I am not exactly a fan of qualified opinions – especially with opinion on movies. Either you like it or you don’t – no if, no but, only “mut” (opinion in Hindi). In a 5-star scale, Jodhaa Akbar certainly deserves 3, but that would translate to “Wait for DVD release” here. And what a waste it would be to have you do that with such a beautifully shot movie. However, after spending half of the 200+ minutes on mostly mundane romance and the other half on interesting yet dissatisfying display of politics, I cannot tell you it is a must watch. Either catch it in theaters or skip it completely.
Meanwhile, suggestions for a descriptive rating to go between the second-last and middle rating are welcome!
Jodhaa Akbar can be clearly divided into two parts – the political saga and the romance between the royal couple. It is also obvious that the romance is the prime focus of the narrative.
Hrithik Roshan (Emperor Akbar) who is chiseled to fit the handsomest mould and picture-perfect, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (Queen Jodhaa) are wonderful in their scenes together. You get your dose of Chemistry along with History and Geography. But, I would say that it is largely due to the time given for that chemistry to develop – for the curiosity to become respect to become love. And here we hit the circular argument; the time taken is the biggest culprit. The movie is unjustifiably long.
In these often heavily clichéd romantic scenes, the law of diminishing returns kept cropping into my mind. In any movie in general, every extra minute beyond the 120-minute mark yields lesser enjoyment than the previous one. Unless, unless … you have an extremely captivating story to tell, or you are telling it in an extremely captivating manner. I need something more than glittery jewelry and costumes, bright reds, oranges, and yellows, and fantabulous sets to keep me from fidgeting. Something more natural, something less made-up. And get this, here the interval is at 120 minutes!
The romance is pretty dull. From the bedroom tiffs to the mistaken identities – nothing is new or handled in a creative way. Especially appalling is the way the mother of all misunderstandings takes shape – a speech delivered in the most monotonous fashion by Ms. Rai-Bachchan. The sole scene that might stand out is the sword fight between the two. All-in-all this romance lacked Bhuvan-Gauri’s innocent charm or Mohan Bhargav-Geeta’s elegance.
On the other hand, the political drama, including the dialogues, was extremely interesting, – even though most of it is a voiceover delivering a lesson in history. All credit to the history teacher, Amitabh Bachchan – listen to how the voice softens when it talks about Jodhaa. Some of the political situations are executed really well too. The reactions of various Rajputs to Akbar’s orders is a fine example.
Another highlight of political dramas is the language used. Both Urdu and Hindi are used beautifully, especially in the political sequences. At times the same dialogue was repeated once in each language. It sounded like an enchanting jugalbandi of the languages.
Unfortunately though, these are treated as mere sub-plots to give a break to the mushy-mushy happenings in the main story. Most of the side characters are underdeveloped and thus one-dimensional. It seems like the director is simply fulfilling his duty by filling us in on the political environment. To watch Akbar become a crowd-pleaser with just one act of kindness is unconvincing. If this one action is supposed to be symbolic of all such actions he must have taken, then it is extremely dissatisfying. More instances of Jodhaa being the light that guides Akbar’s soul would not have harmed. And of course, lack of time cannot be an excuse now, can it?
The war and action scenes are an integral part of the entire drama. While other battle sequences are rather repetitive, the first one has some exquisite camera work and background score. Some of the fast camera movements have an awesome 3-D effect (okay, almost!). The silences add to the drama as much as the drum rolls.
The Rahman-Gowariker duo usually churns out some wonderful music. And if nothing else they are a spectacle. But, here I felt let down. Only towards the end of “Khwaja” did I realize that all through the song they were trying to build Akbar’s character. To show how he can be mesmerized and go into a trance. Till then, all I could do was empathize with the giggles around me looking at mannequins wearing clay-pot-look-alike hats and attempting a puppet dance. “Azeem-o-shaan” is brilliant more because of the crowd and the aerial shots rather than the choreography and use of color. We’ve had much better from both A. R. Rehman’s musical sensibilities and Javed Akhtar’s pen and imagination.
Mr. Gowariker, how about leaving the melodrama, the “almighty solving all problems without any input from humans” syndrome to the Barjatyas? How about letting Ekta Kapoor reign the “salt-pepper” kitchen politics? So, we can block that out of our systems just by name. Surely there must have been more to the saas-bahu equation than that! Cannot thank you enough for sparing us the triple action repeat cuts, though. A thousand salutations to N D Studios, magnificent sets! But how about leaving that to the Bhansalis of the world? What’s the point if you can’t focus on what you do best – narrate a story, reach out to us?
Rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (but, if you must watch it in theaters)
Rating Scale (best to worst):
• Must see – on the big screen
• Watch for sure, preferably in theatre
• Wait for video release
• Watch if you have nothing better to do
• Switch channels if it’s on cable!
Click on next page to read the details meetu scribbled while watching the movie – this may include spoilers. This review was also published on meetu’s website.
