My Friday, First Show reputation is in tatters. It has been weeks since I have landed to watch a movie on a Friday afternoon. And though I was really keen to watch Jodhaa Akbar on the opening day, it took me a while (last evening, to be precise) before I could finally see the film.
Jodhaa Akbar is a damn good yarn, told rather stylishly by Ashutosh Gowariker, one of the better film makers in our country. Long before Gowariker made a reputation for himself first with Lagaan and then Swades, I had thoroughly enjoyed watching Baazi, starring Gowariker favourite Aamir Khan.
Over the past few days I had been impatient to view Gowariker's latest cinematic offering after all the controversy surrounding "historical inaccuracies". Rajput groups have protested against what they view as "distortion of facts". They are upset that the film portrays Jodha Bai as Emperor Akbar's wife, while they insist she is in fact Emperor Jahangir's wife.
Gowariker has said more than once he is ready to stick to his version of history which he insists is "well-researched". Historically, there appear to be two conflicting schools of thought -- one claiming Akbar was married to Jodha Bai , another insisting she was Emperor Jahangir's wife. I honestly don't know if Akbar or Jahangir was Jodha Bai's husband. Frankly I don't care, and I don't think, as far as the film is concerned, it matters one way or the other.
Jodhaa Akbar is a mainstream Bollywood film, not a documentary. Gowariker has made a love story, a damn good one at that, if you ask me. He has tried to stick to facts as much and as far as he can. My point is, you don't like what he has shown, then stay home or watch other Bollywood releases, which, mind you, aren't usually strong on facts.
But violent demonstrations and bans are a bit of a much. They just give lie to our tall claims of being a tolerant society. Methinks it is high time this society showed some serious intolerance towards such acts of intolerance.
It will be interesting to examine the role of the media -- particularly India's television channels -- in stirring the so-called Rajput pride. When forty channels beam ad nauseum fifty protestors demonstrating outside a movie hall, the viewer often gets the impression of a far bigger agitation happening than what it really is.
Not for the first time, short of ideas and perfectly willing to fuel an otherwise unnecessary controversy, Indian television channels have taken the cheapest route to TRP ratings by highlighting the issue of "hurt Rajput pride" and have given momentum to an agitation that didn't initially appear to have a leg to stand on.
Demonstrations and agitations against films are not new. What is new is the phenomenal publicity these fringe agitations garner, thanks to their indiscriminate coverage by Indian television channels. It is time someone looked more closely into limiting the free publicity these fringe groups manage to get.
As for me, as I sat through the three and a half hour long film, watching the gradual unfolding of a love story between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess, narrated rather grandly but at a deliciously sedate pace, I wondered what was the fuss all about.
Even when the film was being made, there were reports that Akbar has never looked as handsome and Jodha Bai never as beautiful as they look in Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar. Hrithik Roshan looks very good, and acts brilliantly, as Emperor Akbar. And Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is quite stunning as Jodha Bai.
The Rajput princess in Gowariker's tale holds more than her own against Akbar. It has been a while since I last turned the pages of my history books, and my memory isn't what it used to be. But I remember rather distinctly that the history books I read never quite gave Jodhaa Bai the sort of prominence that Gowariker bestows upon her.
If anything, I thought, it might be the more rabid Maulavis who might be cross with Gowariker for his depiction of an almost-feminist Akbar. In almost every face-off with the Rajput princess, it is the Mughal emperor who appears to come off second best.
If you ask me, the only person who might, or even should, have any problems with the film is Abhishek Bachchan. Bachchan Junior was reportedly unhappy with his wife Aishwarya Rai's liplock with Hritik Roshan in Dhoom 2. Later, the kiss was deleted by the producer. Though there is no such steamy scene in Jodhaa Akbar, there is an undeniable chemistry between the lead pair. The ice maiden not just thaws, even sizzles, in the company of Hrithik Roshan.
Film trade papers have declared the movie a countrywide smash hit and critics have had nice things to say about Jodhaa Akbar. New York Times and Daily Telegraph have lavished praise on Gowariker, comparing his grand style of film making with Cecile De Mille. The film is doing brisk business, and can do well without the agitations and subsequent ban imposed on its screening.
With elections not too far away, various state governments have not been shy of courting controversy. Governments in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh quickly banned the screening of the film. Following a directive by the Supreme Court of India, the ban has been temporarily lifted (until March 14) when the matter comes up for hearing again.
It is curious how state governments ban such a harmless film like Jodhaa Akbar on the spurious ground that the controversy over it may endanger communal harmony, yet both the state government in Maharashtra and the Indian government idly watch the Thackeray clan spread their campaign of hate, unchecked.
It is rather ironical, you would think, that those who are so keen to hand out history lessons are actually so reluctant to learn any lesson at all from history.
