Jodha Akbar – Long Live the New K. Asif Saab
I have put it in the Title and am going to tell that again. Long live the new K. Asif. I also want to put a disclaimer right here, that I really love Ashutosh Gowariker as a director and have loved Lagaan immensely, Swades is one of my all time favorites and by Jove, Jodha Akbar is now there in that list.
This movie works on so many different aspects of cinema that I loved each and every part of it. Please do not go in expecting a History lesson and get your biases stuck there. Go in to see a story, a well woven script and for amazing cinematography, art direction, choreography, music, lyrics and of course the direction.
The movie as you might have all guessed by now from the various interviews and promos are about the marriage of convenience between a Rajput Princess and a Mughal Emperor. The story takes off from when Bairam Khan is waging the wars against Hemu and the others for Akbar and helping him regain his empire. The movie ends at a phase in Akbar’s rule with Jodha by his side when there was peace and joy across the empire. Hrithik has so well etched the role of Akbar; you start to get totally involved in the story quite early on. Aishwarya looks extremely regal in the movie and fits the role of Rajput princess to the tee. It’s only in some close-ups that we get to see her age and also her bad acting. She looks groovy in Mid & Long Shots. I shall not tell you the entire story as I expect movie buffs like you to pay the full sum and watch this piece of art in a theater near you. I will rather dwell on each of those aspects that got this movie working for me.
As the narrative progresses, we are also shown the lifestyle and upbringing of Jodha, the brave Rajput princess. The marriage of convenience slowly transforms into love as the young couple start to discover each other. These shots are extremely well handled. The only blot on this wonderful landscape was a drunken twat sitting next to me who kept shouting “Dhoom Machale Dhoom Machale Dhoom” every time Hrithik & Aishwarya got together in the frame. Why cannot movie theaters give an electric prod along with your ticket so you can just put such people to sleep? Well, do not want to dwell on that shit. Let me continue with Jodha Akbar.
This is a masterpiece in art direction. Each and every shot is so bloody well planned that you gasp in many places. I have always hated SLB (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) since he only concentrates on Art Direction and never on the story (save for Khamoshi, this is my opinion, BTW). In this movie the ambience is just the ambience and not the story. We still get to see a well written story. Kiran Deohans has done a phenomenal job as the DOP (Director of Photography). I had read on the net and in papers that he had taken a long time to light up the sets and this was also a cause for the delay in shooting but all that bullshit aside, he has done a stupendous job in his realm. This movie cries out for all those international awards but will not get it since our dear government will send some really shitty movie instead as the nomination. I do not think this should be a problem as this movie will definitely be discussed even after say 2-3 decades for the things it has bought together.
On the other aspects, AR Rehman used to have a wonderful working relationship with Mani Sir but it somehow did not seem to be there in Guru. With Ashutosh, the relationship seems to be growing from strength to strength. The music, in my opinion, is really good and I loved “Khwaja…” “Azeem ho Shaan”, “Kehna ko Jashne…” a lot in the movie. See the end of Khwaja and Hrithik acting in that. I found it to be too good. Javed Saab has given some wonderful lyrics as usual and the team of ARR & JA (Javed Akthar) has worked well again. The dialogues by Saxena are really good and the actors did not ham too much on them, thankfully.
This whole team has been held very well by the Captain, Ashutosh Gowariker. Every shot seems to have been planned with a lot of thought and some of the shots are phenomenal. The fighting shots are well planned and the use of VFX does not seem like how it is in other movies. It does not jar. There is that famous shot with Hrithik & the Elephant as shown in the promos. This has been shot and planned really well and it was a treat to watch. The same also applies to the sword fighting scene between Aishwarya & Hrithik. It could have been shorter but it was still nice. Of course his problems with the scissors persist in this film also. There could have been better editing but I did not mind the length of the movie but am sure our Audience will get bored as I saw many people trooping in and out when the scenes were getting a little stretched. This is not really a problem as the narrative required it in both Swades & JA.
Overall this is a really good movie and we seem to be having a good year if we get to see movie like Mithya & Jodha Akbar by February itself. Please see it in the theater. Do, I repeat, not see it on pirated DVD as the small chirkoot screen of the TV cannot give justice to the landscape of Jodha Akbar.
Cheers & Good Night,
Deepak Venkateshan
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
[This movie cries out for all those international awards but will not get it since our dear government will send some really shitty movie instead as the nomination. I do not think this should be a problem as this movie will definitely be discussed even after say 2-3 decades for the things it has bought together..]
Cinema at its best really ,Regardless of how many crores it makes at the box office , this movie will go down as a milestone in indian cinema history .
Was that sword scene really executed perfectly?! I have not seen the film, but they have shown a few glimpse of that scene in a promo. I found Ash in that scene to be lacking aggressiveness – she just look pretty – there wasn’t much fire in facial expression.
