Once bitten twice shy: Ashutosh Gowariker's taking his history lessons seriously

After the criticism for his film Jodhaa Akbar, Ashutosh Gowariker’s is being very careful in how he's depicting history for his new period film, on the Indus Valley civilisation, starring Hrithik Roshan and newcomer Pooja Hegde.

Ashutosh Gowariker’s last big hit was the Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Jodhaa Akbar (2008). While the film worked at the box office, and found critical praise, it ran into a bit of controversy when sections of the Rajput community alleged that Gowariker had got his facts wrong.

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Now, as the director embarks on yet another period film, on the Indus Valley Civilisation (starring Hrithik Roshan and newcomer Pooja Hegde), it seems the director wants to leave no stone unturned in his research. So he’s getting the experts in the field — renowned historians and archaeologists — to share their inputs.

A source close to the director says, “Gowariker met several experts, among them, archaeologist Jonathan Kenoyer, who is an expert on the Indus Valley. He also got his script vetted by them.”

When contacted, Gowariker tells us that, for the film, “it became very important for me to study Indian prehistory, especially prehistoric societies, of which there are no written records. That’s why I met all these archaeologists, with whom I had intense, all-day sessions, to understand the cultural history of India.”