Jodhaa Akbar Hindi Movie

Feb 15, 2008 By Ashok Nayak

There are quite a few reasons to watch Jodha Akbar.

• Its Hrithik Roshan first release since 2006 and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's first since Guru. The two share screen space for the second time after the blockbuster Dhoom 2.


• The promos of the movie were visually stunning and a lot of effort seemed to have gone into the making.


• The movie is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, director of movies like Lagaan and Swades.

Expectations are obviously high, does it live up?

Set in the sixteenth century, Jodhaa Akbar is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Little did Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) know that when he married Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), he would be embarking upon a new journey - the journey of true love. Akbar's greatest challenge was not merely 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.

Ashutosh Gowarikar sure is a man of genius in art. The efforts that seem to have gone into the making of this love story is seen obvious on the big screen and is simply incredible.

Hats off to Ashutosh for his courage in making an epic in an age of modern thoughts and beliefs were classics are undesired. Also, his patience in editing and compiling such a movie is matchless. Not just this, but he has also managed to rope in the right talents that takes the movie to an altogether different level.

Although it's an epic, this movie isn't a tough one to cope with. The usage of both Urdu and Hindi, the respective language of the Mughals and the Rajputs, is in its simplest version to the understanding of the mass audience.

The movie is so engrossing that the runtime of the movie doesn't come as a big draw back. Yes, the initials reels do tend to drag a bit, but 20 minutes into the movie and you're completely involved. At the interval point, you get really involved and the movie just gets better in the second half.

Jodhaa Akbar isn't a one man show. Without an expert team of technicians, it's just impossible to execute a movie of this magnitude. Screenplay by Ashutosh and Haider Ali could have been more consistent, but overall powerful. K.P. Saxena's dialogues are astounding. Ravi Dewan's action direction is a big plus to the movie. Watch out for the action scenes involving Hrithik, its brilliant. Kiran Deohan's cinematography is just mind blowing and accurate. Nitin Chandrakant Desai deserves nothing less than the best art designer award for he has brought to life the bygone with beauty and deftness. A clear vision! Ballu Saluja's editing though could have been better. Costumes by Neeta Lulla are splendid.

Composed by music maestro A.R.Rahman, Jodhaa Akbar's music is magical, and bracing. The tracks are rustic, earthy and definitely pulsating. 'Jashn-e-bahara' is the best among all the tracks and I bet you can't stop humming even after the movie has long ended. The choreography and the cinematography of 'Azeem-o-shan Shehanshah' are stunning. Also Rehman's background scores is exceptional.

Coming to the performances, you fall short of words to describe a performance as great as this. Hrithik Roshan lives the role of Akbar, his expressions, dialogue delivery, body language and screen presence is fantastic. Yet another award-worthy performance, which deserves nothing less than the Oscar!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan too is fantastic, emotes well and performs the sword fighting scenes extremely well. Sonu Sood is excellent. The rest of the cast is good.

Overall, Jodhaa Akbar is a great movie with brilliant direction, solid performances and it's visually spectacular. Don't miss it, Jodhaa Akbar is a classic.