Ashutosh Gowariker is indeed innovative and you actually travel back in time to 1500 AD. The sets, costumes, dialogues, sound effects

and overall set-up are magnificent. Would strongly suggest seeing this movie at a cinema hall or on a wide screen home theater system. About 70% of this 3 hours 20 minutes movie’s focus remains Jodha (actual name was Hira Kunwari) and how Akbar falls in love with her after marriage. The love story is the imagination of writers as there is no evidence in history about the matter. But it has been well packaged and very well presented to the audience. I enjoyed 2 out of the 5 songs in the movie (In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein by Sonu Nigam & Madhushree and Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah by Mohd. Aslam, Bonny Chakravarti & chorus).

          

Before entering the cinema hall, I had doubts if Hrithik Roshan would be able to do justice to the role of Akbar (remembering the solid voice of Pritviraj Kapoor) but after the movie I felt that no one else in bollywood could have doen the role better. Aishwariya looked like true princess and have played the role very well.

          

A good attempt has been made to show the battle of Panipat and the internal political scenarios of Mughal rule in India. Ashutosh has tried to portray the character of Akbar and have touched a small extract of Akbar’s entire rule.

          

Akbar was one of the rather successful rulers in the Mughal Dynasty as he realized that wining battle and ruling people are different. Today he is referred as Akbar The Great. Akbar’s view towards religion, culture, art and people were very different from predecessors Humayun and Babur which was also the reason of his success.

          

Although a long movie of more than 3 hours, it’s very well made and delivered. I would give 4 out of 5 to this movie.

Accuracy:
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodhabai)

Mariam-uz-Zamani ( Hira Kunwari - born October 1, 1542), was a Rajput princess and was the eldest daughter of Raja BharMal, Raja of Amer. For the purpose of marrying Akbar she was converted to Islam and was rechristened Mariam-uz-Zamani after marriage. The Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum in Lahore, Pakistan was built in her honour. She has been also referred to as “Jodha Bai” in modern times, although she was never actually known as Jodha Bai during her lifetime.

This fact is manipulated in the movie and has been shown that she was never forced to convert to Islam and Akbar accepted her as Hindu. Also there is no reference to Hira Kunwari, the princess has been refered as ‘Jodha’ right from the begining.

Hira Kunwari aka Jodha Bai, was Akbar’s third wife and one of his three chief queens. She was 22 days elder than Akbar. Akbar’s first queen was the childless Ruqaiyya Begum, and his second wife was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan.

This is also manipulated as this movie shows Jodha Bai as Akbar’s first wife. No mention of age has been made in the movie.

Although the accuracy of this movie is disputed overall due to the way Jodha Bai has been potrayed, but the following facts shown are correct:
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar)

1. Akbar was only 13 when he became emperor (after Humayun’s sudden death).

2. Akbar was the son of Humayun and Hamida Banu Begum, but Maham Anga ( Akbar’s aunt, chief nurse and mother of his foster brother, Adham Khan) nurtured him while he grew up. Maham Anga was both shrewd and manipulative

3. Although Abkar did not know how to read and write, he matured into a well-informed ruler, with refined tastes in the arts, architecture and music, a love for literature, and a breadth of vision that tolerated other opinions.

4. Bairam Khan was a military genius, he had seen the Mughals regain their lands in India, served both Humayun and Akbar loyally, and laid the foundation for a strong empire while Akbar was growing up.

5. At the Second Battle of Panipat, Mughal defeated the Hindu king Samrat Hem Chander Vikramaditya , also called Hemu. When Bairam Khan asked Akbar to execute Hemu, Akbar refused - so Bairam instead seized his sword and decapitated Hemu himself.

6. Bairam was dismissed upon Akbar’s coming-of-age in 1560. He then left upon a hajj to Mecca

7. Adham Khan (son of Maham Anga) stabbed Akbar’s prime minister Atkah Khan and then tried to storm the Harem of Akbar. Seeing his Prime Minister stabbed, Akbar thought he had had enough of Adham and ordered that Adham be thrown from a height, over a parapet. When this failed to kill him, Akbar ensured that the second attempt succeed by ordering that he be dropped head first. Akbar later went straight to Maham Anga and informed her that her son was dead. With this act, the 19-year-old Akbar assumed complete control over the Mughal empire.

8. Akbar abolished pilgrimage tax on Muslims and jizya tax on hindus (who did not accept islam but were willing to live under the protection of Mughals).

9. Akbar was tolerant to other’s opinion and use to visit the market place as a common man (not as a king) to see if his orders and rules have been implemented. This also helped him to understand the issues at the ground level.

All said and done, if you happen to visit Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, the guides even today show ‘Jodha bai ka mahal’ when you visit the fort at Fatehpur and you can also visit Akbar’s Dargah at Sikri.

Here is a quick guide to the top 6 Mughal dynasty rulers.

1. Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (known as Babur)  - Founder of Mughal Dynasty ruled between 1526-1530

2. Nasiruddin Mohammed Humayun (known as Humayun) – Son of Babur, ruled 1530–1539 and after restoration 1555–1556

3. Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (Akbar) – Son of Humayun, ruled between 1556–1605

4. Nuruddin Salim Jahangir (later known as Jahangir) – Son of Akbar, ruled between 1605–1627

5. Shabuddin Mohammed Shah Jahan (known as Shah Jahan) – Son of Jahangir, ruled between 1628–1658

6. Abu Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir (known as Aurangzeb) – Son of Shah Jahan between 1659–1707

Plot Revealed In The Review:	Revealed in detail
Best to watch with:	Friends
Movie Genre:	Drama
Best part in the movie:	Plot