Anyone seen the movie " Jodhaa Akbar" yet?

Aishah

I like watching the Tanishq jewellery ad using clips from this movie! Which is why I want to see the movie..

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bijapuri

saw it in Sunnyvale, deep in the heart of IT Pradesh

JA had sold out a matinee at a huge gora cinema, I was the only non-desi there. Mass culture clash/ confusion when the screen flashed "INTERMISSION" and kept right on rolling!!! I reckon they'll figure it out, and that more bollies will be aired there. $9.50 for a matinee- yikes!!!

the movie . . . well, it's Bollywooden- I didn't see much chemistry between Ash and Hirthik. The costumes and jewelry were impressive. The battle scene was hopelessly flawed- no medieval army ever lined up like they both did.

I've been trying to shed some weight, so, in a supreme test of will, I didn't eat at pne of the many fine Indian & Pakistani eateries in that part of Silicon Valley beforehand. Then an hour into the film, Ash cooks this gigantic meal in the Royal kitchen that was gorgeously filmed- that was painful hahaha
Mild thumbs up. Don't expect anything more than what Bollies do best. Ash has seemed bored in her last several movies- maybe she's jumped the shark???

IMHO- the elephants and the Hijra steal the show ')

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crvlvr

US runtime is indicated at 2:42.. Did they edit the movie? Bijapuri, do you recall how long the movie ran? I canot sit through 4 hours..

vireya

2:42 would involve major editing!

In Australia it runs at about 3:30 - didn't time it, so don't know exactly. Add on a few trailers at the beginning and an intermission, and the whole experience was a bit over 4 hours.

MangoKulfi

That's what AMC lists it as and I got fooled too. They don't know the runtime so they put the default time up. It's 4 hours counting the interval and trailers.

Actually I didn't know 4 hours had passed. It felt long but not 4 hours. It's quite an interesting movie, at least I thought so since I love Indian History.

bijapuri

3:30 including a few trailers. and NO intermission

wonderwomanusa

I was thinking of taking half a day off and seeing it Thursday, but can't really take four hours, plus an hour each way to the theater -- guess I'll wait for it to come out on DVD.

Aishah

It's pretty long isn't it? At least with a DVD you could stop for your coffee break, go to the loo, have your dinner, continue on into the night etc!!

the opoponax

It's long, but that's where seeing it without subtitles came in. since i was hopelessly lost with all the court intrigue and political machinations i felt free to have a stretch or a bathroom break whenever they seemed to be getting into that stuff and away from the love story and really amazing song and dance bits.

yeah, aishwarya and hrithik had pretty wooden chemistry, but then on the other hand, this can hardly be a great love story - their marriage was one of political convenience, not romance. the complete lack of chemistry was probably the most historically accurate thing in the movie!

crvlvr

I don;t know what you found. But, apparently Jodhaa Bhai was Jahangir's (Akbar's son) wife, hence Akbar's daughter in law. there is no historcial evidence that Akbar was ever married to a Jodhaa Bhai. The film has been banned in Rajasthan due to protests that the film is not historcally accurate. I guess the film Jodha Akbar is drawing from an older classic, Mughal-e-Azam, where Akbar and his son Jahangir all in love with same woman, Anarkali.

MangoKulfi

Not true. I learned in History too that Jodhaa was Akbar's wife's name. Yes, Jahangir had a wife also named Jodhaa But Akbar had too and they weren't the same person. If you see Mughal-E-Azam, Jahangir's mother is addressed as Jodhaa.

Recently Ashotosh Gowarikar had a press conference where he cited various historical refences to Akbar's wife Jodhaa from history books. Supposedly, the Rani of Jaipur consented to the naking of the movie with these facts in.

crvlvr

I'd like to see what historical sources you have.. Here is what I found http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?sid=1&fodname=2008021 8&fname=Akbar+(F)

I don't believe anyone, including the filmakers, have ever claimed that Mughal-E-Azam is historically accurate either.

MangoKulfi

I don't have any historical sources with me, except for the fact that I learnt it in history. Now maybe recent resources have claimed otherwise but in the press conference, Gowarikar had several history books with him citing the same fact. Old history books do claim that Akbar's hindu wife was called Jodhaa.

Aishah

Historical research scholars in India - at least the ones who have been creating all the fuss - can't seem to take that leap of the mind which sees a movie as a movie and not as a piece of accurate history. They can't accept that a movie can be good entertainment, visually exciting or whatever, and absorbing. Now they're banning the movie in Rajasthan - ridiculous! Is it a fear that uneducated masses will get the wrong idea? Then it's manipulation and propaganda - where is freedom of expression here?
There are very few movies, that have been based on books, that are 100% accurate to the story.

bijapuri

well, in the end I got what I went for. Realizing I am not going to india this season, I was depressed, and I didn't want to just go Eat Indian. I notonly got 3.5 hours of Bollywood, I got 1,000 Indians, compleat with kids running around, constant chatter, a rush for the door at the end, etc. etc. Had I closed my eyes I could easily have imagined myself in 2-tier AC sleeper, or in any middle class Mall in India. so . . . mission accomplished