ashutosh gowariker jodhaa akbar be the most ambitious film to emerge from bollywood stable in quite a while . base on the historical alliance between india great mughal emperor and a rajput hindu princess and gowariker model his film on the shakespearean mould of palace intrigue with it collection of war power broker and plot prince and distant queen mother and bitchy but loyal eunuch and and concubine galore . it also something of a gamble represent gowariker have never tread the historical epic in his early feature and especially one about india first attempt at religious pluralism . the result be mixed but laudable and largely because the script adhere to the golden rule about bring historical episode to film represent know the history and but print the legend . romeo and juliet and hamlet and and pocahontas be all real people whose life story have be tell and retell in popular hollywood film and each retell add and embellish element of the story which have help the story attain the status of pseudoreligious myth . india certainly have a rich history of quasi historical legend represent anarkali and heer ranjha and umrao jaan and devdas and and now jodhaa akbar . let there be no doubt represent this be not a documentary nor do the filmmaker make any overt attempt at a documentary characterization of akbar . history tell u that he be a unique and even megalomaniacal emperor represent he have many wife and untold number of concubine in a harem which ( depend on which account you believe ) include a few male lover and invent his own religion in which he be divine and and hold court with atheist and jew and and jesuit and a practice which would become decidedly less common with future emperor . hrithik roshan put up what be probably his best performance a akbar and though he be hinder by the sheer volume of activity make up the plot represent an absent queen mother and sinister foster mother and devious brother and and and above all and a reluctant wife and all demand his attention . roshan be at his best when akbar be woo a banish jodhaa and when he venture off into his kingdom while in many way and akbar remain a symbol of tolerance and benign authoritarianism throughoutdespite the fact that he be the one who set much of the narrative action into play and surprisingly few scene give u insight into his inner working while the opposite be true for jodhaa . in the last decade since aishwariya rai be introduce to movie go audience and she have grow tremendously a an actress . jodhaa akbar be not her best work and but it offer ample evidence of her growth along the spectrum of paro type roles she have enact since bhansalli hum dil de chuke sanam represent nandini of hddcs and paro of devdas and the eponymous umrao jaan and and now jodhaa be essentially different interpretation of the same feminine archetype represent a lady beloved of the legend and who and have be rob of all agency because of her gender and come to embody beauty and suffering and fidelity and and and of course and love . nandini be a flighty romantic and umrao jaan a forlorn romantic and and paro a languishing fool who settle for survival when love literally slash her away . jodhaa be decidedly not romantic and be that she be an emblem of her family honor . she be give away a a peace offering to an emperor who demand alliance and submission only to find that he want to become her ally in love . rai play jodhaa a a torn victim and but she be not without her own inner steel represent she set her own condition for marriage and challenge palace custom and and step on more than few royal toe along the way and notably those of the unforgiving maham anga . she not a wishy washy a paro or as flirty a nandini and but she be undoubtedly cut from the same cloth . and speaking of cut and she first rate in the five minute sword fight between jodhaa and akbar and a scene which go from swordplay to foreplay . rai be slat to play anarkali opposite ben kingsley shah jahan in an upcoming film and have yet another role a the pin courtesan in bhansalli next and bajirao mastani . normally and i would accuse her of self typecasting and but it seem that filmmaker themselves be unwilling or unable to see her differently . jag mundhara do with provoked and extract an emotionally naked performance from her which be without question her fine work to date . will others be a dare to cast her in similar light . probably not . the film work best when the narrative focus on the interaction between it two lead who be more similar than they perhaps ought to be represent both be icon of physical beauty and sexuality and and glamour and but thankfully this have be tamper down by gowariker interpretation of the character . true and akbar probably do not have roshan sinewy physique and and jodhaa ( whose existence continue to be challenge in certain historical reading ) probably couldn not write in arabic and likely never set foot in a kitchen . but such consideration be immaterial when youre tell a love story . the other striking thing about the film be that for non native hindi and urdu speaker and the dialogue be virtually incomprehensible without the subtitle . the old fashioned urdu recitation be especially difficult to ascertain and though sometimes the subtitle only far your confusion . one line in in lamhon ke daman mein which be literally translate a beauty be imbibe in cherished blandishment . what . gowariker make a valiant attempt at a film that be war epic and love story and and costume drama all in one and but never do jodhaa akbar approach the charm or finesse of lagaan . the main flaw with the film be that it be overly ambitious represent akbar may have be a polymath and but there no way a single film could encompass all of his endeavor . gowariker script stray into too many quarter look for the historical akbar and end up offer what be an unfortunately shallow characterization . jodhaa and conversely and have less to occupy her and be more clearly define . and so in the end it turn out that akbar the great be and in celluloid term at least and akbar the pretty good .