Saturday, February 23, 2008

Jodhaa Akbar Review

Jodha aakbar_poster Ashutosh being one of my favorite directors. Hritik, one of my favorite actors and an intriguing subject like Jodhaa Akbar. Perfect ingredients for a feast. Top it up with rave reviews from your preferred movie critics and buffs and not so good ones by those critics you abhor. Jodhaa Akbar was like a fine dine course which couldn't go wrong......except a bowl full of expectations. And probably that bowl felt more of a burden as soon as I entered the theatre.

Set in one of the glorious era of Moguls, its a story of brute force, dark ambitions, unyielding power and more importantly about how love conquers them all. Jodhaa Akbar is essentially a love story between one of the most revered Indian kings Akbar and mystical (or should I say mythical?) Jodha bai. Hritik as Akbar is surreal. He delivers the job with such mental and physical accuracy that I quite forgot Hritik the person. For me he was just Akbar. No one could have done justice to this role (of course, after the great Prithvi Raj Kapoor). Aishwarya is magical. She delivers a top notch performance - most of the time letting her eyes speak.

But the cake belongs to Ashutosh. He is the dreamer here and also the one who realizes that dream - almost completely. The scale of the movie is grand. Every shot has a tint of perfection. Sets, Costumes, Choreography and the overall canvass of the movie is a treat to watch. The grandiose screen rendition of "Azeem-o-Shaan Shehenshah" leaves you with mixed feelings. While it just enchants your heart, mind boggles with a question of how they managed this!!!!!!!

Stating Rehman as a genius is a gross understatement. This man just can't stop amazing me. Not only he belts out great tunes and music but he has matured in to a fine singer. He renders a masterpiece in the spiritual "Khwaja Mere Khawaja". The Music as well as the background score does full justice and only adds to the splendor of the film.

Saying all this, I have to verrrrrry sheepishly admit that the movie is not engaging enough. The main culprit being the length which takes its heavy toll. Its time Ashutosh gets an editor. Also, owing to the grand expectations it built, the movie fell a bit short.

Ending Note: The movie is worth a watch and strictly on a large screen. This will do justice to the vision of the makers and efforts of all involved. And ,again, realizing - Love conquers all.

smiles,
Neo

7 comments:

Prashant Karkera said...

I had dropped the idea of watching the movie after one failed attempt. But after reading your review would try to watch it next weekend.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen any other Indian movie as grand as this! It's certainly something not seen before on the Indian screens.

Pinank said...

This film is beyond grand !!!

I think Aashu is a master director and all the praises bestowed onto him would fall short !!

I was his fan...and now I am his follower !!

P

Anonymous said...

Havent seen the movie yet.. but have read your review twice!!

more of my comments once I see the movie..

Regards,
Navtej

Hiren said...

hmmm ... i have a diff opinion abt the movie ... anyways i agree on couple of things you mentioned a> the movie is definitely a visual treat. b> A R Rahman is unparalleled ... i too am simply awed by the "Khwaja" number.

Neo said...

@PK - let me know how is it.

@Nita - yup

@addict -

@Navtej - look forward for more.

@hiren - agree with me. am honored :)

KP said...

I havent seen the movie...once i see it...i might be able to comment! but from ur review it seems its worth watching it once....:)