Jodhaa Akbar - Notepad » meetu’s notepad

15th February 2008

Jodhaa Akbar - Notepad

posted in Hindi Movies, Movie Notes, meetu |

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review. Warning: this section has some details that could distort your experience while watching the movie. I strongly recommend reading this only after you have seen the movie or if you have decided not to see it.

Quick Review

Painstakingly made but painfully long. The history and politics is interesting but the teachers seemed to be in a rush to cover the course material. What we do know now though, is romance 450 years ago was same as it is now. It is a visual treat nevertheless.

Rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do - but, watch it in theaters, if you must! (Rating Scale)

See full review

Plot Summary

Mughal emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) marries Rajput princess Jodhaa bai (Aishwarya Rai) for political advantage. They gradually fall in love with each other. This love story is presented with a backdrop of the political environment of the 1500s.

What worked

Use of Hindi Shlokas instead of Sanskrit during a pooja.
Use of wide-angle lens to make the tents look bigger than they actually were.

What didn’t

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

I highly doubt Rajasthani women wore transparent saris for their blouses to show from 500 years ago!
Even today you will find Rajasthani mothers-in-law wearing the biggest veils before their sons-in-law! And here you have Rani Padmavati (Suhasini Mulay) with no veil at all!
Urdu diction of the some of the side characters - the words didn’t flow, they sounded very forced.
Suhasini Mulay’s (Jodhaa’s mother) acting - at two points, at least, it was difficult to tell whether she was crying or laughing!
Expression on Hrithik Roshan’s face just before he gets up in the “Khwaja” song. It seemed like he was praying for it to get over, where as he actually was going into a trance!
Punam Sinha’s (Akbar’s mother) dialogue delivery.
Cliched symbolism of dark clouds going over the moon!
Jodhaa’s mother had come with a plan for her to escape from the wedding. Why was she then also ready with poison? Did she not believe in her plan? Was she so desperate? If so, how come she had no major role to play in her daughter’s life later?
The silly made-up custom of having to recognize your wife from scores of women. What a rubbish excuse to build drama/romance.
Why was the assassinator waiting to be spotted by Akbar’s men?
The whole religious equality speech - sounded more like an attempt to get the movie tax-exemption!
When Jodhaa’s brother didn’t trust Jodhaa, why did he risk his life for her husband!?
Why wasn’t Jodhaa’s brother being given medical attention and was being presumed to die?

Nitty-Gritty

This section lists things that I think are not important to the overall impact of the movie. In most cases, it could be explained away by something like, “we noticed the glitch after the scene was shot and there were schedule/budget issues and thus we could not re-shoot it”. I like giving the makers the benefit of doubt, but I am amused nevertheless. Hopefully, they will tickle you too.

Are elephants really that easy to tame?
The way Jodhaa was shown around the palace - it sounded like a guided tour.
Jodhaa didn’t taste the daal-baati!
The dialogue that Jodhaa’s father says on Akbar’s arrival to Amer “aan-baan ka chandrama” what is that supposed to mean!?
When did Akbar get the plate of flowers ready during the sword fight?
The special sound effect added to the maulana’s voice.
Jodhaa’s brother was hindu, he would have said, “sadaa sukhi raho” not “sadaa khush raho”

Back to main review

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pm and is filed under Hindi Movies, Movie Notes, meetu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On February 16th, 2008, WASEEM said:

This is worst review……..

posted on February 16th, 2008 at 1:45 am

2 On February 16th, 2008, vimal said:

I felt the same way after watching the movie. I have attempted a review myself after watching it. u can read it at http://vimalsparadise.blogspot.com
I was taken aback by the so called wonderful reviews for the movie over the net and I was in search for one review that had some similarity with mine. The last time i wrote to you was for the review of OSO. Check out my review and then u will understand the similarities.

posted on February 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

3 On February 16th, 2008, Manjula said:

About veils, pardah system in Northen India started during moghul period. It is perfectly OK for Jodha’s mother to nor a wear a veil.

Also, the present prudeness in dressing also started around that time. So, wearing transperant sarees is also ok.

posted on February 16th, 2008 at 6:19 pm

4 On February 17th, 2008, meetu said:

Discontent noted, WASEEM.

vimal, as we always say, “to each his own”. I did not have so much of a problem with the content of the movie (it’s history right, not much can be changed), as i had with the sequences chosen. E.g. the kind of personality that Maham Anga was, she must have caused more trouble than just bother Jodhaa about the kitchen. Then again, you have the romantic scenes, where noone (not even historians) know what happened in their bedroom. So much better could have been done, than just repetitive “dil jeetna” dialogues.

