By SAKINA RANGWALA
Observer Staff
Feb. 20, 2008

Movie still courtesy of www.JodhaaAkbar.com.

A long line formed outside the Indian theatre in Loehmman’s Plaza in Fairfax on Sunday–people waiting to get a good seat for “Jodhaa Akbar,” a $10 million Indian film released in the United States last Friday.

“Jodhaa Akbar” is a film by Ashutosh Gowariker, a director with immense talent whose films portray scenes of conflict in India’s rich historical past. Gowariker was nominated for an Oscar in 2001 for the period film “Lagaan- Once Upon a Time in India.”

In his latest film, he offers a glimpse of the religious struggles in 16th-century India.

Hindu-Muslim conflicts are a part of everyday life in India and make an excellent subject for film. Religious conflicts in the country are not only prevalent in Kashmir, but also span to big cities like Mumbai, and then seep into Bollywood.

Bollywood films, which are mainly musical, turn fact into fiction as conflicts of true life are resolved on screen. In “Jodhaa Akbar,” the resolution of a Hindu – Muslim conflict is depicted as an epic romance, as a Muslim Emperor marries a Hindu Princess. In reality, historians believe the marriage between the Mughal emperor and the Rajput Princess was merely political.

Loehmman’s Plaza theater in Fairfax, Va. Observer photo by Sakina Rangwala.

In 16th-century India, the Mughal Empire–a Muslim empire from Persia–was expanding, and acquired territories by ravaging and plundering. It was intolerant to the other prevalent Hindu cultures in India.

Emperor Akbar is popularly known in folklore as the most tolerant king, who respected diversity of the masses and tried to bring peace through reconciliation. He was crowned king as a teenager and died in his sixties, it was his grandson Shahjahan who built the Taj Mahal, in Agra, India.

This four-hour film does not have a strong screenplay, but instead shows a slice of Emperor Akbar’s life as he marries a defiant Hindu princess in a political alliance, but then wins her love over time.

Loehmman’s Plaza theater in Fairfax, Va. Observer photo by Sakina Rangwala

The film is an excellent peep into Indian culture and folklore with ravishing costumes and sets. A majority of the film has been shot on location at 16th century palaces that still exist in Rajasthan, India today.

The role of the princess in the film is played by Aishwariya Rai and that of Akbar is played by Hritik Roshan. Rai is one of the most popular faces on Indian cinema today and has been named in Time’s 100 most influential people of the world.

For anyone who wants to watch their first Hindi film and get a glimpse of Indian culture, this film is the one to watch. The film is in Hindi, with dialogues adopting a 16th-century dialect. Subtitles accompany the film and are helpful to Indians as well as non-Hindi speakers.

For more information about the film log onto jodhaaakbar.com.