
Jodhaa Akbar isn't just historical facts: Gowariker
Customary pre-release jitters notwithstanding, Ashutosh Gowariker looks relaxed and says his epic romance Jodhaa Akbar, releasing on Friday, is not a bare narration of historical facts.
"The facts from the pages of history have been woven around the story in such a way that, while watching the movie, the audience won't get caught in the maze of historical details of the period, losing clue to the movie's track," Gowariker told IANS.
Gowariker's Rs 400 million magnum opus about the saga of Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar and Rajput princess Jodha Bai's love story has been dubbed in three languages - Hindi, Telugu and Tamil - and subtitled in English, Arabic and Dutch. It will be viewed across 1,500 screens worldwide.
For the past few weeks, Gowariker remained busy overseeing the editing by Ballu Saluja. He has to be extra cautious because Jodhaa Akbar is his first attempt at making a historical love story. Besides, it has been made on a scale he has never tried before.
"I do not know whether magnum opus is the right word to describe Jodhaa Akbar. The movie is basically about post-marriage love affair between the handsome young emperor Akbar and the charming princess Jodha," said Gowariker who has co-produced it with UTV Motion Pictures.
"So the movie was required to be made on a bigger scale," he said.
Gowariker emphasised that nowhere in the movie has he made any attempt to fictionalise history just to make the love story palatable to the audience.
Why did he think of making a historical when the genre has gone out of fashion in Bollywood?
"No genre goes out of fashion if the maker handles it properly," he quipped.
According to him, after the stupendous success of Lagaan, when his next movie Swades drew a blank at the box-office, he was greatly disappointed, in spite of the fact that it earned loads of critical acclaim for its underlying patriotic message.
So he thought of making a movie on a larger canvas, but bided his time to get hold of a subject that would justify his vision of the proposed venture.
When writer Haidar Ali narrated the story of Jodhaa Akbar, what actually fascinated Gowariker was that Akbar and Jodha fell in love with each other only after their marriage. He found that to be a very common characteristic in married young Indian couples and therefore an ideal story to be retold.
Gowariker was as meticulous in finalising the movie's cast. The choice of Aishwarya for Jodha was instant. But it took him some time before he decided on Hrithik for Akbar's part.
"Ronnie Screwvala and I had a few deliberations before we finalised the lead star. We wanted an actor who would justify the role and at the same time who had a good box-office appeal. Finally, our choice fell on Hrithik and as it turned out, our choice could not have been better," Gowariker gushed.
The advance reports about Jodhaa Akbar predict it to be a visual treat. The general verdict in film circles is that a Bollywood movie was never made earlier on such a grand scale and with so much authenticity.
Naturally, comparisons are bound to be made with former Mughal era sagas like Mughal-e-Azam, TajMahal, Anarkali, or even Razia Sultan, which are still fresh in public minds.
The trade circles, however, are not as forthcoming on its business prospects.
"The movie justifies the cost. Since UTV is releasing the film itself worldwide, it is taking a big risk," a distributor said curtly.
But UTV itself is confident that the movie will be able to endear itself to the box-office despite being a historical.
"If Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series could set a box-office record worldwide, there is no reason why domestic and international audience will not be taken in by a movie like Jodhaa Akbar," said a source from UTV.
"Besides, Gowariker, being an Academy Award nominee for his earlier directorial venture Lagaan, commands international credibility," added the source.
Screwvala was not available for comment, but the source added that the company does not want to do any guesswork about how much business the movie will do in the domestic as well as overseas market.
As for Gowariker, all he would say is: "I am happy with the end product and right now all I can do is hope for the best."

Ali Quli Mirza: I wish to balance singing and acting

Twinkle bats for Women’s Day every day: 'Have a slice of cake, drink some wine'

Baby Anushka Sharma cuts a birthday cake in special Women's Day post for mom
- Actor Anushka Sharma shared a post on mothers on the occasion of International Women's Day. She said that 'strong' and 'resilient ones' need to be celebrated.

Kangana's airport appearance makes Kishwer wonder why she never wears a mask
- Kishwer Merchant dropped a comment on a video of Kangana Ranaut at the airport, asking, "How is this woman never in a mask?'

Harry-Meghan admit they've seen The Crown, but don't expect them to be on it
- Even though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle admitted to having watched Netflix's The Crown, the show's creator, Peter Morgan, had previously said that he has no intention of telling their story on the series.

Esha Deol recalls her wedding, reveals Hema Malini called her crying afterwards
- Esha Deol revealed that while her mother Hema Malini did not cry at her 'bidaai', she could not hold back her emotions afterwards.

Lisa Haydon cradles bare baby bump, waits for arrival of her ‘very little woman’
- Lisa Haydon, who is currently expecting her third child with husband Dino Lalvani, shared a special post featuring her 'very little woman' on International Women's Day.

Pipe-smoking Aamir Khan goes clubbing with Elli AvrRam in Har Funn Maula teaser
- Aamir Khan and Elli AvrRam burn up the dance floor in the first teaser for their song, Har Funn Maula. Watch it here.

Varun Dhawan shares unseen photo with wife Natasha Dalal on Women's Day

Nawaz's brother, accused of violence by Aaliya, reacts to their reconciliation
- Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's brother Shamas has reacted to news of that Nawaz and his wife, Aaliya, are willing to reconcile. Aaliya had accused Shamas of physical abuse.

Kriti Sanon takes a tumble and almost falls to the ground, fans blame her heels
- Kriti Sanon slipped and almost fell before a posing session for the paparazzi on Monday. Watch the video here.

Janhvi Kapoor averts drama after her staff member prevents fan from taking a pic
- Janhvi Kapoor was spotted at the Mumbai airport over the weekend. During her exit from the airport, her staff member stopped a fan from taking a picture with the actor. Janhvi tackled the situation calmly.

Parineeti Chopra opens up about replacing Shraddha Kapoor in Saina

Women’s Day 2021: Boney Kapoor pays tribute to late wife Sridevi, daughters
- Boney Kapoor said that he was fortunate to have 'some of the strongest women in the world' in his life -- late wife Sridevi, and daughters Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor and Anshula Kapoor.

Divorce may be cancelled, but Nawazuddin and his wife aren't living together
- Despite cancelling divorce proceedings, Nawazuddin Siddiqui's wife, Aaliya, has said that they aren't yet living with each other.