Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa-Akbar (Hindi: जोधा-अकबर, Urdu: جودھا اکبر) is a film released on February 15, 2008[1]. 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 begun shooting at Karjat.[2]

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. The music is composed by acclaimed music composer A. R. Rahman. The soundtrack of the movie was released on January 19, 2008.[3]

Contents [hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Historical Accuracy
2.1 Protests & legal issues
3 Cast
4 Crew
5 Production
6 Reception
7 Music
8 References
9 External links



[edit] Synopsis
Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa.

Political success knew no bounds for Emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan). After having secured the Hindu Kush, he furthered his realm by conquest until his empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Godavari River. Through a shrewd blend of diplomacy, intimidation and brute force , Akbar won the allegiance of the Rajputs. But little did Akbar know that when he married Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a fiery Rajput princess, in order to further strengthen his relations with the Rajputs, he would in turn be embarking upon a new journey – the journey of true love.

The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer, Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar’s biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of Jodhaa – a love hidden deep below resentment and extreme prejudice. Jodhaa-Akbar is their untold love story.[4]


[edit] Historical Accuracy
The director has admitted that about 70% of the movie is based on his imagination. However, many of the events portrayed in the movie are based on real events. Certain Rajput groups claimed Jodhaa was married to Akbar's son, Jahangir, not Akbar. They also demanded a public apology from Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was not released in 30 cinema theatres in Rajasthan.[5]

Several historians claim that Akbar's Rajput wife was never known as "Jodha Bai" during the Mughal period. According to Professor Shirin Moosvi, a historian of Aligarh Muslim University, Neither the Akbarnama (a biography of Akbar commissioned by Akbar himself), nor any historical text from the period refer to her as Jodha Bai.[6] Moosvi notes that the name "Jodha Bai" was first used to refer to Akbar's wife in the 18th and 19th centuries in historical writings.[6] In Tujuk-i-Jahangiri, she is referred as Mariam Zamani.[6]

According to historian Imtiaz Ahmad, the director of the Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library in Patna, the name "Jodha" was used for Akbar's wife for the first time by Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod, in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. According to Ahmad, Tod was not a professinal historian.[7] N R Farooqi claims that Jodha Bai was not the name of Akbar's Rajput queen; it was the name of Jahangir's Rajput wife.[8]

Ashutosh Gowarikar's reaction was,

“ While making the film I did my best to go by the book. I consulted the best historians and went through the most rigorous research. And there are different names used for Akbar's wife, Jodhaa being one of them. In fact, there's a disclaimer about the Rajput queen's name at the beginning of the film. But to see that, the protesters have to see the film. ”


[edit] Protests & legal issues
Community's protests against the film in some states and it has been banned by the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand. However, the producer has moved the Supreme Court by challenging it. [9] [10] 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. [11]


[edit] Cast
Hrithik Roshan ... Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar
Aishwarya Rai ... Jodhaa
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
Disha Vakani…Madhavi
Indrajeet Sarkar…Maheshdas/ Birbal
Sudhanshu Singh…Raja Shimalgarh
Nikitin Dheer…Sharifuddin Hussain
Rajesh Vivek…Chugtai Khan
Surendra Pal…Rana Uday Singh
Raza Murad…Shamsuddin Atka Khan
Ila Arun…Maham Anga
Pramod Moutho…Todar Mal
Pramatesh Mehta…Chandrabhan Singh
Visswa Badola…Saadir Adaasi
Manava Naik…Neelakshi
Sayed Badrul Hasan…Mullah Do Pyaaza
Dilnaaz Irani…Salima
Tejpal Singh Rawat…NiMat
Raju Pandit…Raja Bhaati
Bharat Kumar…Raja Chauhan
Jassi Singh…Raja Bhadra
Ulhas Barve…Raja Mankeshwar
Abir Abrar…Bakshi Banu Begum
Aman Dhaliwal…Rajkumar Ratan Singh
Shehzor Ali…Raja Hemu
Sanchita Kaur... Special Appearance
Amitabh Bachchan... Narrator

[edit] Crew
Production Design: Nitin Chandrakant Desai
Visual Effects: Pankaj Khandpur (Tata Elxsi - Visual Computing Labs)
Chief Assistant Director: Karan Malhotra

[edit] 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 crores.

The first television promo was aired on 9th December, 2007.

The movie used over 400 kg of gold jewelery made by Tanishq[12]


[edit] Reception
[1]The film has received an extraordinarily strong reception at the box-office. The film has grossed $1.3 million dollars in the first weekend in the North American box office raising the possibility that this movie would eventually become the most successful Hindi movie in the North American box office. The film has also received a spectacular reception at the Indian box office.

[2]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,"

[4]New york times gave the movie a positive review, comparing Ashutosh Gowriker to Cecil DeMille.

[5]Deepika Shetty, a famous Singapore film critic, called the film a " visual treat " and gave it a good 4 stars out of 5.


[edit] Music
The official soundtrack contains five songs and two instrumentals. The music was released on January 18th, 2008.

Jodhaa Akbar

Studio album by A.R.Rahman
Released January 9, 2008 (music launch)
January 18, 2008 (CD release)
Recorded Panchathan Record Inn
A.M. Studio
Nirvana Studio
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 39:43
Label UTV Music
Producer Ronnie Screwvala Ashutosh Gowariker
A.R.Rahman chronology
Guru
(2007) Jodhaa Akbar
(2008) -
(-)

Song Singer(s) Duration Notes
Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah Mohd. Aslam, Bonny Chakravarti & chorus 5:54 Picturised on Hrithik Roshan
Jashn-E-Bahaara Javed Ali 5:15 Picturised on Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai
Khwaja Mere Khwaja A.R.Rahman (Lyrics: Kashif) 6:56 Picturised on Hrithik Roshan
In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein Sonu Nigam & Madhushree 6:37 Picturised on Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai
Mann Mohana Bela Shende 6:50 Picturised on Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai
Jashn-e-Baharaa Instrumental - Flute 5:15 Instrumental
Khwaja Mere Khawaja Instrumental - Oboe 2:53 Instrumental


[edit]