Perhaps, I should criticize that after seeing the film, but this is my first impression of that scene…..
Excited to watch it on DVD…oh sorry..on the big screen
i liked the word chirkut..heard after a long time..like many other thing..this word ‘chirkut’ too is a classic. :d this too can be sent for awards as its very indigenous and could never find a word,in any other language, matching its caliber and coverage…
hey guys…i m not reviewing JA..just few thoughts abt ‘chirkut’.
:d
Does anyone know how one can send a message to Mr.Gowarikar? I really want to congratulate him. Not only for making a fantastic film, but for making an enjoyable movie with a social message. And for all those neat touches – people who met akbar when he’s in disguise meeting him again when he’s emperor, showing glimpses of akbar’s bro-in-law’s fantastic physique throughout the film, so that in the end we feel that he is truly a formidable adversary etc. etc.
I think this should win awards and oscars – i know, i know this point will draw many protests. but this view comes from my heart ’tis my opinion becos its a really well crafted movie and also talks about the need for tolerance – so relevant in today’s times.
Also, nice to see that several people rate it as highly as I do. Hope this movie’s a hit. Ashutosh Gowarikar deserves it.
@Honhaar Goonda
Yeah the sword scene turns out to be pretty good. Even i had some misgivings inittially when i saw the promos, but it doesn’t disappoint.
My feelings:
Jodha Akbar is all about
i dont think its 3 hours 40 minutes , its more like 3 hours 20 minutes .
including interval;);););););)
Talking of interval, loved the ‘intemission shot’- was breathtaking with the reflectiop of the moon forming the ‘o’. My review @ http://cinemaparadiso.rediffiland.com/blogs/2008/02/15/Jodhaa-Akbar-The-Emperor-Arriveth.html
At long last- Rangan speaks: http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2008/02/16/review-jodhaa-akbar-mithya/
Where is AG of Lagaan and Swades? In these movies…Every scene had a reason…every dialog had consistency and purpose be it from main protagonist or one of the supporting actor…almost every character was carefully sketched and portrayed…all these are absent in JA and conspicuously so…
sample this…Scene between Aishwarya and Sonu Sood after her sword fight teaching session with him…u r a great student…no bhaisa u r an excellent teacher…dialogs sound so obligatory…and exactly why did Raja Bharmal asked a mogul king to marry his daughter? There were other hindu kings too who willingly joined Akbar but they didn’t ask him to marry their daughters…and why did he disowned Sonu Sood…there were many other things which were not justified may be due to time constraint…but explain this..:-?..Adham Khan(Akbar’s cousin brother) wants to stop Khan saaheb (Vazeer) from disclosing his tax chori etc to Akbar…and what does he do? walk into the Mahal…and kill Khan saheb in front of Todermal (the finance minister)…and walk out with open sword(blood dripping..)…ek dum bindhaas…every one is shouting that he killed khaan saaheb…and conveniently he passes by Akbar’s room so that Akbar can capture him and order him to be thrown down (mind you head first)…I don’t blame Akbar…I would be pissed too for such an idiotic plan…there are so many such scenes that after a while I really wanted to ask…is this movie really directed by AG?
Personally, I feel ARR’s music was a let down…picturization of the songs wasn’t great either…especially Khwaja song…where everyone looks so constipated…what is Baghaa(from Lagaan) doing in the song with a look a like…the attempt to capture whirling dervishes was so bad that I have no words to describe it…I have attended a live performance of whirling dervishes and the experience is so out of the world…it hurts to see it reduced to such a stupid choreography…
there are a few good things in the movie…costumes and sets are glorious…some of the scenes were good…like Akbar confessing that he couldn’t read…Ila Arun’s sheesha kitna bhi chamakta ho per pith pichhe to kala hi hota hai…
they aere too few for a 3 hr and 20 min long ordeal…
What was AG trying to make…a love story on Jodha and Akbar…or a historical on Akbar’s character …or a mix of love story and a historical where in…he will put Troy like one on one battle scene…Zoro like sword fight between a hero and heroin or is it Mr. and Mrs Smith less the swords…and also also throw in Saas bahu like drama…put every conceivable cliche in the movie….what was AG’s purpose…or was he just unhappy at the reception Swades got in India and decided to give the public what they want…I am not sure…but I am sure about one thing…this movie will be a hit…I have an excellent track record in last couple of years… the movies that I don’t like becomes huge hit…
another great story wasted…due to lack of good scripting and vision…I hope that AG will bounce back with his next movie…
This is a sorry excuse of a film by Gowariker.
Swades could have been a profound little drama at say a length of 115 mins,but Gowariker was too issue happy to stretch the film,ahd hence the topic lost its novelty.
Here he seems to have no clue about what he is attempting.A romance?History lesson?Message movie?
