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Jodhaa Akbar - A Review
By Rajesh
Anand
Singapore
Feb. 25, 2008 |
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A belated
Happy Valentine's Day to all.
To love is to care for the happiness of the
beloved and not one's own. Somehow, around this
year's Valentine's day, watching Jodhaa Akbar
reminded me of this saying.
Here is my attempt to review this movie.
The Rs. 40 crore magnum opus will remain etched
in my mind as one of the finest movies I have
ever watched. Ashutosh Gowariker surely has a
Midas touch. His "Lagaan" was breathtakingly
exciting and projected the glimpses of rural
India under Raj very subtly and empathically.
His next venture "Swades" , though a poor
performer at the box office, was no less
brilliant and portrayed the inner conflicts of
an NRI in balancing his material ambitions with
being an instrument in sharing the burden of the
land of his birth, equally beautifully.
In Jodhaa Akbar, we have a historical
masterpiece which brings alive the enchanting
yet impressionable images of an empire as
celebrated as "the Mughals".
From our school textbooks, we did gain a fairly
adequate knowledge of the Mughal period -
beginning with Babar, his son Humayun, his son
Akbar, his son Jahangir, his son Shahjahan and
his son Aurangzeb. From the Amar Chitra Kathas,
we kept picking up the anecdotes of Akbar-Birbal.
From movies like Baiju Bawra, we also learnt
about another Akbar's navaratna Tansen whose
musical genius is the stuff of the legend. We
knew that Akbar was the greatest of the Mughal
kings, respected other religions, abolished
jaziya (taxes imposed on followers of other
religions), had set up elaborate systems of
communication with his subject (Diwan-e-aam,
Diwan-e-khas etc.). But our level of
inquisitiveness would often stop there. We could
hardly think of the possibilities of the
so-called invaders of the Aryavart enriching the
land of India culturally and spiritually. Jodhaa
Akbar suceeds in challenging this mindset. It
underlines the Vedic concept of Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam (the whole world is like a family)
and emphatically conveys the point that in the
ultimate analysis, it is the individual rather
than his caste, creed and lineage that matters.
The master storyteller which Ashutosh Gowariker
is lets us look at the background of the 16th
century India and makes us admire the most
enviable personality of Akbar. In 3 hours 20
minutes journey of absolute brilliance, Jodhaa
Akbar entertains, educates, enthralls and above
all inspires its audience as one learns that
Akbar was a man of such high integrity, a
faultless husband, an eclectic, a virtuous king
etc. etc.
Critics may question the authenticity of the
story shown in the movie and copious critiques
may be written about the absence of references
suggesting the polygamous nature of Akbar. Yet,
the romance and the emotions depicted in the
movie in the relationship between Akbar and
Jodhaa are too sublime to let oneself get caught
in such discussions. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in
her avatar of Jodha is a treat to watch. And
Hrithik Roshan without doubt has essayed his
role with amazing finesse. Such is his
overpowering character that within few minutes
into the movie, the viewer's images of Akbar -
hitherto of a portly king who was dead opposed
to his son Salim's dalliance with a commoner
Anarkali, metamorphose. After Jodhaa Akbar, we
will no longer think of Akbar as a stern father
alone adept at mouthing heavily accented
farmaans.
The director has managed to grip the viewer's
attention from the very start. The baritone
voice of Amitabh Bachchan adds to the magic. The
anointing of a 13 year old Akbar, necessitated
due to the untimely death of his father Humayun,
the grand plans, strategies and executions of
the wars under a ruthlessly loyal Bairam Khan
prepare the audience very well for the main
drama to unfold. The fragmentation of the India
as a sovereign nation and the lack of a common
national identity is also brought out
exceedingly well. The animosities within the
family, the subterfuge by the kins, the grey
character of Maham Anga (motherly figure to
Akbar essayed by Ila Arun), the ubiquitous
monster called corruption not sparing even a
well-governed state as Akbar's and the
consequential killing of Todar Mal etc. all tell
us a fascinating story.
The movie also arouses the devotional sentiments
of the viewers quite unequivocally and conveys
the point that in the garden of God, religions
are just like flowers. The creation of God is
variegated with myriad permutations and
indicting as if different religions are also a
manifestation of the same law. Like the cows
which are found in different colors - spotted,
white, black, brown etc. but the purpose of each
is the same that is to provide milk.
The music by A R Rahman is as usual very soulful
and piercing, though it may not be considered as
catchy as the songs in Lagaan. The rendition of
a bhajan on Krishna by Jodhaa and the qawwali by
the Sufis (khwaza mere khwaza) and another
beauty "azeemo shaan" convey the essence of
spirituality very effectively.
Another striking feature of the movie is the
care that the director has taken in creating
some incredible scenes rarely seen in the
Bollywood movies. The battle scenes showing the
foot soldiers, the elephants and the archers,
the sword fights, Akbar's encounters with an
untamed elephant are visual delights to say the
least.
One surely misses the absence of Birbal, Tansen,
Abul Fazal very much and the fleeting or no
appearances of these characters definitely leave
the viewers insatiated, though Ashutosh
Gowariker, in many interviews, has clearly
described the constraints he had - mainly the
time limits and also the facts that a number of
Navaratnas came into prominence only later. As a
result, the viewers have to remain contented
with Akbar's prime minister Todarmal only who
has had some footage.
So, all you movie lovers, history lovers
(especially Indian history), fans of Aishwarya
and Hrithik, lovers of Rahman's music - do not
wait and walk into your favourite cineplex with
a good bagful of popcorns. Remember the movie
has a time span of 3 hours 20 minutes. The
critics comments notwithstanding, relish the
movie without getting too involved in the
accuracy of historical facts.
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Comments: |
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I am
slightly more concerned about the
historical accuracy. I am worried
that young kids would tend to learn
and quote history based on a movie
which was intended to make profit at
box office. Making a movie based on
any subject is fine and right of
everyone under freedom of
expression. I just hope future kids
would learn history from their NCERT
books rather than a masala movie. -
Ravindra Kumar - Feb. 26, 2008 |
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