Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a political marriage of convenience between a Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Political success knew no bounds for Emperor Akbar [Hrithik Roshan]. After having secured the Hindu Kush, his empire extends from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Narmada River. Through a shrewd blend of diplomacy, intimidation and brute force, Akbar won the allegiance of the Rajputs. This allegiance was not universal. Maharana Pratap and many other Rajputs always considered Akbar as a foreign invader. Maharana Pratap also banned inter marriages between Rajputs who had given their daughters to the Mughals and the ones who did not. But little did Akbar know that when he married Jodhaa [Aishwarya Rai], a fiery Rajput princess, in order to further strengthen his relations with the Rajputs, he would in turn be embarking upon a new journey - the journey of true love. The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer, Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar''s biggest challenge now lies in winning the love of Jodhaa - a love hidden deep below resentment and extreme prejudice.

Production

Ashutosh Gowariker hired a research team of historians and scholars from New Delhi, Aligarh, Lucknow, Agra and Jaipur to guide him on this film and help him keep things historically accurate. He clarified that the name of the film remains Jodhaa-Akbar, and not Akbar-Jodhaa as reported by sections of the media. Over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels were used in the movie. Name Of Main Titled "Azeem O Shan, Shahenshah", the song featured about one thousand dancers in traditional costumes, wielding swords and shields at a grand location in Karjat. The budget of the film was initially Rs. 37 cr., which shot up to Rs. 40 crore. The film was supposed to be released in June-December 2007, but was delayed due to unknown issues. The first television promo was aired on 9 December 2007. The movie used over 4000 kg of gold and kundan jewellery made by Tanishq .

Box office

= In North America, the film grossed $1.3 million in the first weekend and went on to gross $3,440,718 in its lifetime. The film had a slow start at the Indian box office. The movie netted a decent Rs 24.75 crores in the first week but with good word of mouth publicity, it went on to cross the coveted Rs 50 crore Nett milestone by the fourth weekend. The movie has been estimated to end its theatrical run in India with total business of 60 crores Nett, without being released in Rajasthan due to political unrest.

Critical reception

= Film critic Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer ranked Jodhaa Akbar at #2 in his list of top ten films released in 2008 from across the world.Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a 75% rating with 8 fresh and 2 rotten reviews. Anil Sinanan of The Times gave the film four out of five stars stating, "Oscar-nominated Lagaan director Ashutosh Gowariker''s sumptuous period epic has all the ingredients of a Cecil B. DeMille entertainer [...] The film ends with a passionate plea for tolerance of all religions in India, a resonant message for modern India." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN also gave the film four out of five stars commenting: "Ive never felt this way about any other film, but sitting there in my seat watching Jodhaa Akbar, I felt privileged as a moviegoer. Privileged that such a film had been made, and privileged that it had been made in our times so we can form our own opinions of the film rather than adopt the opinions of previous generations, which we invariably must when looking at older classics." Tajpal Rathore of the BBC gave the film four out of five stars, noting that, "although the 16th-century love story upon which its based might be long forgotten, this endearing treatment sears into the memory through sheer size and scale alone [...] Dont let the running time put you off watching this unashamedly epic tale." Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave the film three stars, stating that, "Jodhaa Akbar works only because its heart is in the right place. The film talks about a love that transcends all barriers -- gender, religion, culture -- and dreams of an India where secularism and tolerance are the twin towers that should never ever crumble. And Akbar and Jodhaa are the alluring exponents of this dream." Kazmi also suggests that "if you are willing to shed off all the trappings of history, only then will Jodhaa Akbar work for you." While suggesting that the film is "too long" and that it is "not a history lesson," Rachel Saltz of the The New York Times also notes, "in choosing to tell the tale of this emperor and a Muslim-Hindu love story, Mr. Gowariker makes a clear point. As Akbar says, Respect for each other''s religion will enrich Hindustan. " Khalid Mohammed of the Hindustan Times, gave the film 2 stars. He suggests that, "like it or not Ashutosh Gowariker, who is normally a fine and conscientious director, has miscalculated the technical logistics and emotional content of a period piece. Crucial detailing isn''t the virtue here."

