Jodhaa Akbar

The grandeur and the opulence of the magnum opus Mughal-E-Azam is all but missing in this Ashutosh Govarikar film Jodha Akbar that claims to touch upon the sensitive and mushy side of Akbar the great. Pardon my saying so, but this biased comparison with yesteryear’s blockbuster is something I can’t do away with. And precisely that is the reason I felt utterly bored and at many times amused throughout the length of the movie, which is it’s another dull aspect. Three and half hours are just too unbearable. For the first time in many years I yearned for the intermission to come, the frequent dashes to the washroom served as petty excuses for not laughing out loud and bear the burnt of the other anguished spectators.

Honestly, I was at my wits end and had to muffle my own laughs. I am sorry but the scene where Akbar leaves the court proceedings in the midst only because Jodha’s Bhajan-singing voice manages to traverse the expanse of her palace and Akbar’s court. The director, am sure, wanted to arouse certain feeling which apparently is quiet alien to me, so not knowing what to do, I burst out laughing. Govarikar would be utterly dismayed to learn that I wasn’t the only one who felt a tickle on the tummy.  The gravity of the situation simply went haywire. And this was not the only scene. The film is full of such hilarious situations.

Jokes apart, the one big thing missing from the movie is editing. It is just too badly edited with scenes appearing in haphazard manner. The director wanted to make this movie in a hurry it seems. The story takes a detour many times and one is left with my questions, the biggest one being was Akbar really this naïve and stupid? It starts with Akbar’s childhood and you start getting the feeling that the story is slated for something huge. But the very first scene of Battle of Plassay is a disappointment. 13 year old Akbar looks far too sissy for the battlefield and his enemy; well he looks a stingy beggar at best. The Rajputs are shown with all their valor and vigor; but sadly through their talks. The Rajputana clan is shown only arranging meetings amongst themselves and dismissing each meeting without any useful result. The impending action never comes; instead the boredom creeps in.

Hrithik Roshan has been completely wasted in this one. He looks more of a metrosexual than a majestic king. Probably Ashutosh decided to cast Hrithik because he wanted to portray the betrayal of innocence through Hrithik’s eyes; which Hrithik brilliantly executed in Fiza; but fell flat on face this time. Plus his voice didn’t suit the character at all. Speaking of Aishwarya, she did a wonderful job and probably is the only reason one should watch this movie. Her dresses and jewelry are too exotic and might earn an Oscar nomination for dress and costume designing. On the acting front she has done a good job.

The detour I was talking about previously includes saas bahu type cliché clashes between Mahamangaa (played by Ila Arun who by the way looks hideous in this one) and Jodha. I simply didn’t understand the point of including such trifle matters? If director wanted to focus on Jodha-Akbar then he should have done his homework. The movie seemed to be touching on all idiosyncrasies of Jodha and Akbar but alas fails miserably on this front as well. Everything is seems hurried and yet movie manages to be a lengthy ordeal.

Aur iss tarah: Remember this dialogue from Mughal-E-Azam? It seemed such perfect culmination of the wonderful story K. Asif weaved onscreen. The aur iss tarah effect in Jodha Akbar at best sounds like a précis of a confused plot. The very last scene is so irrelevant and out of touch that you are left confused. I might conjure a list of such trivial scenes from the movie to make it appear more redundant, but my review would meet the same fate. The GenNext that somehow shies away from watching Mughal-E-Azam citing too many excuses, it appalls me to learn that the same generation finds Jodha Akbar entertaining. For them I have only this to say: Grow up!