Jodhaa Akbar is a damn good yarn, told rather stylishly by Ashutosh Gowariker, one of the better film makers in our country. Long before Gowariker made a reputation for himself first with Lagaan and then Swades, I had thoroughly enjoyed watching Baazi, starring Gowariker favourite Aamir Khan.
Over the past few days I had been impatient to view Gowariker's latest cinematic offering after all the controversy surrounding "historical inaccuracies". Rajput groups have protested against what they view as "distortion of facts". They are upset that the film portrays Jodha Bai as Emperor Akbar's wife, while they insist she is in fact Emperor Jahangir's wife.
Gowariker has said more than once he is ready to stick to his version of history which he insists is "well-researched". Historically, there appear to be two conflicting schools of thought -- one claiming Akbar was married to Jodha Bai , another insisting she was Emperor Jahangir's wife. I honestly don't know if Akbar or Jahangir was Jodha Bai's husband. Frankly I don't care, and I don't think, as far as the film is concerned, it matters one way or the other.
Jodhaa Akbar is a mainstream Bollywood film, not a documentary. Gowariker has made a love story, a damn good one at that, if you ask me. He has tried to stick to facts as much and as far as he can. My point is, you don't like what he has shown, then stay home or watch other Bollywood releases, which, mind you, aren't usually strong on facts.
But violent demonstrations and bans are a bit of a much. They just give lie to our tall claims of being a tolerant society. Methinks it is high time this society showed some serious intolerance towards such acts of intolerance.
It will be interesting to examine the role of the media -- particularly India's television channels -- in stirring the so-called Rajput pride. When forty channels beam ad nauseum fifty protestors demonstrating outside a movie hall, the viewer often gets the impression of a far bigger agitation happening than what it really is.
Not for the first time, short of ideas and perfectly willing to fuel an otherwise unnecessary controversy, Indian television channels have taken the cheapest route to TRP ratings by highlighting the issue of "hurt Rajput pride" and have given momentum to an agitation that didn't initially appear to have a leg to stand on.
Demonstrations and agitations against films are not new. What is new is the phenomenal publicity these fringe agitations garner, thanks to their indiscriminate coverage by Indian television channels. It is time someone looked more closely into limiting the free publicity these fringe groups manage to get.
As for me, as I sat through the three and a half hour long film, watching the gradual unfolding of a love story between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess, narrated rather grandly but at a deliciously sedate pace, I wondered what was the fuss all about.
Even when the film was being made, there were reports that Akbar has never looked as handsome and Jodha Bai never as beautiful as they look in Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar. Hrithik Roshan looks very good, and acts brilliantly, as Emperor Akbar. And Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is quite stunning as Jodha Bai.
The Rajput princess in Gowariker's tale holds more than her own against Akbar. It has been a while since I last turned the pages of my history books, and my memory isn't what it used to be. But I remember rather distinctly that the history books I read never quite gave Jodhaa Bai the sort of prominence that Gowariker bestows upon her.
If anything, I thought, it might be the more rabid Maulavis who might be cross with Gowariker for his depiction of an almost-feminist Akbar. In almost every face-off with the Rajput princess, it is the Mughal emperor who appears to come off second best.
If you ask me, the only person who might, or even should, have any problems with the film is Abhishek Bachchan. Bachchan Junior was reportedly unhappy with his wife Aishwarya Rai's liplock with Hritik Roshan in Dhoom 2. Later, the kiss was deleted by the producer. Though there is no such steamy scene in Jodhaa Akbar, there is an undeniable chemistry between the lead pair. The ice maiden not just thaws, even sizzles, in the company of Hrithik Roshan.
Film trade papers have declared the movie a countrywide smash hit and critics have had nice things to say about Jodhaa Akbar. New York Times and Daily Telegraph have lavished praise on Gowariker, comparing his grand style of film making with Cecile De Mille. The film is doing brisk business, and can do well without the agitations and subsequent ban imposed on its screening.
With elections not too far away, various state governments have not been shy of courting controversy. Governments in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh quickly banned the screening of the film. Following a directive by the Supreme Court of India, the ban has been temporarily lifted (until March 14) when the matter comes up for hearing again.
It is curious how state governments ban such a harmless film like Jodhaa Akbar on the spurious ground that the controversy over it may endanger communal harmony, yet both the state government in Maharashtra and the Indian government idly watch the Thackeray clan spread their campaign of hate, unchecked.
It is rather ironical, you would think, that those who are so keen to hand out history lessons are actually so reluctant to learn any lesson at all from history.
1 comment:
Nice one, Chaks. Intolerance appears to be on the rise, and every time that happens I fear BJP will take advantage of the situation.Which could mean a pretty nasty situation just before the elections.
Loved Jodha Akbar, though I thought it was a bit too long. Loved the last line of your blog -- those who are so keen to hand out history lessons are actually so reluctant to learn any lesson at all from history.
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