Hey guys,
I watched JA on friday in San Diego but dint find time to write abt it
though... anyways here it goes... Actually taken right from my blog ;)
It’s been a really long time since I wrote about some Bollywoodmovie. Probably
its just that I am lazy or that the movie does not deserve myanother one hour
or so apart from the 3 I would have spent watching it..(SometimesI would loose
interest even half way through ;))
I seriously wanted to write about Taare Zameen Par.. I watched it in India on
mywinter break and boy.."Was I impressed with it?"... Definitely.... Nosecond
thoughts about it. After having watched some really ordinary or belowaverage
movies it was like a refresher. Most of the movies lacked in alldepartments
while some did have good things in bits and pieces but none of themas a
package, did impress me. I did not have time to review the movie on myvacation.
But to say in one line, TZP had some very fine acting, a nice script,beautiful
music and good direction.
Thats how the year 2007 ended in terms of movies for me.
2008, the biggest release in the first quarter "Jodha Akbar" had allpossible
delays and the release dates were postponed like how a softwarerelease would
happen. The had some bigwigs
from the industry , right from the producer to the director , the lead pair
andof course the music director 'A.R.Rahman'. The canvas was big but the
promotionwasn’t . If only it were SRK, you could have imagined how he would
havepromoted the movie. Either no one was interested to promote of it was
theconfidence in the movie and its stars which the producers believed would get
theaudience to the halls. Believe me, if there is one star whose movie
wouldattract audience even without any kind of promotion would be the
"TamilSuperstar" Rajnikanth. But I don't think anyone else has such a crazy
fanfollowing to get the investment back without advertising the movie.
Anyways, I had no big hopes on this movie except that it had some great songsby
AR Rahman. I just loved all of them when the music was released sometime inJan.
He proves now and again as to why he is way above the rest of the league.Well
then again Gowariker has given Swades and Lagaan, which according to mewere
very good, so thought I should give it a shot. "May be he has comeout with some
good stuff again", I said to myself.
The movie released on 15th of Feb in San
Diego at a really small hall in one of the multiplexes.(The hall was super
small for any multiplex standard.... at least I would notgo there again). I was
surprised to see a housefull show. ("How the heckdid so many of them come to
know abt this movie?" ... just thinkingaloud). The movie started off with
Amitabh Bachchan's narration about India duringthe Mughal period and soon the
camera panned on to the battle field. I guessthis was around 9.45 in the night
and from then on till 1.20 a.m it was a spectacularshow of audio and visuals.
Many complained about the length of the movie butfor me it was worth every
minute. "You are there to be entertained. Thenwhy not get entertained for a
little longer, why do you complain???? Think itslike a 'Buy 2 get 1 free
offer'..... a few extra minutes free for the money uhave paid". Probably it is
a prejudice that a movie should run for just 21/2 hours only (get that out of
your heads guys).
I am not reviewing this movie but re-viewing a few moments from my memory
whichI thought made this film a piece of art, worth the money I paid. Although
themovie has a lot of characters and thousands of extras, it belongs to
theelegantly beautiful Aishwarya as Jodha Bai and sophisticated nobleman
JalaudinMuhammad played by Hrithik Roshan. They are such a striking pair. I
dint saythis when I saw Dhoom-2 though. The chemistry they share is simply
superb. Thecasting could not have got better than this for the roles of the
protagonists.
(Eye)shwarya was more beautiful than ever, should I say cute or charming? Ijust
loved the way she played Jodha, seemed perfectly tailor made for her.
Thesoftness in the character, her gait, her long hair, everything suited
her."The lady in Red" mesmerizes the audience with her simplicity.
MeanwhileHrithik seems to have enjoyed the character and played Jalal with ease
(he hasgiven an outstanding performance). Not sure if anyone would have done
justiceto his role.
The main theme of the movie is the love story although it does have other
plotsjuxtaposed to the story line. Bollywood has beaten this theme in all
directionsand has come to a saturation point but still the director has
succeeded ingiving us a simple and beautiful story, really well told. There are
a lot offine points I can think of.
First and foremost, this movie would not have been what it is , if not for
thegrandiose music by the "Mozart of Asia". The background music isoutstanding,
spell bounding. Rahman, who has given some great background scores,is one
person who knows its importance and has done his job commendably. As faras I
know there are only two music composers who can create magic in
backgroundscores. One of them is Rahman and the other is Ilayaraja.(
interesting both ofthem are from the south). There are moments where his
instrumentals enliven thescene and make it
special.
I shall present a few scenes which are worth mentioning and then later
throwsome light on the songs as well
1. The emperor is holding a session with the Muslim leaders who are
complainingabout his marriage to a Hindu. They are angry that he accepted her
proposal fora temple inside the palace. And he assures them that nothing will
happen andshe will not change anything. While he is doing so there is this
beautifulbeing sung by Jodha. He is so immersed in her voice that the whole
world comesto a standstill for him. He adjourns the session and strolls closer
to thesource of the voice.( Well now who doesn't want a beautiful wife with a
sweetvoice?) He walks into her chamber and removes his shoes before entering
theGod's chamber. The director has shown the smallest details although he
couldhave missed it and not have shot the shoe scene at all. But thats what
makesthe difference. Then the emperor moves closer to Jodha who on noticing
theemperor stops singing, and offers him the aarthi and sindhoor. He has no
clueas to what it is. This one scene is good enough to
show the cultural differencewhich Jodha stresses on in the night of her
marriage. (She restricts theemperor to move closer to her until they know each
other well)
2. Jalal tries to impress Jodha by presenting her with some fine jewelry
anddedicating the lunch in her honour. So Jodha feels she should cook for
theemperor. Then comes this scene where Jodha is forced to taste the food
beforethe emperor can, for security reasons. This is an intense scene (the
backgroundscore makes it feel intense). But this is so finely turned into a
light momentwhen Jodha asks the Emperor to stop just as he is about to eat.