Manjula, if that was true, then why were the rest of the women wearing veils and why is only Aishwarya Rai wearing transparent odhnis? Unless the rule was “only pretty women are given liberty with prudence!”

posted on February 17th, 2008 at 4:20 am

5 On February 18th, 2008, Utkarsh said:

Why are you guys being so kind to an attrocious movie
The mugged up story line oscillates between romance & historical events.

The only good thing about the movie was Hrithiks performance but his character portrayed was so weak, he needs somebody always to tell him what is correct
His step mom : how to run the affairs of the state
His wife : to understand his people
His real mom : to understand his wife was not a spy

The performances of both brother & brother-in-law of Akbar are really bad.
Above all the length of the movie, unnecessary songs & too slow storyline do not help.

Cinematography & well built sets make the film bearable for some time but not more
Past laurels of the director cannot be used as a passport to torture the audience

posted on February 18th, 2008 at 6:54 am

6 On February 21st, 2008, Sriram V Iyer said:

Meetu,

You’ve been a little generous

Like Utkarsh says, the film could have portrayed more on Akbar’s character.
I was not able to “feel” Akbar or Jodha, rather Ash and Hrithik took over!

sRi

posted on February 21st, 2008 at 11:35 am

7 On February 22nd, 2008, neha said:

I agree completely. add to your list of nitty gitty:
The first shot of Hrithik in the movie, the close up of the face and i can see the gauze of
the fake moustache!
The fight scenes, with evryone apart from the main 2 characters shoving each other like
school girls.
The oh-so-cheezy flashes of light when he gets his epiphany with the sufi singers.
BLekh.
painfully long.

posted on February 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 am

8 On February 22nd, 2008, audioslave said:

me too felt jodha akbar wasnt as great a movie as the other reviewers were praising it to be…coulthe love story wasnt intense…the character of akbar wasnt discovered to its fullest…expected more from the movie by going by the film reviewers…yes,the action sequences were good…

posted on February 22nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm

9 On February 24th, 2008, Vishal Das said:

Bad choice for the lead performer in the KHWAJA MERE song. He looked like a sidey villain from a Ram Gopal Verma movie.

The spiritual moment turned into a nightmare with all those close-ups of his ugly mug.

posted on February 24th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

10 On March 4th, 2008, nitin said:

1>from all these crux of yours,people can conclude the movie is not another”lagaan”. fine. we never expected.
2>Colors,Urdu accent and other beauteous measures cannot bring glory, as these are now used by other directors too(Bhansali,Barjatya…)
3>jodha-akbar story is not the superb fine script to make film work all alone.
Nevertheless, no other movie can be lagaan, and fine new scripts movie are very rare(like RDB). Therefore, apart from rare exceptions , this one can be considered as a good-to watch movie like any other bollymix blockbuster entertainment we have.Hence, I think, free time intersection jodha-akbar is not a null.

posted on March 4th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

11 On March 31st, 2008, deepak desai said:

…all said and done, the movie felt like a slick brochure for an invitation to Mughal-Land
which some bright industrialist’s money-growing brain can visualize…a la Disneyland. The heights
heights of sheer artificiality are being scaled regularly as a matter of habit (a race for
“whose the most artificial” is on in the film fabrication factory)…starting with the lead
pair being hot-shot celebs unrolls the whole process…everything then follows. To sit in the
theatre feeling that not one atom of what one is watching is anywhere near truth…it’s just
a fashion extravaganza disguised as a narrative story…and the producer’s main intention is
to scale the other pole of say, Satyajit Ray(note the ‘Satya’)…anyways it would be pretty
amusing to visit a Mughal-Land if it comes up one day near Delhi or Agra…with predictable
reactions from the entertainment chasers…the kids would be excited by the elephants…the
teens would fantasize on the possibilities of old world Raja-Rani romance…the young adults
would ecstasize about extremely gaudy varieties of costume designs that attracts eyes like
magnets do iron filings…the middle-aged would go ooh-aah over hired actors in sexed-up
designer costumes…and as for the old…being under no such illusions…would just say-’pah!’
…and keep away.
Who was Akbar? Who was Jodha? What emotions did they experience in life most unpredictable…
(in contrast to the movie where each hair is in place, what to say of each action)…not one
hair’s truth will emerge out of Bollywood’s image factories…consider the dangers, the blood,
sweat and tears and heart-throb existence of REAL life…and compare with the 100% insured safety
and ease of the film makers…swaeting and acting for what?…More Cash and More Fame…More Cash
and More Fame…
Ultimately, it would be all about those choosing to stay with real flowers…and those choosing
to live amongst plastic flowers.

posted on March 31st, 2008 at 2:17 am

12 On March 31st, 2008, meetu said:

Very well put, Deepak!

posted on March 31st, 2008 at 7:11 am