It’s been a long wait for the epic drama and the wait has been worth it.
Brief story – Jodha Akbar is a journey of true love of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (Hrithik Roshan), the great Mughal emperor with Jodha Bai (Aishwarya Rai), a Rajput princess and daughter of the King Bharmal of Amer. Akbar’s biggest challenge isn’t only about winning battles but also winning the heart of Jodha.
Now the Review, let me start off with the helmsman – the man behind this magnificent drama. Director Ashutosh Gowariker’s direction is flawless, every single sequence has been executed brilliantly. The effort that has gone into the making of this epic love story is evident on the screen – etched on every frame of the movie. It’s simply incredible. The movie deserves nothing less than a ‘A++’ in every aspect.
The scene where Akbar tames an elephant, has been performed and executed to perfection.
The sword-fighting scene between Jodha and Akbar is a masterstroke by the director. It’s romance on screen at its ultimate best. The dialogues in the particular scene too are brilliant.
When Jodha and Akbar meet for the first time, their chemistry, Hrithik’s body language, the execution – Perfect!
Hrithik’s dance at the end of Khwaja Mere song as if he was immersed into the song, his expression and those eyes… I was awestruck
Akbar practicing sword fighting baring his torso as Jodha watches him hiding behind a wall… Hrithik’s physique is perfectly captured, an absolute treat for the female audience.
The romance between the couple is subtle and beautiful, something that is hard to find in modern day movies. The chemistry between Ash – Hrithik is sizzling.
Azeem-o-shan-shenshah – choreography, music, use of colors, execution out of the world. Never ever would you have witnessed something like this before!
The final fight – brilliantly done and Hrithik performs the action sequence with a lot of class.
Cinematography is of international standards. Kiran Deohan’s proficiency is evident from scene one. He just sweeps you off your feet by capturing the huge sena to the intimate romance with deftness. Music by A.R. Rehman is perfect classic material. Khwaja Mere Khwaja is divinely pure; Jashn-e-bahara is a beautiful romantic song. Every song is a classic, superbly choreographed and picturized. The editing for a couple of scenes could have been tighter but never mind, you don’t get bored for a single moment.
The movie belongs undoubtedly to Hrithik Roshan. He is Akbar, not for a moment do you feel its Hrithik Roshan the superstar on screen. His body language, expressions, action, dialogue delivery just about everything is perfect. Here is an young actor, who is light years ahead of the competition, with the right kind of roles Hrithik is gonna rule Bollywood in the future. Shenshah-e-Roshan, indeed!
Aishwarya Rai is great too; this is one of her finest performances. She looks every bit a beautiful Rajput princess. Sonu Sood and Ila Arun are good and so is the rest of the supporting cast.
Though while watching the movie there were few nitty gritties that came to my mind here are the few….
highly doubt Rajasthani women wore transparent saris for their blouses to show from 500 years ago!
Even today you will find Rajasthani mothers-in-law wearing the biggest veils before their sons-in-law! And here you have Rani Padmavati (Suhasini Mulay) with no veil at all!
Urdu diction of the some of the side characters – the words didn’t flow, they sounded very forced.
Suhasini Mulay’s (Jodhaa’s mother) acting – at two points, at least, it was difficult to tell whether she was crying or laughing!
Expression on Hrithik Roshan’s face just before he gets up in the “Khwaja” song. It seemed like he was praying for it to get over, where as he actually was going into a trance!
Punam Sinha’s (Akbar’s mother) dialogue delivery.
Cliched symbolism of dark clouds going over the moon!
Jodhaa’s mother had come with a plan for her to escape from the wedding. Why was she then also ready with poison? Did she not believe in her plan? Was she so desperate? If so, how come she had no major role to play in her daughter’s life later?
The silly made-up custom of having to recognize your wife from scores of women. What a rubbish excuse to build drama/romance.
Why was the assassinator waiting to be spotted by Akbar’s men?
The whole religious equality speech – sounded more like an attempt to get the movie tax-exemption!
When Jodhaa’s brother didn’t trust Jodhaa, why did he risk his life for her husband!?
Why wasn’t Jodhaa’s brother being given medical attention and was being presumed to die?
This section lists things that I think are not important to the overall impact of the movie. In most cases, it could be explained away by something like, “we noticed the glitch after the scene was shot and there were schedule/budget issues and thus we could not re-shoot it”. I like giving the makers the benefit of doubt, but I am amused nevertheless. Hopefully, they will tickle you too.
Are elephants really that easy to tame?
The way Jodhaa was shown around the palace – it sounded like a guided tour.
Jodhaa didn’t taste the daal-baati!
The dialogue that Jodhaa’s father says on Akbar’s arrival to Amer “aan-baan ka chandrama” what is that supposed to mean!?
When did Akbar get the plate of flowers ready during the sword fight?
The special sound effect added to the maulana’s voice.
Jodhaa’s brother was hindu, he would have said, “sadaa sukhi raho” not “sadaa khush raho”
