Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa Akbar. The first movie of Aishwarya Rai after she became Aishwarya Bachchan and in the promos she looks absolutely breathtaking. And Hrithik in the garb of Akbar does not look one bit of the Akbar I know from the Amar Chitra Kathas.

But this, as Ashutosh Gowarikar has already claimed, has his brand of imagination. But how much licence does a film maker have in using his imagination in making a movie? Can he use his creative touch and interpret the lives of historical characters? He definitely does not have the right to distort history or malign the character of individuals if he does not have enough proof to substantiate such.

The Rajputs of Rajasthan are incensed by the movie so much so that the movie makers and distributors have wisely decided against exhibiting the film in Rajasthan. There have been other quarters too protesting against the film which they say has not only distorted History but also glorifies the promiscuity of the Mughals in general and Akbar in particular.

The movie itself is a good three and a half hour one and the first 20 minutes of the movie is a drag except for the narration of Amitabh Bachchan. A three and a half hour movie!! That seems too long to spend in a movie theatre but this is nothing to beat the 87 hour long movie " The Cure for Insomnia".

Let us wait and see how this movie is received by the masses, though period and historical movies have not been welcomed much, as has been seen with the Ashoka and other experiments.