Jodha Akbar

watched jodha akbar n i quite liked it! it entertained me, n so for me, the movie worked. my friend and her ma (who accompanied me) also liked it a lot.

i have been reading what's being written about the movie nowadays - a whole lot of criticism, actually.. people have totally written it off! everyone seems to be finding lots to criticize - be it colors of costumes, sets not being as grand as expected, not enough soldiers on the battlefields, not enough crises in jalaluddin mohammad akbar's life, not much from anyone in general and the lead pair in specific, and the list goes on...........

to me it was simple, the movie entertained me, it was a good 3.5 hrs spent watching a historical movie (that we don't get to see very often), and of course, it was undoubtedly a feast for the eyes! i realize that the movie was not meant to be or positioned as the story of akbar's life. it was meant to be about the relationship and romance between jodha and akbar. to that end, the movie worked out fine. it was mushy allright, and i like mushy movies..:)

moreover, one has to appreciate ashutosh gowarikar's efforts. it was without a doubt a difficult movie to make - in every way. the content had to be researched and yet it had to be made into a movie that would click @ the box office. everything had to be larger than life and grander than one can imagine - be it sets, attire, jewellery. the overall package was supposed to reflect what was and yet be current enough for people to appreciate it. the pace was fine, the acting was fine, and the language was allright (if it was more complex urdu, many people would not have followed it).

i especially enjoyed the sword sequences between jodha and her brother, later between jodha and akbar, and finally the fight between akbar and the enemy in the shape of his disloyal brother-in-law. that was something new and i was happy to watch these fight sequences.

acting wise, hrithik was good, as he always is. people seem to grudge him his good looks. he has, from the start of his career, been a good actor, in addition to being probably the best looking guy in the industry. of course it doesn't at all hurt that he lookes beautiful, period. the costumes suited him well. and i feel he did justice to the role.

aishwarya too can't help looking beautiful. she did not have too much opportunity to display her acting skills, but she did ok for the role. she was supposed to look beautiful and act royal, and she did both. thankfully her diction has finally improved.

the soundtrack of the movie by a r rehman was v good - music, lyrics, the whole deal. i especially liked and enjoyed khwaja ji, the lead romantic song jash-ne-bahar, and the energetic marhaba..:)

overall, good movie to watch - in fact, i wouldn't mind watching it again!