Filmfare awards

= *Won Best Film - Ronnie Screwvala and Ashutosh Gowariker *Won Best Director - Ashutosh Gowariker *Won Best Actor - Hrithik Roshan *Won Best Lyricist - Javed Akhtar *Won Best Background Score - A. R. Rahman

Iifa awards

= * Best Picture * Best Director * Best Actor * Best Music Director * Best Lyricist * Best Male Playback * Best Art Direction * Best Background Score * Best Costume Design * Best Editing * Best Makeup

Star screen awards

= *Best Film - Ronnie Screwvala and Ashutosh Gowariker *Best Actor - Hrithik Roshan *Best Background Music - A. R. Rahman *Best Choreographer - Raju Khan for "Khwaja Mere Khwaja" *Best Director - Ashutosh Gowarikar *Most Popular Actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan *Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan *Best Action - Ravi Dewan *Best Actor in a Negative Role - Ila Arun *Best Art Direction - Nitin Chandrakant Desai *Best Lyrics - Kashif for "Khwaja Mere Khwaja" *Best Music - A. R. Rahman *Best Male Playback Singer - A. R. Rahman for "Khwaja Mere Khwaja" *Best Special Effects - Pankaj Khandpur

Stardust awards

= *Won, Star of the year - Hrithik Roshan *Won, Dream director - Ashutosh Gowariker *Won, The New Menace - Nikitin Dheer

Historical accuracy

Many of the events portrayed in the movie are based on real events. Certain Rajput groups claimed Jodhaa was married to Akbars son, Jahangir, not Akbar. They also demanded a public apology from Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was not released in 30 cinema theatres in Rajasthan. Several historians claim that Akbars Rajput wife was never known as "Jodha Bai" during the Mughal period. According to Professor Shirin Moosvi, a historian of Aligarh Muslim University, Neither the Akbarnama [a biography of Akbar commissioned by Akbar himself], nor any historical text from the period refer to her as Jodha Bai. Moosvi notes that the name "Jodha Bai" was first used to refer to Akbars wife in the 18th and 19th centuries in historical writings. In Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, she is referred as Mariam Zamani. According to historian Imtiaz Ahmad, the director of the Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library in Patna, the name "Jodha" was used for Akbars wife for the first time by Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod, in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. According to Ahmad, Tod was not a professional historian. N R Farooqi claims that Jodha Bai was not the name of Akbars Rajput queen; it was the name of Jahangirs Rajput wife. Ashutosh Gowarikars reaction was,

Protests and legal issues

= The portrayal of ethnic Rajput people in the movie was criticized by members of the Rajput community as misleading, politically motivated historical revisionism that minimized Rajput history and scapegoated them as evil [http://www.ibosnetwork.com/newsmanager/templates/template1.aspx?articleid=21147&zoneid=4]. The communitys protests against the film in some states and it has been banned by the States of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand. However, the producer moved the Supreme Court by challenging it. Later, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban on screening the film for now in Uttar Pradesh and some towns of Uttarakhand and Haryana. The court scrapped the Uttar Pradesh government ban as well as similar orders by authorities in Dehradun in Uttarkhand and in Ambala, Sonepat and Rewari in Haryana.

V shantaram awards

= *Won, Best Director Bronze Award - Ashutosh Gowariker *Won, Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai *Won, Best Music - A. R. Rahman

International

= ;Golden Minbar International Film Festival of Muslim Cinema [Kazan, Russia] *Won, Best Film [Grand Prix] - Ashutosh Gowarikar *Won, Best Actor Award - Hrithik Roshan ;32nd S�o Paulo International Film Festival [Brazil, South America] *Won, Audience Award for Best Foreign Language Film - Ashutosh Gowarikar ;Asia Pacific Screen Awards *Nominated, Achievement in Cinematography - Kiiran Deohans ;3rd Asian Film Awards *Nominated, Best Production Designer - Nitin Chandrakant Desai *Nominated, Best Composer - A. R. Rahman