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[...] RS Bollywood Online wrote an interesting post today on Jodha Akbar – Excruciatingly LongHere’s a quick excerpt I am not exactly a fan of qualified opinions – especially with opinion on movies. Either you like it or you don’t – no if, no but, only “mut” (opinion in Hindi). In a 5-star scale, Jodhaa Akbar certainly deserves 3, but that would translate to “Wait for DVD release” here. And what a waste it would be to have you do that with such a beautifully shot movie. However, after spending half of the 200+ minutes on mostly mundane romance and the other half on interesting yet dissatisfying display of po [...]
I think whoever wrote this article did not even understand the movie. And about or comment on Akbar’s crowd pleasing deeds –
“To watch Akbar become a crowd-pleaser with just one act of kindness is unconvincing. If this one action is supposed to be symbolic of all such actions he must have taken, then it is extremely dissatisfying.”
First of all this movie shows akbar in the age of 13-28….akbar was only growing as an emperor during is 20s….most of his great works we know about happened in his later years of life……so you cannot say that this political act was dissatisfying in the movie……since the movie is about epic romance i think this sequence was included to show how actually the love between akbar and jodha was growing….after the sword fight sequence akbar leaves telling jodha that she’ll come back to him herself…and she does after akbar makes an impressive move on the pilgrim’s taxes….jodha was impressed and then she comes back to agra……so it worked as a catalyst for the love to blossom between these characters……..this movie is not showcasing akbar’s great body of works that we know about…..ashutosh himself said abt 100times on the interviews that the movie is 70% from his imagination and 30% real…..the romance between akbar and jodha builds within these political situations that are shown in the movie…..so all the politics that is there is just a back drop to the akbar jodha love story…….know well before you talk about something…….the movie couldn’t have been any shorter…..the first hour was basically setting a base for all the characters other wise ppl watching the film would have gotten confused in some sequences throughout the film……film of this scale takes a lot of courage and research and hard work…..at least give ashutosh some credit for bringing history back to life……he did his homework well…..the film is beautifully crafted and well performed by everyone……i recommend everyone to watch it in theatres……..trust me this movie will be remembered for a long time….the length plays no factor in this if a movie is good it’ll always click…..i’ve seen it and it is a great movie
and ya jodha akbar is definitely not a lesson in history….the story is ashutosh’s imagination of how love could have happened between akbar and jodha under such political situations….basically it is an epic romance
thè film is okaish but it is a long film,atleast 30mins could have been deleted,jashan e bahara song the highligh 4me,
Im not sure about watching such a magnum opus on dvd, on a small screen. I think you have seen too many films, and you have no patience left. I dont think the romance is dull in fact i havent seen such a romantic movie in a long time. I am a hindu but i know that the dance in khwaja mere khwaja is actually a ritual where the person goes into a trance like state and connects to god, and the hats on their head are turkish. You are not insulting the film you are insulting their culture. Also if you are smart you would remember that this happened a long time ago, where things happened at a slow pace, and about the costumes i dont think Ashutosh can dress them up any other way, because whether you like it or not, that is how they dressed in that century. I personally thought the film was a refreshing change from what bollywood constantly churns out. Because of your biased review i will make sure never to read or acknowledge your reviews ever again. I think you should think about finding a new job. Anyone who reads this, if you are smart you would appreciate all the hard work put in by our fellow indians or asians, and keep in mind the era that the film takes place in, thank you
hrithik is the best…shah rukh stinks………………he wear heavy jackets in summer time, he is crazy……….
This is regarding ms rani’s comment–woman how do you know they wore such funny hats in those days, also who are u to say where and when to watch or not watch this movie. This is a forum and one can express their own thoughts.
BASICALLY THIS WAS A LONG AND DULL, MEDIOCRE MOVIE, A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY, I ONLY WENT AS SOME FRIEND’S INSISTED. LONG AND BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Hrithik’s looks and stupendous acting definitely did stand out. The only saving grace of this movie. All the costumes and grand jewelry did not nothing for the aging, getting fat and fading Ms Rai.
Thank you for the ending notes, i was about to think ok he has a right to have such an opinion about the film, it cannot connect with everyone. But your last comments suggest that you are shallow and who ever you may be with, you will leave them eventually for a younger one….and by calling me woman, you only let me know that you are sexist…i was critisizing the review, i have no interest in what you say
About the hats, i happen to have a bit of worldly knowledge, i know how turkish people dress and they are authentic turkish hats, google it
To whoever wrote this article-
If you dont understand such a good movie, you can do two things: 1) Ask for help from some learned and wise people, they’ll explain, 2) If you cant do 1 above, better keep your ass shut!! But never write such shit as a review here..
I dont why RS publishes such things if the feelings are too much opinionated..Go for a larger purview instead..
it is truely a good movie ash and hrithik has done a great job well lets not forget mr ashitosh who has spend money like water to give this movie the touch of mughal empire MUST WATCH THIS MOVIE its different and i dont know is the story is a imagination or a real history but u will njoy it for sure and i wish that it is a real history
Its nothing short of a masterpiece.. Who ever wrote this article definitely dont know how to enjoy a movie.. i think he expected an action packed movie.. helloo.. jodha akbar is a romantic movie..and tht too a very good one in its genre..