Jodhaa Akbar is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language epic historical drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the fictional life and love between the Muslim Emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire and a Hindu Princess Jodhaa Bai of Amber, and their political marriage. A. R. Rahman composed the musical score which proved to be critically and commercially successful. The film marks the second collaboration between Roshan and Rai Bachchan after Dhoom 2 (2006).
Jodhaa Akbar was released theatrically worldwide on 15 February 2008. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial success and became the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2008.
Jodhaa Akbar won the Audience Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the São Paulo International Film Festival and two awards at the Golden Minbar International Film Festival. At the 56th National Film Awards, it won two awards for Best Choreography (Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash for "Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah") and Best Costume Design (Neeta Lulla). At the 54th Filmfare Awards, it received 11 nominations and won 5 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Gowariker) and Best Actor (Roshan). It also won 10 International Indian Film Academy Awards and 7 Star Screen Awards, in addition to two nominations at the 3rd Asian Film Awards.
Plot Jalaluddin Mohammad, the young ruler of the Mughal Empire, is raised under the strict tutelage of military commander Bairam Khan, who teaches him to rule with an iron fist and execute defeated soldiers. Years later, after securing a victory in a battle, Akbar defies Bairam Khan for the first time, choosing instead to govern through mercy, respect, and diplomacy.
In the Rajput Kingdom of Amber, Raja Bharmal announces that his son, Bhagwant Das, will succeed him as heir. Slighted by this decision, Sujamal, his nephew and the rightful heir to the throne, abandons the kingdom and allies with Sharifuddin Hussain, Jalaluddin's ambitious brother-in-law who desires to ascend the Mughal throne. Facing an imminent invasion, Raja Bharmal extends a peace offering to Jalaluddin, proposing an alliance sealed by the marriage of his daughter, Princess Jodhaa, to the Emperor. Jalaluddin accepts the proposal, but the move shatters Amber's alliance with neighbouring Rajput rulers, including Rana Uday Singh. Resenting her role as a mere political pawn, Jodhaa writes a letter to Sujamal begging him to rescue her from the alliance, though she ultimately decides against sending it.
Prior to the wedding, Jodhaa requests a private audience with Jalaluddin and sets two strict conditions: she must be permitted to maintain her Hindu faith after marriage, and a shrine dedicated to Lord Krishna must be constructed for her inside the Agra Fort. To her surprise, Jalaluddin grants both requests. Following the grand wedding, Jodhaa remains emotionally distant, and the couple leaves their marriage unconsummated. Recognizing her hesitation, Jalaluddin reassures her that he will wait until she accepts him whole-heartedly.
Meanwhile, Adham Khan, Jalaluddin's foster brother and the son of his powerful chief nanny Maham Anga, murders the Prime Minister Atgah Khan to conceal his corruption. Outraged by his betrayal, Jalaluddin personally orders Adham Khan to be thrown off the palace walls to his death. Watching from afar, Jodhaa finds herself torn between shock at Jalaluddin's sudden display of violence and deep respect for his uncompromising stance on justice.
Profoundly hostile towards Jodhaa's growing influence, Maham Anga plots to ruin her marriage. She discovers Jodhaa's unsent letter to Sujamal and secretly dispatches it. When Sujamal arrives at the palace to meet his cousin, Maham Anga convinces Jalaluddin that Jodhaa is meeting a secret lover. Jalaluddin sends guards to capture Sujamal and banishes Jodhaa, who refuses to defend her character.
Upon discovering Maham Anga's deception, a repentant Jalaluddin strips her of her authority and travels to Amber to apologize. Though she appreciates his gesture, Jodhaa refuses to return immediately, advising him instead to truly understand his subjects and the governance of his empire. Taking her advice, Jalaluddin wanders among the common people disguised as a traveler. He learns of the non-Muslim citizens' deep resentment over the discriminatory pilgrimage tax. In response, he abolishes the tax across the empire, declaring religious freedom for all the citizens. Moved by his genuine change of heart, Jodhaa returns to Agra. Recognizing his benevolence, the people bestow upon him the title Akbar (). During a public celebration, an assassin dispatched by Sharifuddin shoots Akbar with a poisoned arrow. Jodhaa personally nurses him back to health, and during his convalescence, the two deeply fall in love.
Meanwhile, Sharifuddin and his rebel confederacy prepare to launch a surprise invasion of Amber. Overhearing Sharifuddin plotting to assassinate Akbar, Sujamal regrets his treason and rides off to warn Akbar. Sharifuddin's soldiers pursue Sujamal, mortally wounding him with arrows, but he survives long enough to reach Akbar and expose the plot before succumbing to his wounds.
Akbar leads his army into battle and confronts Sharifuddin, defeating him in combat. For the sake of his half-sister, Bakshi Banu Begum, Akbar spares Sharifuddin's life but strips him of his titles and land. With the rebellion crushed, Akbar formally proclaims a new era of religious tolerance, harmony, and mutual respect across Hindustan.
