Jodhaa-Akbar is an epic film released on February 15, 2008. It is directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker, the director of the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan (2001). It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in lead roles. This film also marks the debut of newcomer Abir Abrar. Extensive research went into the making of this film which began shooting at Karjat.
The film centers around the romance between the Muslim Mughal Emperor Akbar, played by Hrithik Roshan and his Hindu wife, Jodhabai, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The music is composed by acclaimed music composer A. R. Rahman. The soundtrack of the movie was released on January 19, 2008.
Protests and legal issues
The portrayal of ethnic Rajput people in the movie was criticized by members of the Rajput community as misleading, politically motivated historical revisionism that minimized Rajput history and scapegoated them as evil . The community’s protests against the film in some states and it has been banned by the States of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand. However, the producer has moved the Supreme Court by challenging it. Later, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban on screening the film for now in Uttar Pradesh and some towns of Uttarakhand and Haryana. The court scrapped the Uttar Pradesh government ban as well as similar orders by authorities in Dehradun in Uttarkhand and in Ambala, Sonepat and Rewari in Haryana.
Production
Ashutosh Gowariker hired a research team of historians and scholars from New Delhi, Aligarh, Lucknow, Agra and Jaipur to guide him on this film and help him keep things historically accurate. He clarified that the name of the film remains Jodhaa-Akbar, and not Akbar-Jodhaa as reported by sections of the media. Over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels were used in the movie. Name Of Main Titled “Azeem O Shan, Shahenshah”, the song featured about one thousand dancers in traditional costumes, wielding swords and shields at a grand location in Karjat. The budget was about 37 crore Rupees (approx 7.42 million USD).
The first television promo was aired on December 9, 2007.
The movie used over 400 kg of gold jewellery made by Tanishq
Reception
[2]The film has received outstanding response at US and UK box-office. The film has grossed $1.3 million dollars in the first weekend in the North American box office. The film had a somewhat weak start at the Indian box office but thanks to good word of mouth publicity, it went on to do a business of Rs. 62 crore and has been declared a superhit;
Hindustan Times, a leading Indian newspaper gave the movie 2 stars. Khalid Mohammed, reviewer for the paper calling, “Like it or not Ashutosh Gowariker, who is normally a fine and conscientious director, has miscalculated the technical logistics and emotional content of a period piece. Crucial detailing isn’t the virtue here.”
[3]AOL India (Noyon Jyoti Parasara) gave it four stars, saying ” Ashutosh Gowariker has proved that he is one of the best filmmakers we have today. While your heart goes for the love between the two protagonists, the film leaves you at such heights of emotions that you would literally be shaking with excitement! The film also comes at a very right time as Akbar indeed could be a role model for people and rulers today. The king not only had a secular vision, but also a will to know what the common man wanted, apart from being kind hearted and noble,”
The New York Times gave the movie a positive review, comparing Ashutosh Gowariker to Cecil DeMille.
Deepika Shetty, a Singapore film critic, called the film a ” visual treat ” and gave it a good 4 stars out of 5.
Rotten tomatoes, the online review aggregator, rated the movie 75% fresh based on 10 reviews.
Cast
- Hrithik Roshan … Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar
- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan … Jodha Bai
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda … Raja Bharmal
- Sonu Sood … Rajkumar Sujamal
- Suhasini Mulay … Rani Padmawati
- Shaji Choudhary…Adham Khan
- Punam S Sinha… Mallika Hamida Banu
- Digvijay Purohit…Rajkumar Bhagwan Das
- Pradeep Sharma…Sheikh Mubarak
- Rajiv Sehgal…Raja Viraat
- Gurmmeet Singh…Raja Shundi
- Balraj…Raja Balraj Singh
- Yuri…Bairam Khan
