As children, most of us loved reading comics. I for one was an addict. So much so, we had to subscribe to quite a few of those. One of my favorites was "Amar Chitra Katha". "Chitra Katha" - which literally translates as stories told through pictures. Watching "Jodha Akbar" literally took me back to those days.
Indeed it takes something out of the ordinary to conceptualize characters from history and endeavor to make them look believable centuries later. For a film maker to even think of making a magnum opus like this requires a lot of fortitude, dedication, patience and most importantly faith in his/ her work. Film makers of the likes of K. Asif(Mughal-E-Aazm), Cecile B. Demile(Ten Commandments), William Wyler(Benhur) and Ridley Scott(Gladiator) to name a few dreamt big and eventually made their dream a reality. Jodhaa Akbar is Ashutosh Gowarikar’s labor of love.
Amitabh Bachhan’s opening narration sets the stage for the audience to be transported to ancient times - to an opulent "Hindustan", which had been invaded through the years by numerous foreigners, the most recent being the "Moghuls". Their goal - to rule each and every territory of Hindustan, their leader - a compassionate 13 year old boy by the name of Jalaaluddin Mohammed. The powerful moghul army at the time was lead by general Bairam Khan(Yuri) who over the years left no stone unturned to expand the Moghul Empire far and wide. In due course, the little boy grows up to be a handsome and confident young emporor(Hrithik Roshan). The movie is a glimpse into the life of Jalaluddin as a young man, his conviction, the decisions he made, the battles he fought, the woman he loved and finally his transformation into the legendary "Empror Akbar" - The Great.
Every scene of this film is like a beautiful painting, from a colorful book that comes alive and leaves the audience eager to turn to the next page. Ashutosh walks us through his story at a leisurly pace, so as to savor every moment. The subtle romance between Akbar and his lady love Jodha has been written and captured beautifully. The scene where Jodha is shown in the midst of sheesh mahal in the reflection of light, is breathtaking. Full credit to Nitin Desai and DOP Kiran Deohans for creating such a visual delight. Terminologies like "Deewan-E-Aam" and "Deewan-E-Khaas" which were mere words from history books have been given a new meaning. Inspite of the immensity of the film, Gowarikar has managed to maintain a balance. Detailing is the key and for the most part Gowarikar has succeeded in doing so. The character of Jalaaluddin Mohammed has been shown to be level headed, secular, empathetic, yet no-nonsense when it comes to dealing with breach of trust.The battle scenes as well as the sword fighting sequences were well conceived and ranged from long shots(mostly) to a few tight close ups in between. Interestingly enough, jump cuts have been kept minimal. Ample use of transitions ranging from fade ins to slow wipes have been employed, which were in line with the mood of the film. Music and background score by A. R. Rahman is superlative, in particular the number "Jashne Bahaara hai" is mesmerizing and has been used very aptly during many instances through out the film. Aishwarya Rai as empress Jodha looks stunning though slight signs of aging are evident. For the most part, her make up has been kept inconspicuous, even though she is decked up in extensive jewellery and lavish clothes which are in line with her character and the era. Among the supporting cast Raza Murad as Shamshuddin Khan(nice to see him after a long time), Ila Arun as Mahamanga and Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Raja Bharmal are excellent. Tolerance for different religions has been depicted very well and holds water even in today’s day and age.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Like everything else, nothing is perfect and this film also has its share of flaws. Though the movie is visually stunning, and extremely well made, somewhere along the line the characters fail to connect with the audience. The script could certainly have been more gripping. One of the major let downs I felt was the casting and make up of some of the supporting characters. Unfortunately they end up looking far from real. In particular Rajesh Vivek as Chugtai Khan looks unintentionally hilarious. Everytime he opened his mouth to say dialogues, the audience was in splits. Dialogues could have been better, for instance if the emperor was not satisfied with the work of one of his older generals or ministers, the punishment meted out was to go on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca. The picturization of the song "Khwaja Mere Khwaja" which was supposed to have a divine feel to it ended up looking like a bunch of jokers wearing brown colored chef hats dancing in glory. The audience was literally laughing out loud during this scene. During some scenes(Hrithik’s entry sequence and the scene where his muscular attributes are shown in great detail), it appears that the director somewhat digressed and was more focussed on showcasing "Hrithik Roshan" the "star" - rather than the "character" of Jalaaluddin Mohammed. For a performance oriented role of a lifetime like this, I felt Hrithik has given his best shot, but still has someways to go. His expressions are a tad bit repetitive though he was pretty good in the romantic and action sequences. Aishwarya’s performance was average, only wish her acting skills were as good as her appearance. Even though its not pertinent to the story, wish there was at least one scene where the character of "Birbal" - one of the most famous court jesters of "Akbar" was shown, after all, the names Akbar and Birbal go hand in hand.
Whether or not the film is a true depiction of history, it should not matter as much. In the end its just a movie and not a history class. Its the depiction of the director’s vision that matters. In terms of length the film is about 3 hours and 20 minutes long, but then most historicals(both in Bollywood and Hollywood) are lengthy. A good 15-20 minutes of the film could have done with some trimming. But with stunning visuals like the ones in this film, one doesn’t mind it as much. Overall, I would say it is an excellent movie though it stops short of being a "great classic".
At the box office, the film should have a decent opening due to the big star cast, publicity and grandeur assoicated with it. Length and pace may keep some audiences away, but it should certainly recover costs due to strong word of mouth.
My overall rating 3.75 stars. In terms of visual story-telling Gowarikar gets 5/5.