Rajputs threaten to boycott Jodhaa Akbar

Rajputs threaten to boycott Jodhaa Akbar

Ashutosh Gowariker's historical epic Jodhaa Akbar is facing trouble, with the Rajput community of Rajasthan threatening to stall the release of the movie in the state.

The community says Gowariker has distorted facts in his magnum opus that is to be released on Feb 15.

Narendra Singh Rajawat, head of the Rajput Sabha, said Gowariker is presenting Jodhabai as Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar's wife, which is factually incorrect. He also said that Jodhabai was not the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber near Jaipur as shown in the film.

Jodhabai was the daughter of Motaraja Udai Singh of Marwar and was married to Akbar's son Salim alias Jehangir. And Mughal king Shahjahan was her son, he added.

Rajawat said such distortion of historical facts had hurt the feelings of the Rajput community. He urged the courts to restrain Gowariker from showing Jodhabai as the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber.

He said the name of Raja Bharmal's daughter was Harkabai alias Heera Kunwar.

"You cannot make your own history and Ashutosh Gowariker is making his own history. He is projecting Jodhabai, who is Akbar's daughter-in-law, as his beloved and making a love story out of that.

He is totally distorting historical facts," Rajawat told IANS. He said that the community would boycott the film. "We are also approaching the high court against this," informed Rajawat.

The president of the Rajput Karni Sena, Lokendra Singh Kalvi, is also up in arms against the director. He said the Sena had apprehended the distortion of Rajasthan's historical facts in Jodhaa Akbar, which is based on the Jodhpur royal family. "The Karni Sena would watch the movie when released and, if required, it would not allow the screening in the state," said Kalvi.

Mahaveer Singh Sarwadi, a leader of the Shatriya Yuvak Singh, said: "We would oppose the release of the film if it shows the community in bad taste."

A number of scenes for the film, which features Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles, were shot in and around Jaipur. Gowariker has consulted several eminent Mughal historians for his movie.

Jodhaa Akbar sold for a whopping Rs 90 cr?

IndiaFM

Movie prices have hit the roof. With Om Shanti Om and Welcome fetching astronomical prices from buyers and also faring exceptionally well at the ticket window, the pricing of forthcoming films is only going higher and higher with each passing day.

The latest is, a leading industrial house has pitched for Jodhaa Akbar. Reportedly, the industrial house has offered Rs 90 crore for the global distribution rights of the film, inclusive of the lucrative satellite rights. “Really? Is that the rumour doing the rounds of the industry?” Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV breaks into a big smile, when you question him about it, “It's not true. We haven't been offered that amount by anyone.”

But what if there's an offer, will UTV accept it? “We haven't taken a stand yet. It all depends on who makes the offer. After all, Jodhaa Akbar is our baby and our prime concern is to give it the best possible release,” Siddharth states.

Suniel Wadhwa of UTV corroborates, “In any case, there's not much time left [the film is fixed for February 15]… the period is too short for anyone to step in. The promotion is in full swing, the publicity material has been dispatched to theatres. Under these circumstances, it would be next to impossible to incorporate the logo of the company on the publicity material. It's not feasible,” he reasons rightly.

'Jodhaa Akbar' is a youthful romance

'Jodhaa Akbar' is a youthful romance

Jodhaa Akbar’s canvas is huge... I was looking for a story with love as the central theme, but no contemporary story interested me. Then Haidar Ali gave me this story of a marriage of alliance between Jodhaa and Akbar and I was attracted to it. It’s a story we all know about, but take for granted.

Very little has been written about what went on between them personally. It was a good chance to narrate that, yet be as true to the times as possible. That was the challenge — not the budget of the movie!
There’s criticism for showcasing a historical subject... I’ve tried to take a more generic approach to the story — I cannot take a stand based on historical interpretations.

In Akbarnama, Abul Fazal doesn’t mention Jodhaa at all! But we all know that the harem existed, that Jehangir was born out of the alliance. Everything in history is open to interpretation. Some may not agree with the film, but I have tried to be as truthful as possible.

The inevitable comparison is with Mughal-E-Azam ... I’m not worrying about this. I just want the audience to accept the film. It cannot be compared with Mughal-E-Azam ; that’s a classic I love, with incredible performances. My focus is different from Mughal-E-Azam , which was about Salim and Anarkali. Here, I have a young Akbar. Mine is a youthful romance, very different.

Hrithik was my first choice for Akbar... Hrithik has the desire to challenge himself. I think he’s a tremendous actor; even in his debut film he did the double role so well. His Rohit in Koi... Mil Gaya amazed me.

I needed a warrior-like actor who looked like he might have come from a Turkish background, with a naturally regal gait. (BT: Audiences may be disappointed not to see his body on display... Ashutosh laughs uproariously) What makes you think he doesn’t? Don’t be so sure!

Aishwarya was also a natural choice... She’s worked very well in different set-ups, from Chokher Bali to Shabd. She has the desire to attempt different roles. And for a film like this, you need a dedicated cast and crew. In this film, she has a great simplicity. We worked to get her look right — she was very pleased at how it turned out.

