Asutosh Gowarikar’s magnum-opus historical epic about the love story between India’s greatest and most noble ruler and a Rajput princess released as the year’s biggest and most awaited film. The hype was tremendous and expectations taller than the King’s stature. Nobody expected anything out of Lagaan and they were surprised, thrilled and elated. Expectations from Swades were high but apart from critics and selected audience, nobody was very satisfied. Things were elevated to the highest level with Jodhaa Akbar and Asutosh managed to accomplish the daunting challenge. The film is a well crafted masterpiece for connoisseurs of love stories, history, politics, religion, battles, leadership and the quintessential aura of royalty. Ofcourse, above all, the film is for Hrithik Roshan fans.
From the didactic days of Jalaluddin’s childhood and his first battle, we witness grandeur. It only gets better with Hrithik’s entry as the young Jalaluddin who is heading for yet another battle in the quest to establish the Mughal empire all over India. Jalal grows up to be a ruler with principles and a humane touch. Through his experiences and learnings, Jalal grows to be a wise emperor. In order to establish an alliance with the Rajputs, he agrees to marry princess Jodhaa who is not exactly happy with the arrangement. Gradually, the petulant bond grows into love and respect for each other.
On the other hand, rivalries and political games by various rulers to overcome the throne of Delhi build up the storyline of the film. The plot gets interesting and involves many shades of Jalal’s life. The reality of the Jalaluddin being a people’s ruler brought forth by Asutosh was a remarkable touch to the portrayal of India’s greatest emperor. The steps he took to make the lives of the masses better gave him the title of’Akbar’ and won the hearts of all citizens.
Asutosh pulls up relevant facts about Akbar’s history and the scenario in those times. He even portrays important aspects of Akbar’s rule such as the open discussions in the durbar, the hindu-muslim alliance, the non-savage means of war, solving people’s problems, integrating the nation into one and giving freedom to the people. Thankfully, Jodhaa Akbar did not turn out to be only a love story. The director adroitly focused on all the above aspects to make the film interesting and sincere. The script and screenplay are excellent, providing enough opportunitites for all actors to come out with their best performances. The art direction is simply mind blowing. The fake palace in Karjat’s ND studios looks like the real palace in Agra. The ornate ceilings and durbars of various kings also proved to be an impressive rendition of the era. The costumes were ornate to say the least. Laden with jewels and embroidery, Akbar’s outfits were sensational. Who else would carry them off better than Hrithik anyway. Costumes, weapons, locations and the dialogues are what take us back in time to the mughal era. The dialogues were simpler than Mughal-e-azam’s all urdu conversations since Akbar spoke Urdu while Jodhaa spoke pure Hindi. It just made things simpler for the audience but when Akbar speaks, you listen. There are a set of dialogues that just stun the audience. Meaningful and classy is the best way to describe them.
Aishwarya Rai has delivered a strong performance that had her sword-fighting without shields, sobbing over an unexpected marriage, standing up for her beliefs and principles and romancing her way to the emperor’s heart. There is hardly anyone who could have played Jodhaa bai with such excellence. We saw her play a relevant character with equal class in Guru and now she has Jodhaa Akbar. The supporting cast have all delivered sincere performances that meet the character and screenplay’s demands very well. Kulbhusan’s performance as the Raja of Amer was laudable and so was Sonu Sood as the intense brother of Jodhaa who is in the midst of the political storm. Ila Arun plays the vamp as Akbar’s’nanny’ with evil precision. A nefarious mind that plots against Jodhaa because of her jealousy and at the same time, a wise mind that guides young Akbar through the toughest of decisions.
Finally, Hrithik Roshan. What can one say about this actor? How much can one praise of his excellence? Right from the scene where he puts on his armour for battle, Hrithik Roshan is Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar. His posture, his body, his hair, his intense eyes, his humble smile, his calminsight into himself as he ponders over questions, his seriousness, his wraith, his anger and his romantic side are all suited to the character and are appropriate to what we expected to see of him playing the Emperor. Being surrounded by wise and older advisors, Jalal stands for his own principles and takes his own decisions. Hrithik brilliantly portrays this aspect of playing Akbar.
Hrithik’s intensity in his angry moments or during confrontations is awe inspiring. His manner of walking in the huge halls of his palace, his battle with the elephant in the arena and his final one-to-one fight sequence leaves the audience thinking of him as only Emperor Akbar. His dedication and sincerity in portraying the character makes him a formidable contendor for any award.
AR Rehman’s music has great variety in a period film like Jodhaa Akbar. Jashn-e-bahara is a fine melody superbly sung by Javed Ali. In Lamho ke daaman is a slow portrayal of royal romance, Man mohana is well sung but only drags the movie a bit longer while Azeem-o-shaan is a brilliant composition with drums and beats suited to a King’s arrival. The singing blends very well with the beats and the song is superbly choreographed. Rehman’s best musical piece is definitely Khwaja mere Khwaja. The music is very distinct and every instrument that is being used resounds with great clarity and quality. Rehman’s singing is also exceptional and quite expected because one song in every film of his that he sings, truly stands out. Take the example of Dil Se, khalbalee or Jaage Hai.
Jodhaa Akbar is a must watch despite its length of 3.20 hrs. An epic film of epic proportions could not have had so many things right altogether. Asutosh Gowarikar delivers it and does it with style and class. The action does not look fake at all, the costumes and sets are outstanding, the performances are par excellence, the story is not love focused but is political, human and historical in nature. K. Asif will not toss in bed over Asutosh’s take on the mughal love stories. He will applaud him at the very least.
- 9.39 on a scale of 1-10 .