225
minutes of cinema can be painstaking. Classy,glossy but too
long and purposeless. The film will have to be evaluated on
its merits not on its historic accuracy.
The tale is simple Jalaluddin (Hrithik) sees war and bloodshed
for his early years and grows up in the midst of war deception,
intrigue and hate. Yet he is a statesman. As part of his
diplomatic exercise he agrees to marry a Rajput Princess
Jodha (Aishwarya Rai). Jodha back home is unhappy of her
brother Sujammal ( Sonu Sood) not being appointed the heir
apparent and Jallaluddin is unhappy with his brother in
law Mirza Sarif ud din ( Nikitin Dheer).
Akbar is supported by is aunt Mahan Anga (Ila
Arun) who helps him plan and strategise while his mother (Punam
Sinha) is the understanding person who is there always .. Initially
Jodha refuses to marry Jalaluddin, but later gives in. She makes
certain demands which are accepted by the Emperor in making. We
get to see a few administrative initiatives taken by Akbar and
how the two overcome certain hiccups of their relationship built
in the context of the times they lived in and the challenges they
were required to face.
Most of the cast is adequate but they all
suffer from lack of space. They do not often constitute a continuous
part of a narration and this is largely because the film maker
picks a few incidents and delves with them rather than take a
course and tell what is happening on route.
Most of the actors perform well. Special mention be made of Illa
Arun a powerful performance with a lot of subtlety, Punam Sinha
makes her presence felt. The script however revolves round the
principle characters.
Aishwarya as Jodha has a new experimental look- no Kajal and all
and sure delivers. She still is no great performer but the Director
gets the best out of her. She is adequate. She does not over do
or disappoint. Hrithik proves yet again that he can seep into
any role and deliver not just with credibility but with amazing
sincerity
A far cry from Prithivi Raj Kapoor as Akbar- he gives it a new
dimension and how ever contemporary the image, he strives to give
it the regal touch and does it with aplomb.
Director
Ashutosh Gowarikar. Casting
Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Khulbhushan Karbhanda, Illa Arun,
Punam Sinha.