“Don’t eat thefood. The amount of salt in it is not optimum", says she. This
just brokethe whole audience into laughter. And then she looks at Maham Anga
with a smileof victory. Words aren’t necessary always to express something so
powerful.
3. The sword fight between Jodha and Jalal has been choreographed and shotwell,
highlighting the intimacy between the couple. For a moment Jodha losesher
control and almost gives in to Jalal who has overpowered her and tries toget
close.
4. The scene where Jalal tries to coax her and convince her to go back with
himto Agra hassome wonderful background music. This scene would not have been
as effective ifnot for the music. It’s so mellifluous, beautifying the already
amazingly shotpiece. I love the lighting and the sets of her chamber. The
cinematographergets full credit for using the lighting so effectively. The
close-up shotsalong with the music are mesmerizing.
5. I kinda enjoyed this one a lot. Jodha is learning Urdu while Jalal walks
in.The teacher walks out of the room.Jodha shows Jalal what she has written.
Sheis really excited and wants to know how he feels. “Whatever you have written
inyour calligraphic handwriting is beautiful", he says. She asks him to readit
out aloud. He just replies back asking her to read it out instead. She
isbaffled as to if she has written something wrong, but he insists on her to
goahead and read. “A hindu girl does not tell out her husband's name “, is
herreply. And then he reveals to her that he doesnt know how to read or write
(Iwont use the word uneducated though- this would be an understatement).
6. The scene when Jalal walks into Jodha's chamber after she has gone back
toAmer is again worth mentioning. The music makes you feel the emptiness and
hislonging for his love. But the highlight is when he misses the Krishnastatue
in the mandir in her room. It’s actually Jashn-e-Bahara which is playedin the
background.
I might have missed out on a few more interesting moments. When you have
tochoose between two things which are superlative its a tough decision. Over
hereI dint know if I should be enjoying the music or the cinematography.
Theycomplemented each other excellently.
Now moving to the songs.
Each is a gem. Nothing short of a masterpiece! I should saythat ARR-Ashutosh
combo creates wonder every time.
1. The first song is Mann-Mohana which is played in parts. The voice
isbeautiful and gels with Ash's character. The first part though is a
sadderversion where Jodha prays for saving her from the marriage alliance with
theMughal Emperor. The second one is sung when she is in Agra and creates a
first impression on Jalal.I have already put down the situation above.
2. Khwaja Mere Khwaja comes next and leaves a lasting impression. ARR has
givenan outstanding number. He has sung with sincerity and devotion which you
cantell from his rendition. This Sufi number is indeed a masterpiece. Shot very
well.I kinda like the finish though, all the singers are in a trance and
dancing,Jalal is also so involved in the music that he leaves his inhibitions
behindand joins the group in trance.
3. "Kehne ko Jashn-e-Bahara hai", my favourite in the album ( and formany other
too, I beleive) has been picturised pretty well, in the lush gardensof the
Agrafort and its interiors. Their love is depicted wonderfully; the way that
eachof them maintains distance yet want to stay close has been shot really
nice.However the song cuts short and I longed for it be longer. The couple
looksawesome.
4. Azeem-o-shaan shenshah....... This song reminds me of a song in an old
movie"Chandralekha".
Both of them are grand and has a lot of dancers. Amazingly choreographed, to
aneven amazing music. It sets the screen ablaze with the visuals. I wish I
hadwatched this movie in a better theater . The sound system sucked big time.
WhenI had heard this song on CD I thought it was a victory song. Victory of a
War,but this was for Victory of Love and faith of the subjects. It has ARR
writtenall over it.
5. "In Lamhon ka daaman Me"... For me this is the most beautifullyshot song in
this movie. I just fell in love with this song after havinh seenthe way it was
shot. Everything was perfect.... "Picture Perfect!" tosay. The body language
and intimacy between the couple is romantic but thedirector does not cross the
line to make it erotic... Sonu and Madhusreejustify ARR's selection for the
lead pair.
Now..... Don’t u think this is much worthier a movie than those u would
haveseen in the recent past? This movie is grandeur exemplified. Whether
it’sthe draped leading lady (I just can’t forget how beautiful she was in the
reddrapes) or the muscle-man king, or the singers, dancers et all have put
insincere effort which deserves your appreciation.
Nothing is more valuable to the artist than the appreciation he gets from
theaudience. JA stands for "Just Awesome!"
And here I bow down to all of them who have made this movie and epic,Especially
ARR-Ashutosh :) waiting for more from the duo….
Thanks guys,
Arun
http://arunmanian.blogspot.com/
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