The story told in haste. Review on Jodhaa Akbar

The movie makers in India have long started to take the forlorn routes to please their audiences and one such attempt was made by Ashutosh Gowarikar. After the success of Swades, Ashutosh speculated “History” as his plot (one of his interviews recently said he wanted to “narrate history” to his audience). The character of Jodha, Rajputana princess, some 400 years back, rises from the pages of the history that has seldom been read while Akbar needs no introduction. Though the movie is rightfully researched, certain pages of history are still found missing in the story of Jodha Akbar!

The plot of Jodha Akbar revolves around the time when Akbar was bought to rule at the age of 13 after the sudden demise of his father. Jalalluddin Mohammad Akbar, crowned as the emperor of the then ruling Mughal Sultanate started his rule in Agra, his capital, and continued to spread his tentacles by peaceful (read not) acquisition of the neighboring kingdoms. The pictorial narration moves towards its climax as Jodha-Akbar get married under political obligation and their marriage is commensurated following the slack misunderstandings between the newly wed prince and his ravishing princess, notwithstanding the political fibs that becomes the staple here.

The three and a half hour movie begins with the commentary in Amitabh Bachchan’s voice (he seems to be getting too much work at this old age) narrating the background from the pages in our school history books. Akbar (Hrithik) reigns his father’s kingdom at the age of 13 and witnesses several wars as he grows up in lieu of expanding his kingdom under the constant guidance of his army chief whom he later rights off after emerging winsome in “the Battle of Panipat”. He makes constant victories following the historical Battle of Panipat and soon marks a voluble chunk of (then) Indian Map under his governance, not forgetting some dissolute enemies. Mean while Jodha (Aishwarya R Bachchan) grows up as a beautiful Rajputana princes, apt in the warring skills under the tutelage of his cousin brother (Sonu Sood). The confusion sets in as Jodha’s father (Kulbhushan Kharbendra) denies him the rule despite being the most eligible contender. The movie takes several blunt turns (and unnecessary so) before Jodha’s father visits Akbar for political resonance and proposes his daughters hand to the mighty ruler. While Akbar agrees for political reasons, the thought of marrying a Mughal Ruler abject Jodha. The marriage takes place atlast and the new chapter to history begins here. The story takes too many predictable turns engulfing the royal family in surreptitious planning, hatred and deceit, penalizing the couple in more than one way. The ends are roughed up by the time the story faces its climax.

The treatment to the script remains above average with the mammoth, exuberant and yet the real to life sets. The team has done justice to the warring scenes by making it seem gory (as they were in the real times) yet so subtle. The costumes and the jewellery (of all the cast) were thoroughly researched and classy. Since AR Rehman could have treated the movie with better music, it fails to meet ones expectation.

Critically, the movie fails to meet heavy expectations though it wins hands  down as a time pass for the bolly-lovers. The cast succeeds in making the cash registers ring for the producers with a liquid script. The story of Akbar, could have  definitely been narrated well had henot been commercialized in the cinema!