Jodhaa-Akbar rocks mightily
Feb. 17th, 2008 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieWe've just gotten back from Jodhaa Akbar, the three-and-a-half hour epic Cecil B. DeMille only dreamed he could make.
Teaser:
We got battle elephants, giant crowds of extras, some smouldering chemistry, and the sexiest swordfight ever.
First off, the negatives:
1. Ashotosh, honey, get an editor! This movie is half-an-hour too long. Mind you, I enjoyed every bit, but you could have easily trimmed half and hour and nobody would have noticed and it would have made for a much tighter story. Seeing that it's an hour shorter than Lagaan however, there is still hope for Ashutosh's future.
2. The story is not super-focused. Now, this doesn't bother me. I am used to the sprawling period epics Hollywood made in the 1950s and it's very much a throwback to that sort if thing. But if you need a tightly driven story, you might be disappointed. JA does have a story: Jodhaa and Akbar negotiating their tenuous relationship and finding love, Akbar growing into Emperor-hood and defeating a conspiracy. But it's not a unitary tight plot. Though if you want one of those, why are you watching Bollywood?
3. You cast Hrithik Roshan, arguably the best male dancer in Bollywood and Aishwarya Rai, arguably the best female one, and do not give them any dancing? Now, I can totally see why. It would be surreally bizarre to have the Mughal Emperor (or his Queen Consort) dance, but still...what can I say, I am a fangirl.
But these are rather small negatives. Overall, I adored the movie. Here are some reasons why:
1. Art design. This is arguably most gorgeous Bollywood movie I've ever seen, from jewelry and clothes to architecture. It was such an incredible feast for the eyes. Aishwarya's clothes alone? To die for. Sometimes it almost felt like a visual overload, but in a good way. Also, seriously, if I married a guy who'd give me a giant diamond necklace to show that he liked me? I'd be all for it even if he looked like Johnny Lever and not Hrithik.
2. Love story. I don't think Aish has chemistry with that many actors, but Hrithik is that rare exception and the chemistry was totally present here. In fact, all my favorite parts were their interactions: from the first time he sees her (and you see him fall in love at first sight) and wanders around in a daze, to that scene when she cooks dinner for him and his foster mother makes her taste it to make sure it's not poisoned (Hrithik's face is priceless: he is all 'I ordered this feast to impress her but now she is being humiliated, oh no, she won't like me!') and then he tastes food from her plate. Or that scene where she watches him practice sword-fighting shirtless and you can so tell how she is ogling (for lack of a better word) him and is all made breathless by it and he turns around and looks at her and it's such a scene of pure raw physical attraction that I have not seen in Bollywood before.
3. My favorite scene is the swordfight between Jodhaa and Akbar. I think I sort of forgot to breathe. I love swordfights, and that, plus the chemistry, and the teasing, and just...GUUUUUH.
4. I love the fight scenes: the awesome battle scenes (with battle elephants!) and the really neat one-on-one climactic fight with Hrithik and his evil bro-in-law. Though maybe I was just blinded by the hotness of Hrithik in armor.
5. I love the scene when Hrithik orders his foster brother dropped on the head from the balcony and when he finds out the guy is still alive, orders him to be picked up and dropped again. Akbar comes across as a capable, and even good person, but it's moments like this that do remind you that this is a guy who is ruling an empire and can be quite frightening when he wants to.
6. Aishwarya never looked better. And as to Hrithik? I'd elaborate but my keyboard would short from the drool.
7. The scene when Aishwarya finally says Hrithik's full name? I never thought someone saying a name could be so downright sexy but yowza...no wonder he drags her off to a bedchamber :)
8. I loved the little historical references, like getting the weight of the Emperor in gold, or the reference to the legend that it was Jodha's handmaid who got married to Akbar.
Go see it!
Teaser:
We got battle elephants, giant crowds of extras, some smouldering chemistry, and the sexiest swordfight ever.
First off, the negatives:
1. Ashotosh, honey, get an editor! This movie is half-an-hour too long. Mind you, I enjoyed every bit, but you could have easily trimmed half and hour and nobody would have noticed and it would have made for a much tighter story. Seeing that it's an hour shorter than Lagaan however, there is still hope for Ashutosh's future.
2. The story is not super-focused. Now, this doesn't bother me. I am used to the sprawling period epics Hollywood made in the 1950s and it's very much a throwback to that sort if thing. But if you need a tightly driven story, you might be disappointed. JA does have a story: Jodhaa and Akbar negotiating their tenuous relationship and finding love, Akbar growing into Emperor-hood and defeating a conspiracy. But it's not a unitary tight plot. Though if you want one of those, why are you watching Bollywood?
3. You cast Hrithik Roshan, arguably the best male dancer in Bollywood and Aishwarya Rai, arguably the best female one, and do not give them any dancing? Now, I can totally see why. It would be surreally bizarre to have the Mughal Emperor (or his Queen Consort) dance, but still...what can I say, I am a fangirl.
But these are rather small negatives. Overall, I adored the movie. Here are some reasons why:
1. Art design. This is arguably most gorgeous Bollywood movie I've ever seen, from jewelry and clothes to architecture. It was such an incredible feast for the eyes. Aishwarya's clothes alone? To die for. Sometimes it almost felt like a visual overload, but in a good way. Also, seriously, if I married a guy who'd give me a giant diamond necklace to show that he liked me? I'd be all for it even if he looked like Johnny Lever and not Hrithik.
2. Love story. I don't think Aish has chemistry with that many actors, but Hrithik is that rare exception and the chemistry was totally present here. In fact, all my favorite parts were their interactions: from the first time he sees her (and you see him fall in love at first sight) and wanders around in a daze, to that scene when she cooks dinner for him and his foster mother makes her taste it to make sure it's not poisoned (Hrithik's face is priceless: he is all 'I ordered this feast to impress her but now she is being humiliated, oh no, she won't like me!') and then he tastes food from her plate. Or that scene where she watches him practice sword-fighting shirtless and you can so tell how she is ogling (for lack of a better word) him and is all made breathless by it and he turns around and looks at her and it's such a scene of pure raw physical attraction that I have not seen in Bollywood before.
3. My favorite scene is the swordfight between Jodhaa and Akbar. I think I sort of forgot to breathe. I love swordfights, and that, plus the chemistry, and the teasing, and just...GUUUUUH.
4. I love the fight scenes: the awesome battle scenes (with battle elephants!) and the really neat one-on-one climactic fight with Hrithik and his evil bro-in-law. Though maybe I was just blinded by the hotness of Hrithik in armor.
5. I love the scene when Hrithik orders his foster brother dropped on the head from the balcony and when he finds out the guy is still alive, orders him to be picked up and dropped again. Akbar comes across as a capable, and even good person, but it's moments like this that do remind you that this is a guy who is ruling an empire and can be quite frightening when he wants to.
6. Aishwarya never looked better. And as to Hrithik? I'd elaborate but my keyboard would short from the drool.
7. The scene when Aishwarya finally says Hrithik's full name? I never thought someone saying a name could be so downright sexy but yowza...no wonder he drags her off to a bedchamber :)
8. I loved the little historical references, like getting the weight of the Emperor in gold, or the reference to the legend that it was Jodha's handmaid who got married to Akbar.
Go see it!
