Behold another golden Friday! The day of dreams, laughter, tears, blood and galore. It’s a new week and the day of display of another one of the strokes on the canvas of the silver screen by our dear artists of Bollywood. Today the grandeur and magnificence of Bollywood has been displayed. Nevre before has the pomposity of cinema been showcased in such a austere manner. The simplicity of the grandeur and the unimaginably blandness of colors faded into oblivion before the majestic grandeur of Jodha and Akbar.
The beauty of the film lies not in the beautifully crafted scenes or the cinematography nor does it lie in the colorful costumes or in the grand sets or action packed performances but in the grandness of Akbar and Jodha etched into the minds of us Indians. It is the perception of the viewers that has to be toyed with to make a successful period film if not a movie in general. Akbar, in general terms happens to be one of the greatest rulers of our country. But the most important thing that people forget about him is that Akbar also brought a cultural and ideological revolution in the country. He was the first Mughal or even perhaps the first Muslim ruler whom the people accepted as their own. All the Muslim rulers before him had been conquerors and invaders but here in Akbar the Indians found their own first Muslim emperor and still his legacy continues with our darlings like APJ Kalam, Shah Rukh Khan, Irfan Pathan etc. The Muslim thread that he wove in the Hindu dominated Indian fabric gave such beauty to our culture and country that it surpasses the beauty of every monument etched in stone.
So does the simple fact of Akbar make this movie on absolutely breathtaking experience or is it something else. Akbar’s phenomenal contribution to our society does help but the brilliance of the filmmakers cannot be ignored.
The plot is simply fabulous. It was promoted as a unique and untold love story between an emperor and his wife. A little odd for our taste though. It seems quite extraordinary that the land of sages and chastity has always reveled in the idea of the male protagonist serenading his female lead and ultimately getting married. But why do we forget that this is also the land of Ram-Sita and arranged marriages where love blooms after marriage. It is this very simple yet beautiful concept which has been portrayed in the movie. It is amazing that when two people are thrown together, they learn to love each other with their fallacies and pitfalls. And this movie offers us just that. It is also astonishing that you get in this movie exactly what was offered. (Dear ol’ hindi cinema- promises something and gives something else) The movie sends across a beautiful message that be it a king or a pauper after all he is a human, and a human needs to be loved. The very simple fact that Akbar tries to woo his wife as a human yet upholding the dignity of his Sultunate and his kingdom is so simply beautiful. The very idea of upholding one’s dignity is what Jodha (Ash) also portrays magnificently. Her simple demands as to keep her religion and rights to worship speak volumes of the depths of woman’s heart.
It is sad to see when people create furor over such trivial things as this movie degrades a particular community or it reduces the woman as a pawn in the hands of men wielding power of their lives to broker peace. But why don’t we look at it from a different perspective. This movie is totally into the new catchword “Women Empowerment”. However redundant this word maybe but the women swear by it. Why don’t we realize that a mere woman made an Emperor of a country sign a peace accord with a Rana in equal terms. Why don’t we see that this movie upholds her right to freedom of religion and worship in a setting where kingdoms were formed on a religion and religion on kingdom.
The majestic aroma of this movie lies in a simple fact that neither Akbar nor anybody else has been portrayed as a epitome of anything. Akbar was a human being like just everybody else. He had his own sets of pangs of anger, jealously, happiness and frustration. But what sets him apart is the choices that he makes and the movie by the way these choices have been shown. His acceptance of Jodha’s demands and chastity, his decision to have Mahamnaga’s son killed and then her removal as his chief counselor or even going into war with his brother-in-law and then not killing him because he was his sister’s husband have all been shown wonderfully plainly.
Aah! The movie can make you go on and on over. Its simple yet beautiful instances, the trance that an emperor goes in acknowledging that there is an Almighty one and humbly accepting his overlordship or the straight-backed Jodha whom Akbar recognizes in midst of many veiled females or Todarmal who is so into the system that he cannot believe that Jaziya was wrong.
But what strikes out to me is our absolute love with physical beauty. It is not just about acting. But think about it would we have accepted this movie if it had a dwarf actor with superior acting skills. No! It is Hrithik’s overall personality and china like beauty of Aishwarya that mesmerizes us. It makes the characters have a feeling of unattainibilty to us which leaves us with a sense of longing. The rest has been painted beautifully well. It is like a melodious symphony come to life.
Rest what can I say like the film makers I too need time to talk about this movie.
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