Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Jodha -Akbar

I watched Jodha-Akbar last Sunday. It could definitely be termed as one of the most-awaited movies of recent times; for one, it is directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, secondly it stars the two of the hottest stars of contemporary Bollywood: Hritik & Aishwarya; and last but not the least, it has AR Rehman as the music-composer.

The film does not disappoint on any of these counts.
Jodha-Akbar is basically a tale of two lovers, who first come together for strategic reasons rather than love; but soon develop a true affection towards each other. Rest of the movie revolves around this, never mind the political intrigue.

Hritik is magnificent. He lends poise and elegance to his character of Emperor Akbar. In the military attire, he looks more of a Roman warrior than a Mughal, but once he dons the Mughal 'jiretop' you hardly notice that.

Aishwarya looks stunning, as always. Those who still refuse to call her 'beautiful', God forgive you!
The two complement each other perfectly, and one can definitely feel a certain comfort between the tow of them.

Rest of the supporting cast performs well. Was it Ila Arun in the role of Akbar's 'daai-maa'?

AR Rehman has composed another stunning score, varied from "Manmohana Kanha" to "Khwaja mere khwaja", via "Kehne ko Ishq". But my personal favourite – even before I watched the film - was "Inhi lamhon ke daaman mein", and it was nice to see it picturized so sensually.

So much for the good news, and now here's some not so good one... if not exactly bad.

The film is over 3 and half hours long. The length may not be agonizing, but it does tend to get unbearable after a particular point. One of the reasons is that the script hasn't much of suspense or moments that really keep you on edge or wondering about what would happen next. The movie could have done with at least half an hour chopped off.

And secondly, dialogs are dull. Of the cast, only Hritik seems to speak the Urdu somewhat effortlessly. Others speak which seems to be a cross-breed between Urdu & Hindi.

Yet, the movie is worth the bucks, a delight to the eyes, as well as ears. Watch it for the sizzling chemistry between the lead pair if not only for the costumes and sets.