Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Jodhaa Akbar Movie Preview

Set in the sixteenth century, Jodhaa Akbar is the story of the epic romance between Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great and a fiery young Rajput princess Jodhaa.

The dashing Hrithik Roshan plays the lead role of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar for whom political success knew no bounds and the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays the role of Jodhaa – the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amer.

Political success knew no bounds for Emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan). After having secured the Hindu Kush, he furthered his realm by conquest until his empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Godavari River.

Through a shrewd blend of diplomacy, intimidation and brute force, Akbar won the allegiance of the Rajputs, the strongest of the Hindu castes.

This epic romance begins as a marriage of alliance between two cultures and religions, for political gain, with Raja Bharmal of Amer (played by the veteran Kulbhushan Kharbanda ) giving his daughter’s hand to Emperor Akbar.

When Akbar accepts the marriage proposal, little does he know that in his efforts to strengthen his relations with the Rajputs, he would in turn be embarking on a new journey – the journey of true love.

Jodhaa resents being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar’s biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of Jodhaa – a love hidden deep below resentment and extreme prejudice.

From the battlefield where the young Jalaluddin was crowned, through the conquests that won him the title of Akbar the Great (‘Akbar’ in Arabic means great), to winning the love of the beautiful Jodhaa, 'Jodhaa Akbar' traces the impressive graph of the mighty emperor and his romance with a defiant princess. 'Jodhaa Akbar' is their untold love story.

The film made at a whopping budget of Rs.400 million, promises to be a sheer spectacle to watch. A research team of historians and scholars was hired from New Delhi, Lucknow, Agra and Jaipur to keep the film historically accurate.

Over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels were used in the movie. The song ‘Azeem o shaan Shahenshah’ featured about 1000 dancers, wielding swords and shields in Karjat.

'Jodhaa Akbar' is directed and co-produced by Ashutosh Gowarikar , and produced by UTV Motion Pictures and is scheduled to release on February 15, 2008.