Contemporary
JODHAA AKBAR
(Hindi, 2008, 209 minutes)
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashutosh Gowariker
Story: Haidar Ali; screenplay: Haidar Ali and Ashutosh Gowariker; dialogues: K. P. Saxena; lyrics: Javed Akhtar; music: A. R. Rahman; cinematography: Kiiran Deohans; production design: Nitin Chandrakant Desai; costume design: Neeta Lulla
Ashutosh Gowariker’s sumptuous tribute to the Mughal Empire at the height of its culturally-syncretic glory unfolds with the leisurely gait of an imperial elephant. In the grand tradition of Indian (and Bombay cinematic) storytellers, Gowariker is unwilling to send anyone home in under three-plus hours; his remarkable debut film, LAGAAN, acclaimed as a revival of the rarely-made genre of the “historical,” was a tautly-paced underdog sports saga set in the colonial period that kept viewers on the edge of their seats for nearly four. More truly “historical” in subject matter but far looser in plot, JODHAA AKBAR is an essentially atmospheric experience of breathtaking cinematography and mise-en-scène, lovely A. R. Rahman music, unexpectedly strong performances, and an obvious but unobjectionable didactic message (the promotion of inter-religious tolerance, especially between Hindus and Muslims). The best approach to it (now that it’s out on DVD, with its long halves neatly divided between two disks) is to find a comfortable couch on an unhurried evening (or two) and just let it wash over you. It’s a bit like taking a vacation in 16th century North India, without the risk of contracting plague or being decapitated by a warlord.
Indeed, everything about the movie is gorgeously beautiful, beginning with the principal players, and (though the storyline takes arguable liberties with known history) production values are sky-high and obvious visual anachronisms relatively few—the most striking perhaps being Jodhaa’s Krishna statuette, which looks like a 19th-century German porcelain rather than the big-eyed, black
(Hindi, 2008, 209 minutes)
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashutosh Gowariker
Story: Haidar Ali; screenplay: Haidar Ali and Ashutosh Gowariker; dialogues: K. P. Saxena; lyrics: Javed Akhtar; music: A. R. Rahman; cinematography: Kiiran Deohans; production design: Nitin Chandrakant Desai; costume design: Neeta Lulla
Ashutosh Gowariker’s sumptuous tribute to the Mughal Empire at the height of its culturally-syncretic glory unfolds with the leisurely gait of an imperial elephant. In the grand tradition of Indian (and Bombay cinematic) storytellers, Gowariker is unwilling to send anyone home in under three-plus hours; his remarkable debut film, LAGAAN, acclaimed as a revival of the rarely-made genre of the “historical,” was a tautly-paced underdog sports saga set in the colonial period that kept viewers on the edge of their seats for nearly four. More truly “historical” in subject matter but far looser in plot, JODHAA AKBAR is an essentially atmospheric experience of breathtaking cinematography and mise-en-scène, lovely A. R. Rahman music, unexpectedly strong performances, and an obvious but unobjectionable didactic message (the promotion of inter-religious tolerance, especially between Hindus and Muslims). The best approach to it (now that it’s out on DVD, with its long halves neatly divided between two disks) is to find a comfortable couch on an unhurried evening (or two) and just let it wash over you. It’s a bit like taking a vacation in 16th century North India, without the risk of contracting plague or being decapitated by a warlord.
Indeed, everything about the movie is gorgeously beautiful, beginning with the principal players, and (though the storyline takes arguable liberties with known history) production values are sky-high and obvious visual anachronisms relatively few—the most striking perhaps being Jodhaa’s Krishna statuette, which looks like a 19th-century German porcelain rather than the big-eyed, black