Feb 20, 2008 03:09 AM
1461 Views
Well! Indian critics(and this time I mean it - so-called pseudo-intellectual critics) can and never will grow up to sense and appreciate true cinema.
Our film media really lives up to the adage of covering gossips and not understanding cinema. Indian film media continues to suck up to the "Who's Who" of Bollywood and dishes out yet another flattering review for what is probably the biggest and also the worst film of the Year 2008.
Jodhaa Akbar, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, featuring Hrithik Roshan(a media-hyped super star) and Aishwarya Rai is finally out and how! With Ashutosh, Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai associated with this mis-adventure - this flick got all the hype it needed.
But alas! Not all that glitters is Gold(quite literally!)
I'm not going to get in to synopsis. That's an unknown-known story. Let's get to the pain point. And in this case - there are a plenty.
The movie falters BIG TIME! almost in every aspect of film making.
The script is cliched, perhaps as much as the forts of Agra! There is absolutely no novelty in the sequence of events. It is height of predictability. Look at the scenes where she goes in to the kitchen to prepare food for Akbar, humiliation of Jodhaa before the rajputi daawat, Akbar snapping back and saving the day for Jodhaa, Akbar getting injured, Jodhaa praying, confession of Love between the titular couple. Aaaarghhhh!
The camerawork is awful to say the least. Check out the camerawork in the war scenes. The camera is moving on a crane, whereas a hand-held camera would have better suited the need of the scene. Camera should have swayed all over the battleground to give a monumental view of the war. Sucks!
Costume and sets - did they match at all?! the sets were red and the costumes worn were bright yellow or green! Hello! Mr. Production and Costume Designer - what were you folks doing? Was there no storyboarding? Color palette of the film has gone for a complete toss! DI(Digital Intermediate) was very shabby. You could actually make the difference of the environmental color and the DI. Bad job! Grow up Bollywood!
Editing was non-existent. Ballu Saluja fell asleep while watching the movie and forgot the chop off the songs and unwanted scenes.
Music was downright bad. rather awful. Suits the period, you said! Bullshit! That's not an excuse for bad music. Background score(which is Rahman's forte!) is even worse. I guess even ARR got disinterested in the project after a while, that's why he gave such a shabby background score.
Performances - did they exist as well! Hrithik is just not Akbar. PERIOD! His diction sounds mugged up! He is not comfortable with Urdu/Hindi. He is too western to play a Mughal emperor. Someone should tell him that shouting on top of his voice does not add emphasis to a dialogue. Ash did a good job and looked ethereal. Others were downright crap.
Ashutosh - Dude! you missed the bus this time man! Lagaan was a near perfect, a flawless film. Swades was a kind-hearted, purposeful film. Both of these were not only good films, but were also good-looking films. Jodhaa Akbar is a colossal disaster.
Two Thumbs Down!