I bet he would say all of the above,but the film lacks the sine-qua-non and emotional heft to be moving in any which way.The camerawork is completely unimaginative and basic.The metaphoric use of the clouded moon,the blue disillusioned light and the rising sun apart what does the film have to offer?
Perhaps a large chunk of its length for which you couldnt care less.
as Khalid Mohammed says,stay away from Jodhaa AkBORE.
It’s not a great film. Not even close to being a classic. Compared to Lagaan, this effort is disappointing by Gowarikar. But does he deliver a good film? He definitely does.
This is one of the most pretty looking films I’ve seen, and I’m not even counting Aishwarya Rai. The war sequences were breathtaking at times, and brilliantly shot, and looked authentic, what with antique cannons, armour that didn’t look like ornaments, etc. AG didn’t for a moment compromise on the look, IMO, the Mughal empire was quite authentic. The subjects however looked like stereotypical caricatures, their performances amateurish. Small thing, but you expect better from Gowarikar, who was so good in that respect in his previous two films.
I was also a bit disappointed that he didn’t put a little more time on the politics of the time, go into that in depth. He does go there but not to the extent I’d have liked him to. But that’s his prerogative really, and not really criticism of the film.
Anyway, it’s reassuring to know that the one thing that equates one of the greatest emperors the world has seen and an out of luck hobo like me, is that then as now, it’s the guy who says sorry and yes to keep the relationship going.;)
Where is AG of Lagaan and Swades? In these movies
Was just going though this entire post and the series of comments that follow… As we rightly know, everyone has a right to express themselves and obviously, everyone has a different opinion.. hence, I am not going to criticize anyone’s view out here, just narrating mine
honestly speaking, I am a true Hrithik fan, but that does not keep me away from being critical if the movie is not up to the mark.. but hey, this one truly is… To start off, comparing this movie with any other movie, or for that matter, comparing two absolutely differnt movies never makes sense to me… If a particular movie is good.. it is by far good… comparisons apart!
Jodha Akbar is truly a magnificient feat by Gowarikar, a challenge that cannot be expected from too many directors. Making a move on this topic, plus on such a huge scale requires tremendous faith in the subject, star cast and your own work. And he truly stands out. Every scene in the movie stands out with brilliant performances, cinematography, neetly written script, authentic dialogues, and flawless direction!
I agree that it is movies like this that should go for the OSCARS.. i mean, if paheli could go, solely for its indian touch, this one has much, much more than simply an indian touch. It has a story, music, peformances, the very expected India touch and a huge and awesome look!
More than everything else, the movie truly portrays an imporant message. The story might not be true in it’s entirety, but the message is very much noteworthy. The change in the Sultan of a Country which made him not only a honest and kind ruler, but more importantly, a better human being, all thanks to Love!
Belive me guys, the 3 hours 40 minutes are a complete treat! watch it, if for nothing else, the message and Fun!
can i get the dialouge in the movie in which hrithik says some urdu shayri to jodhaa when he goes to jodhaa’s home to get her
first of let me confess that i hardly watch a bollywood movie in theatre more than once.
jodha akbar is an exception. i was not sure when i read mixed responses..but better be the judge yourself
than falling for other people
its one of the most appealing and memorable artistic movies ever made..
watch it without any prejudice about the cast or thousands of questions
about history
Ashutosh – please stop listening to the cash registers and make one from the heart. JA was a mockery of a sham!
this movie is a jwell of hindi cinema…..an example of execellence……..its simply fantabulous………:x
I wish we could communicate with Ashutosh directly . Jodha Akbar is an excellent film and as has rightly been mentioned by a few before me -this is the movie that deserves all the awards – including the Oscars – even if you do not get an Oscar dont fret Ashutosh – we Indians give you the award for this brilliant movie….This movie conveyed a beautiful story of the times gone by and about one of the most revered Mughal emperors who actually thought about the masses and thought about unity amongst Hindus and Muslims (while other rulers just plundered India and took away its wealth -Akbar remained here and felt that he was from this land)….The movie should be lauded for its beauty (in every frame), perfect casting,excellent story, aswell as for the fact that it depicts India’s tolerant culture way back in the times of the Mughal empire.The movie might be long but it was a treat to watch the story unfold beautifully with so much detailing and such stories need to be told in detail so people who are used to the short slick movies should remember that they cannot compare a soft sensual love story with a strong social message to films like Mithya etc. This movie is a welcome respite from all those west inspired hindi movies that have been released in the recent past. It really felt nice to see a true Indian movie and Rehman’s melodius music just grows on you even after one has left the theatres. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar are unique and special and has Mr Akhtar’s stamp on it.All in all this is a movie that should be watched in the theatres so that one can enjoy the beauty and scale of this movie. Yes its a classic and would be remembered for a long long time.Could be the biggest grosser of the year.Please give me ashutosh Gowarikar’s email id.