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Jodha Akbar - this is no ordinary film
My blogger friend, Manasvi wrote this reviewof Jodha Akbar and I am glad that the film is good.
Jodha Akbar brings to cinema an epic love story that even if imagined is just too wonderful.
There have been controversies about the fact that recorded history has little evidence on the character of Jodha Bai. My simple question is: what about the oral histories of the subcontinent. Why must we always remain beholden to court historians and foreign travellers - why not respect what generations have believed over time?
Well, the truth is that the film invokes the secular nature of Mughal rule and the amicable relations they enjoyed with the Rajputs and the common reverence for the Sufi saints that both the communities practised. A friend from Delhi also mentioned that unlike most films, this one dealt with a Hindu woman (as opposed to the usual Hindu man and Muslim woman stereotype) and this led to some discomfort for the shudh ‘puritans’. Well, well what can one say about that.
Our past had amazing examples at the top and our present has Narendara Modi in Gandhi-land and Baitullah Masud where Buddhism flourished and lit the world!
And the protestsare so unnecessary - it’s a film after all! Also read the film-maker’s interview.
Coming back to Manasvi’s review:
We’ve all studied about Jodha Bai and Akbar in our history textbooks but we have never known it as a love story. But even after watching Jodha-Akbar and getting completely awed by the scale, I still don’t see it as a love story. Jodha-Akbar for me was a great cinematic experience and a good historical film.
Read the full review here
Update: Apparently, the enthusiasm is not shared by my friend Cubano who just left a comprehensive comment here - I will quote this paragraph here:
…. Muslims were portrayed as totally narrow minded and malevolent throughout the film. The only positive Muslim characters that I noticed were Akbar and his mother. The rest seemed to be extremely discriminatory towards non-Muslims and bent upon the destruction of Hindu Kingdoms. If they weren’t trying to conquer and kill Hindus then they were plotting against each other. I thought that large parts of the film were based on fiction with little regard for history. There were also some inaccuracies that were humorous such as the qawwali sung by whirling dervishes. It was strange because qawwali is associated with the subcontinent but the qawwals were wearing clothes typically worn by the Mevlevis and they also performed the whirling dhikr as part of the qawwali.
February 20th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I saw this film last night and came home with a different view. I couldn’t help but notice how Muslims were portrayed as totally narrow minded and malevolent throughout the film. The only positive Muslim characters that I noticed were Akbar and his mother. The rest seemed to be extremely discriminatory towards non-Muslims and bent upon the destruction of Hindu Kingdoms. If they weren’t trying to conquer and kill Hindus then they were plotting against each other. I thought that large parts of the film were based on fiction with little regard for history. There were also some inaccuracies that were humorous such as the qawwali sung by whirling dervishes. It was strange because qawwali is associated with the subcontinent but the qawwals were wearing clothes typically worn by the Mevlevis and they also performed the whirling dhikr as part of the qawwali.
As for the love story, it was pretty typical of other Bollywood films. I also found it strange that they never mentioned Akbar being married to other women and only showed him with Jodhabai which made it seem as if he was in love with and married only to her.
The film did deal with the Hindu woman and Muslim man issue but I found it amusing how they really stressed on the character strength of Jodhabai. Unlike our typical compliant love struck Bollywood heroine she was shown to be an unusually strong woman who didn’t accept Akbar’s hand in marriage without first laying down her own demands. Other scenes had Akbar going to her parent’s home and begging her to come home and complying with all of her demands. Interestingly she refused to sleep with her husband until he fell in “love” with her. I thought that it was a little hard to believe considering he was the Mughal Emperor and the most powerful man in the country.
The acting wasn’t that great either. Parts of the film were rather tacky and overacting was common causing the audience burst out in laughter during many scenes that were meant to be serious. Some fight scenes were bad copies of scenes from other films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Gladiator.
They did show Akbar as great and just ruler but as far as historical accuracy goes, the film left much to be desired. I was really hoping that this film would be good but I came away disappointed.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
A romance is always hard to resist! Must catch this one.
On a different note, why does the movie have to be historically accurate? Is all this about appeasing both sides, the Hindus and the Muslims? A piece of art owes no liability to history or to religion because it’s the spontaneous outpouring of a creative mind, guileless and heedless of consequence. Why must it always conform to some or the other expectation?
February 21st, 2008 at 8:01 am
I also read in my history text-books at school that Jodha was Akbar’s wife and those text-books were in accordance with the syllabi laid down by the Central Board of Secondary Education. I wonder why those protesting now didn’t protest against those text-books back then.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am
A movie doesn’t have to be historically accurate at all but when the director implies that it is then it should stand up to the claims being made. I don’t think it really matters whether Jodhaa existed or whether she was Akbar’s wife but the movie also tried to make various obvious and subtle sociopolitical statements which make it somewhat controversial and open to critique.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:06 pm
its one of the most appealing and memorable artistic movies ever made..
watch it without any prejudice about the cast or thousands of questions about history…just watch it with involvement you “cannot” miss the beautiful soul rendering moments. i feel sorry for those who watch with preoccupied mind concepts they can never enjoy subtle beauty the movies brings..its like soaking in the “beauty of feelings , emotions and soul level music”…….a visual treat… after watching the movie at least for a day or two u will still be wanting to stay with the characters of that era……its like a painting..not so easy to forget.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:35 am
Looking at the movie as an art form, protests and the criticism for its historical accuracy are uncalled for. How can we react to movies like Krrish and other such entertainers without asking logical questions and be so narrow minded as to react to such a good movie as Jodhaa Akbar with such tight paradigms. Big deal if Jodhaa was projected as a stronger character. Can she not be one? Good and bad characters are not in religions, they are a part of the story.
It is more to be enjoyed as one would a beautiful view one passes on the way. Let’s appreciate it for what it has, lets not denigrate it for what it doesnt.
Art for art’s sake.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:21 am
Hatred destroys its practitioner…. period.
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
In Jodha/Akbar and umbro jaaniumbro the characters sleep in their day clothes. What’s up with this?