Review of Jodhaa Akbar (2008) by Naumank. — 15 Feb 2008

A well made and thoroughly enjoyable film. However, be warned, it's not you're usual Bollywood dancing in the rain spectacle. It's best described as a cross between Troy and Hero (borrowing heavily from both in places) but set to the backdrop of some stunning Indian palaces.

It the story of the progression of an emperor from a young boy to a great man. It's also similar in grandeur to the 1950's Hollywood biblical epics. The battle scenes are impressive, the sets are stunning, the costumes on par with anything from the best of Hollywood and there are enough threads to the story to keep you captivated throughout.

It differs from other Bollywood films in that the acting is usually subtle, even though it does suffer from over-acting in places. The soundtrack by AR Rehman is masterful, especially the song Jaashan-e-Bahaare.

There are competent performances throughout by all. The love story which develops between Roshan and Rai after their marriage of convenience is refreshing in its purity, compared to the usual lust/pursuit/consummation saturating both Holly and Bollywood.

Strong family values, kinship and the best of humanity are promoted throughout the screenplay, and it's nice to see some strong well-developed female characters. Also, there are political machinations a plenty to keep the pace of the story moving along nicely.

The film ends with Amitabh Bachan doing his best James Earl-Jones style narration on how different religions should co-exist in India. Nice touch. However, it still suffers from some of the ills of Bollywood e.

G. poor dubbing, ear-piercing melodramatic sound effects, and polarised villains but take nothing away from this.