Jodhaa Akbar

The controversies surrounding the recently released Jodhaa Akbar range from the banal to the ridiculous. Whole regions across India have erupted in agitation over the portrayal of the Rajput princess called Jodhaa; namely her existence as Akbar's wife. The director, smartly, has inserted a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie regarding the "unknown" Jodha....but many other boats of historic inconsistencies have capsized the movie for history buffs.

Notable ones include:

1- The voiceover by Amitabh Bachchan mentioning the advent of Mughals in 1450. This is factually incorrect. the year 1450 (19-4-1451, to be precise) saw the ascendance Delhi as the capital of the Lodi dynasty under Bahlul Lodi. The Lodis were Afghans. the Mughals as we know them, were Chugtai Turks.The closest a Mughal comes to acquiring a mention in the 15th century is the year 1494- when Babur inherited Ferghana, which is in Uzbekistan and never was a part of "Hindustan" incorporating parts of modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan , Bangladesh with the modern Indian sub-continent.Babar is said to have mounted conquests into India from 1512 onwards before finally succeeding in 1526.Thus the moviemakers are off by 75 years!

2- The First battle of Panipat-1526- is not mentioned in the movie (which directly jumps to the second battle -1556- between Hemu and Bairam Khan + Akbar).That decisive battle between Sikander Lodi and Babur, saw the establishment of the Mughal rule in India.The years between 1526-1556 were important for the establishment of the supremacy of the Mughal rule and the emergence of Persian and Western Islamic cultural influences in India.

3- In the movie, Bairam Khan is asked to voluntarily retire from governance and proceed to Mecca after his continious high-handed attitude and misuse of powers vested in him as the regent to the thrones. Historically, Akbar quelled a revolt by Bairam Khan in Jalandur, as per the wiritngs of Badauni.A dialogue in the movie hints this when Akbar mentions that he can see the seeds of revolt in Bairam Khan's eyes.

4-Akbar's decision to oversee Mughal rule himself and not through Bairam Khan was actually a result of Maham Anga's political machinations.This would have been a great way to introduce Maham Anga into the movie instead of the Ekta Kapoor type evil matriarch.

5- The capture of Chittaur, a long drawn-out affair which finally cemented Akbar's sovereinty over Rajputana, is not even mentioned.

6- Raja Bharmal (Behar Mal) ceded his kingdom of Amer to Akbar in 1562, after which one of his daughters (let's call her Jodhaa) was married to Akbar. Now work out the math......The palace of Amer shown as Jodhaa's
maternal home (and which is visted by a young Akbar to take Jodhaa back to Agra) was actually constructed in 1592 by Raja Man singh I. Akbar was born in 1542 and died in 1605. So if he visted the palace that was shown, he would have been atleast 50 years old!

7- the gardens show a frivolous attempt at parterre-making. this art did not materialize in India before shah jahan's time.Mughal gardens were copiosly planted with herbs, aromatic plants and fruit-bearing trees, right from the time of Babur. ...And what is the flat parapet minus railings doing there at first floor level on a building which does not have a noticeable plinth nor chajjas??

8- the architectural authenticity leaves much to be desired. the domes in the palace complex are 'saucer' domes i.e. Tughlaq styled, thus Non Mughal. bad research.

9- the bedroom of Jodhaa has a ibadatkhaana(prayer space) which she converts into a temple area. Islam's ibadatkhaana faces Mecca, thus being west-sided in India. But the movie shows the lattice screen sending across rays of sunlight in the morning hours when she sings a bhajan and interrupts the Diwan-i-Aam. Nitin Desai could have checked this fundamental boo-boo.This is futher corroborated by the sequence where Akbar and Jodhaa finally express each other's love verbally.

10- The Pishtaq (elevation around the principal arch of a facade) does not show the insignia of Akbar.The mughals by the time of Humayun had their own insignia. K Asif got this right in Mughal-e-Azam.

11- The paving patterns, wall dado and gilding, are inconsistent with what is seen at fathepur Sikri, Delhi, Agra. the scale of inlay work as shown would make its presence felt in Jahangir's time and reach its epitome in Shahjahan's. Akbar's Jodhaa was not even pregnant in the movie, so i guess Mr Jehangir wasn't around. Clearly, the challenge of out-doing Mughal-e-Azam weighed in the set designer's mind. (Ek laundiya Hindustan ki maleka nahi ban sakti!!!)

12- The lattice screens and jaalis are clearly lasercut metal/ plastic! Atleast some care in showing the thickness of the material could have been taken. Technically, the thickness and porosity of the jaali defines its use in Islamic space.Aesthetic is thereafter.

13- Buildings with semicircular arches in a region known for trabeate construction and bengaldhar roofs in hot and dry climatic zones are unpardonable.(Jodhaa's palace)

14- Again in Jodhaa's palace, columns shafts are in yellow stone and bases and capitals in red. Such liberties indicate frivolousness.

15- for killing Atgha Khan (Raza Murad) Adham Khan is thrown from the terrace of the residential quarters into the courtyard. The historic narrative is that the event occured on the ramparts of Red Fort- Agra.

16- Maham Anga is asked to leave for Haj after her malicious intentions come to light. Again, history records her as the mother who became insane upon learning of her son Adham's Khan's death at Akbar's hands, and in trauma, died within a couple of months therefater. Adham Khan's tomb in Mehrauli ...the only octagonal mughal tomb to be constructed after Humyaun's era is testimony to this.

17- The sequence leading to the attempt on Akbar's life by an assasin is chalked out so badly that viewers were actually laughing it off.PUHLEEEZ! it was so devoid of imagination.

18- The fight sequence between Akbar and Jodhaa were so wannabe 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' .

i guess ashutosh gowarikar must rephrase his comment that the movie is 30% fact...that's too high a figure.

Despite all this... the movie is watchable till the end...

...though the end itself is very tepid and depends completely on the Bachchan baritone to salvage it.

I salute the courage of the people involved with the movie in mounting something as grand as this, thus subjecting it all the more to deliberate, petty and sometimes intense scrutiny. I dont know where mine lies, but i regard my ticket as "full paisa vasool".

Hritik is very good, esp. as the entranced Akbar in the song "Khwaja mere" and in the elephant fight sequence. His urdu diction is well toned and commands complete attention because he delivers his lines so well.

There was some controversy regrading the "transparent" sarees and teeny blouses worn by Jodhaa in the movie and how such representation is a slander on the Rajputs. I guess ANY body could've played Jodhaa if she had her face tucked into a thick veil/ ghunghat. The choice of Aishwarya Rai as Jodhaa would have mattered little then. But who else could have played Jodhaa? do any other names come to mind?Nopes.It was a role written for Aishwarya, and her strength as an actor are her eyes.

AR Rahman's music, as usual, takes its time to grow. right now Khwaja mere is playing on. Javed Akhtar saab's urdu has made me scramble for a dictionary.

"tamanna aur behta paani...inki taaseer hai aage badhna..." waaah!!!

Tameer kiya jaaye. :))