Jodhaa Akbar..

A disclaimer before I begin- This is not a movie review.

Frankly, I don't think highly enough of myself to play a critic to somebody's creativity, more so when the person in question is a master of his craft. I loved 'Swades' and was simply bowled over by 'Lagaan'. But for some reason, I couldn't quite connect with A.Gowarikar's latest offering, 'Jodhaa Akbar'. It can be hugely attributed to my attachment to Mughal-e-Azam, having already watched it for God-knows-how-many times, I can watch it twice daily for the rest of my life without having enough of it..(I intend to keep the 3rd show slot for Sholay, and given the length of both the films, there is no chance for a 4th show :D). Even my POTC loving husband has been made to watch it so many times.. it is one of the important things he does to express solidarity with me.

I can talk endlessly about Mughal-e-Azam but it shall be wrong to do so in a post titled Jodhaa Akbar. Returning to the movie, it would have been easier to relate to it had it been named ambigously or probably after some lesser known blue-bloodeds. Even Roopmati-Baaj Bahadur would have done the trick. Akbar is too prominent a figure to be wrapped in total fiction, and all of us have preconceived notions about his larger than life persona. In an effort to keep with times, the plot gets too contemporary to be relevant.. Before long, the movie loses credibility and the viewers lose interest. Also, the lead actors being the best looking people we have ever had, look truly amazing but sadly, they do not look their part.
Still, I must admit that I had a nice time watching the movie. Firstly, it was after a long time that I sat 'just-like-that' with my otherwise busy-as-hell husband for so long at a stretch, full three-and-a-half hours, and the movie not being so interesting, we got to spend some quality time together. Also, I must thank fellow bloggers for putting some salient points in the movie in an altogether different light, making it enjoyable. There was no trace of humor in the film but we still got to laugh heartily whenever some of it came up. Thanks GB for that gem of a review..