Working with Aamir, Shah Rukh and now Hrithik... With Aamir and Shah Rukh, the equation was different — we began our careers together. I got along very well with Hrithik from the word go. On a broader level, if your script has every detail in place and worked out, it defines how your cast members respect you.
Jodhaa Akbar has taken me three years... Yes, it’s a long time. I’d love to come up with a film each year. But fortunately or unfortunately, each time the subject has needed that time. Even a smaller film like Swades needed research — I travelled extensively and it took me two years. Next I’ll be making a more contemporary film. I’ve got three to four concepts to choose from.

The film is not four hours long! That’s just a rumour. It’s much less — but it’s as long as the story requires. When you make an epic period drama, it can’t be told in two hours. And I believe duration isn’t as important as content — sometimes a two-hour film can seem four hours long!

Yes, historicals are difficult to attempt... We’ve tried to stick to the period details but the attitude is modern. We’ve stayed on track with the festivals they had then, the court presentation ceremonies. The melodies too have a feel of that era, yet they appeal even today. I just want my film to be liked, for the genre to be successful — only then will more historicals get made, more challenging scripts taken up. We can only do different cinema if everyone tries to be different.

Jodhaa Akbar as an Oscar possibility... Frankly, I don’t make films for festivals or awards — I make it for the audience. If you start looking at awards, they never get made. And if I send Jodhaa Akbar out as a festival entry, it will have to be at the length I make it.

If we want to cater to American awards, it makes sense to make a film in English and 90-minutes long. It’s very difficult to break into their market with our kind of format. Even our horror films and thrillers have songs, something unimaginable to them. No, I wouldn’t want to cut or change Jodhaa Akbar to fit their format — if I had to do that, I’d rewrite the whole script and create a different ambience. That would require an attitude change. So no, I wouldn’t do it.

Jodha Akbar : Low-fat Food for Hrithik and Aishwarya!

Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai were treated to a sumptuous feast while shooting a sequence for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s movie Jodha Akbar .

Recently, Ash and Hrithik shot for a scene in which Ash (as princess Jodha) serves Hrithik (as emperor Akbar) delicious traditional food. Apart from the two stars, 18 other actors took part in the sequence. The actors played Akbar’s ministers.

Read more about the article http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/GuffShuff.asp?filename=6a1Sa7veo2am8&folder=aGDafTaSah4afaf&Name=GuffShuff&dtSiteDate=20070905

Jodha Akbar : Hrithik Roshan injured during the shooting

Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan injured his knee while filming a battle scene for the historical movie Jodha Akbar that also stars the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Doctors have advised Hrithik to rest until the injury heals, his spokesman Ashok Vishodia told a newspaper.

You can read more articles by clicking the links http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20070906-1.html

http://www.apunkachoice.com/celebrities/hrithik_roshan/

http://www.apunkachoice.com/movies/mov650/

http://www.apunkachoice.com/celebrities/aishwarya_rai/

http://www.apunkachoice.com/celebrities/ashutosh_gowarikar/

Jodha Akbar : Hrithik learns Urdu

Hrithik Roshan, who plays Emperor Akbar in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar , has been working hard to get his Urdu lines right. Hrithik also takes his Urdu teacher, Kamaal Ahmed, to the dubbing studio so that his dialogues are perfect.

Hrithik, who has been learning Urdu at his home in Juhu, has been so driven about learning the language that he makes it a point to take lessons whenever and wherever he has some free time.

Hrithik learns Urdu

Jodha Akbar: Hrithik, Aishwarya start dubbing for Jodha-Akbar

The determination to see Jodhaa-Akbar release on time is no longer unreal. Post-production work on Ashutosh Gowariker magnum opus is on full swing. The editing and dubbing are going on simultaneously.

Speaking exclusively to me Ashutosh says, "I'm currently editing the film in Mumbai. It's not an easy task.

Hrithik, Aishwarya start dubbing for Jodha-Akbar

Jodha Akbar : Jodha Akbar thronged by visitors!

First it was Smt Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.. then, a fortnight ago, it was Hollywood actor Ralph Fiennes, apna Sanjay Dutt and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

And now on Sunday, it’s director Sudhir Mishra. Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker and his wife Sunita have been witnessing a ... ... ..

Jodha Akbar thronged by visitors!

Jodha Akbar : Aishwarya Rai is spending sleepless nights

Aishwarya Rai is spending sleepless nights these days. The actress is back on the sets of Jodha Akbar, shooting during daytime and dubbing at night. The actress is actually working round-the-clock to finish shooting for her film before she flies off to Europe .

Aishwarya Rai is spending sleepless nights…

Jodha Akbar : Jodha Akbar on the backburner

Regarding the magnum opus film, Jodha Akbar, the question on everyone's lips is - isn't it done yet? The movie has a stellar starcast with the hunky Hrithik Roshan and the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai, and the icing on the cake is that it is being directed by the Oscar Nominated director Ashutosh Gowarikar.

Jodha Akbar on the backburner