Cast
Production Origin and scripting Following the success of Lagaan (2001), its director Ashutosh Gowariker was approached by actor and screenwriter Haidar Ali with the idea of making a film along the lines of K. Asif's historical epic, Mughal-e-Azam (1960). When Gowariker contemplated on whether he should make a sequel to Mughal-e-Azam or remake it, Ali suggested that he can do a prequel to it; Gowariker agreed and decided to create a screenplay that would cover the early years of Akbar's life from 13 to 21 years of age. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf of Rediff.com, Ali said on his decision to work with Gowariker:Ashutosh is the only director who could do justice to a film of such a level. In Lagaan, he touched on the issue of casteism, the oppressed class, Hindu-Muslim unity, communal harmony, team spirit, management and nationalism. He weaved all this beautifully to make a hit film without preaching or lecturing. In the same way, I told him he could make a beautiful film by touching on such issues without preaching.
Gowariker had already finished his script for Swades (2004) when Ali pitched the idea. As a result, he decided to start his work with Ali after completing it. In December 2001, Ali began research on the marriage of princess Jodhabai, daughter of the Rajput ruler of Amer, Bharmal with the Mughal emperor Akbar, and prepared a basic story on the couple. One month after Swades was released, Ali met Gowariker and handed to him the story. Gowariker subsequently announced his next project, terming it "a romantic musical", titled Jodhaa Akbar.
In March 2005, Gowariker started work on the screenplay with Ali while denying speculations that Firoz A. Nadiadwala and Subhash Ghai were producing the film. It was confirmed later in August 2006 that Gowariker would co-produce the film himself under his banner AGPPL productions with Ronnie Screwvala of UTV Motion Pictures, in addition to the latter distributing it. Ali and Gowariker completed the script in November 2005 and sought the help of Bhawani Singh, the Maharaja of Jaipur and his spouse, Maharani Padmini Devi to provide them with "creative inputs to make Jodhaa Akbar as realistic as possible." K. P. Saxena was hired to write the film's dialogues.
Cast and crew Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai were the first choice of both Ali and Gowariker for portraying Akbar and Jodhabai respectively. Gowariker believed Roshan possessed the regal bearing and physique required to play the role of a king. According to Gowariker, Roshan immediately agreed after the former merely mentioned that he was doing a film on Akbar; it would mark Roshan's first collaboration with producer Ronnie Screwvala, who was previously a co-producer on UTV–presented Lakshya (2004). Roshan learned Urdu as a means of preparing for his role. For casting Rai, Gowariker sent her an SMS asking "Will U B My Jodha?" to which Rai sent a reply stating "Yes, I will" followed by a smiley. Sonu Sood was chosen to play Jodhabai's cousin brother Rajkumar Sujamal. Sood had rejected offers to feature in other projects as he wanted to fully involve himself in the film.
The role of Akbar's mother, Hamida Banu Begum, was first offered to Saira Banu, who declined citing family commitments as her reason. The role subsequently went to Poonam Sinha which marked a comeback for her to acting since her brief stint in the 1970s. Actress and singer Ila Arun had wanted to work with Gowariker and approached him for a role in the film; Gowariker cast her as Akbar's nurse, Maham Anga. Nikitin Dheer was selected to play Sharifuddin Hussain, the rebellious brother-in-law of Akbar, after impressing Gowariker during the auditions. Kulbhushan Kharbanda portrayed Raja Bharmal while Suhasini Mulay was cast as Jodhabai's mother, Rani Padmavati. Actress Abir Abrar, niece of actress Kumkum, was selected to play Bakshi Banu Begum, Akbar's sister and Hussain's wife. Indrajeet Sarkar was cast in the role of Birbal, but his scenes were cut from the film's final version to reduce its duration.
A. R. Rahman, Javed Akhtar, Nitin Chandrakant Desai and Ballu Saluja were signed up as the music composer, lyricist for the songs, art director and editor respectively, thereby collaborating with Gowariker for the third time after Lagaan and Swades. Visual Computing Labs (VCL), a division of Tata Elxsi, were in charge of the film's special effects. Kiran Deohans, known for his work in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Aks (2001) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), was the film's cinematographer. Gowariker chose Ravi Dewan to be the stunt co-ordinator for Jodhaa Akbar based on the latter's experience in handling historical films, such as 1942: A Love Story (1994). Chinni Prakash and his wife Rekha, Raju Khan and Ash Kumar were the film's choreographers.
Costume design Neeta Lulla, who had earlier worked with Rai in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas (2002), was chosen to handle the film's costume designing. Lulla found Jodhaa Akbar to be "one of the most challenging films" she had done. This was because she had to design costumes not only for the lead actress, but for every cast member involved in the film. Lulla did extensive research for a year and a half on the type of clothes people wore during the Mughal Empire. She went to Jaipur to procure information on what type of fabrics were worn during that period. She schematically designed clothes by providing yellow, orange and red colours for the Rajputs and gold, brown and beige colours for the Mughals.
Keeping in mind the grandeur of the Mughal Empire during Akbar's time, Lulla used the Zardozi and Kundan types of embroidery for Roshan's and Rai's dresses. The fabrics for designing the costumes as well as the shoes were bought from Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur, while authentic embroidered Mojaris were used for footwear. Lulla designed clothes of dark brown, black and green colours for the character of Sharifuddin Hussain after taking the characters' persona into consideration.