $3.8 million in North America and
holds the record.
"Despite the fact that *Jodhaa Akbar* is three-and-a-half hours long," Dhar
continued, "and theatres are having less number of shows, we are doing
extraordinary business."
- *Review: Jodhaa Akbar is okay but too
long<http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14jodhaa.htm>
*
The film, which got decent reviews from many mainstream publications
including *The New York Times* and a few pans like the one in the *San
Francisco Chronicle*, had a record 135 prints released in North America. In
the United Kingdom it has some 70 prints.
The full week's gross outside India could exceed $4.5 million. Even if the
film's takings were to fall by 50 percent in subsequent weeks as it
traditionally happens for Bollywood movies, it could still end up with some
$8 million.
Unlike in India where the entertainment tax takes away nearly 50 percent of
the box office collection, Bollywood producers get about 65 percent of the
overseas take.
Bollywood insiders believe that even if *Jodhaa Akbar* does not do
spectacular business in India, the overseas moolah will help it recuperate
its reported $10 million budget.
- *Review: Jodhaa Akbar is a spectacular
watch<http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14jodhaa.htm>
*
Another reason why the film may not suffer a steep decline in the second
week is that there are no big movies challenging *Jodhaa Akbar* for several
weeks, till the action thriller *Race*, which is also distributed by UTV.
"We strongly feel that *Jodhaa Akbar* is not going to be a one week
phenomenon," Dhar said. "Many people are telling us that they are seeing the
film two or three times, taking friends and family members who may not
usually see films in theatres. The word has gone out that this is one film
you ought to see on the big screen first."
Indian Americans are also spreading the word that *Jodhaa Akbar* is not like
the typical Bollywood production, and some of them are quoting reviews like
the one in *The New York Times*.
'These royals are played by Hrithik Roshan
[Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=hrithik
roshan>
] and *Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan<http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/12slide1.htm/>
*,' Saltz continued, 'two rather astonishing specimens of human beauty.
Neither is a great actor, but both know what's required of a star and seem
to the palace born.'
She did not forget the music and Kiiran
Deohans<http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/11sld1.htm>for his
cinematography. 'The film bounces along to a memorable score by
*A R Rahman <http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/18slide1.htm/>*. (I
am still humming the songs),' Saltz wrote.
Giving the film four stars out of five, the BBC's Tajpal Rathore wrote: 'One
is perhaps starting to expect too much from director Ashutosh Gowarikar
after such masterpieces like *Lagaan
[Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=lagaan>
]* and *Swades [Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=swades>
]*. But he seems to raise the bar with his historic *magnum opus, Jodhaa
Akbar*.'
'Extensive though it is, *Jodhaa Akbar* cannot be discussed using small
talk,' Rathore wrote. 'Everything in the film is big and grand: the palaces,
the armies and most importantly, *the love
story<http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14sli2.htm>
*. It hits at the heartstrings and somehow has enough energy to sustain
itself through the bloated script that perhaps should've been chopped.
Ravishing Rai is convincing enough but it's Roshan's majestic performance as
the love-struck warrior that packs the punch; it's his film from start to
finish.'
Gowariker knows how to tell a story, declared Sandip Ray in the *San
Francisco Chronicle*, referring specially to *Lagaan*. But in the new film,
the review said, he seems overwhelmed by the sheer weight of history.
'The never-ending opening sequence, a CliffsNotes version of Indian history
in superstar Amitabh Bachchan's
[Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=amitabh
bachchan>
] sonorous baritone, doesn't help either,' Roy added.' Or perhaps the film
just topples over under the sheer weight of all that gold jewelry.'
The problem with Jodha and Akbar is that they are both too noble, the
reviewer continued.
'Epic stories need epic tragedies or at least forbidden love,' he added.' In
the 1960 classic *Mughal-E-Azam*, the rebellious prince (actually the son of
Akbar) falls in love with the beautiful courtesan, and her defiant songs
became the anthem of star-crossed lovers. (You still hear South Asians
singing it at gay pride parades.)'
But there are moments when the film manages to break free of its
limitations, the review said. *'Jodha and Akbar
duel<http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/jan/31sli1.htm>
* in an empty palace courtyard, their swordplay turning into foreplay,' it
explained. 'A crowd of Sufis whirl, their white outfits glowing against the
brick red earth, and the emperor leaves his seat to dance ecstatically with
them. These are the real human moments in the film. One just wishes there
were a few more.'
Many viewers in New York and New Jersey cinemas said they were not deterred
by the film's length. "We have watched on DVD some films which are just
about two hours long and we have found them boring," said a 50-year-old man
who had driven 40 miles from Connecticut to see the film in a New York
theatre with his wife and grown children "But if a film is well made, who
worries about the time? And this kind of a film one must first see in a
theatre, never mind what good home entertainment system we have at home."
